2018 SUBARU BRZ Owners Manual

505
6-1. Specifications
6
Vehicle specifications
BRZ_U (A4450BE-A)
Fuel information
■Fuel tank opening for unleaded gasoline
To help prevent incorrect fueling, your SUBARU has a fuel tank opening that
only accommodates the special nozzle on unleaded fuel pumps.
■ If your engine knocks
● Consult your SUBARU dealer.
● You may occasionally notice light knocking for a short time while acceler-
ating or driving uphill. This is normal and there is no need for concern.
■ Gasoline quality
In very few cases, driveability problems may be caused by the brand of gas-
oline you are using. If driveability problems persist, try changing the brand of
gasoline. If this does not correct the problem, consult your SUBARU dealer.
■ Fuel octane rating
Using a gasoline with a lower octane rating can cause persistent and heavy
knocking, which can damage the engine. Do not be concerned if your vehi-
cle sometimes knocks lightly when you drive up a hill or when you acceler-
ate. Contact your SUBARU dealer if you use a fuel with the specified octane
rating and your vehicle knocks heavily or persistently.
RON
This octane rating is the Research Octane Number.
AKI
This octane rating is the average of the Research Octane and Motor Octane
numbers and is commonly referred to as the Anti Knock Index (AKI). The engine is designed to operate at maximum performance using
unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 93 AKI (98 RON) or
higher. If 93 AKI (98 RON) fuel is not readily available in your area,
unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 91 AKI (95 RON) may be
used with no detriment to engine durability or driveability. However,
you may notice a slight decrease in maximum engine performance
and you may hear some knocking (pinging) from the engine while
using 91 AKI (95 RON) fuel. Use of 91 AKI (95 RON) fuel will not affect
your warranty coverage.

506 6-1. Specifications
BRZ_U (A4450BE-A)
■Gasoline for California-certified LEV
If your vehicle was certified to California’s low emission vehicle (LEV) stan-
dards as indicated on the underhood tune-up label, it is designed to optimize
engine and emission performance with gasoline that meets the clean burn-
ing low-sulfur California gasoline specifications. If you live in any other state
than California, your vehicle will oper ate on gasoline meeting Federal speci-
fications. Gasoline sold outside California is permitted to have higher sulfur
levels, which may affect the performance of your vehicle’s catalytic converter
and may produce a sulfur exhaust odor or smell. SUBARU recommends that
you try a different brand of unleaded gasoline having lower sulfur to deter-
mine if the problem is fuel related before returning your vehicle to an autho-
rized dealer for service.
■ SUBARU recommends the use of gasoline containing detergent addi-
tives
●SUBARU recommends the use of gasoline that contains detergent addi-
tives to avoid build-up of engine deposits.
● All gasoline sold in the US contains detergent additives to clean and/or
keep clean intake systems.
■ SUBARU recommends the use of cleaner burning gasoline
Cleaner burning gasoline, including refo rmulated gasoline that contains oxy-
genates such as ethanol is available in many areas.
SUBARU recommends the use of cleaner burning gasoline and appropri-
ately blended reformulated gasoline. These types of gasoline provide excel-
lent vehicle performance, reduce vehicle emissions and improve air quality.

507
6-1. Specifications
6
Vehicle specifications
BRZ_U (A4450BE-A)
■
SUBARU does not recommend blended gasoline
● If you use gasohol in your SUBARU, be sure that it has an octane rating
no lower than 93 AKI (98 RON).
● SUBARU DOES NOT recommend the use of gasoline containing metha-
nol.
■ SUBARU does not recommend gasoline containing MMT
Some gasoline contains octane enhancing additive called MMT (Methylcy-
clopentadienyl Manganese Tricarbonyl).
SUBARU DOES NOT recommend the use of gasoline that contains MMT. If
fuel containing MMT is used, your emission control system may be
adversely affected.
The malfunction indicator lamp on the instrument cluster may come on. If
this happens, contact your SUBARU dealer for service. ●
Use only gasoline containing a maxi-
mum of 10% ethanol.
DO NOT use any flex-fuel or gasoline
that could contain more than 10% etha-
nol, including from any pump labeled
E15, E30, E50, E85 (which are only
some examples of fuel containing more
than 10% ethanol).
DO NOT use gasoline
containing more than 10%
ethanol.
(15% ethanol)
(50% ethanol)
(85% ethanol)

508 6-1. Specifications
BRZ_U (A4450BE-A)
CAUTION
■Notice on fuel quality
●Do not use improper fuels. If improper fuels are used the engine and/or
fuel system will be damaged.
● Do not use leaded gasoline.
Leaded gasoline can cause damage to your vehicle’s three-way catalytic
converters causing the emission control system to malfunction.
● Do not use gasohol other than that stated here.
Other gasohol may cause fuel system damage or vehicle performance
problems.
● Using unleaded gasoline with an octane number or rating lower than the
level previously stated will cause persistent heavy knocking.
At worst, this will lead to engine damage.
■ Fuel-related poor driveability
If after using a different type of fuel, poor driveability is encountered (poor
hot starting, vaporization, engine knocking, etc.), discontinue the use of that
type of fuel.
■ When refueling with gasohol
Take care not to spill gasohol. It can damage your vehicle's paint.

509
6-1. Specifications
6
Vehicle specifications
BRZ_U (A4450BE-A)
Tire information
Typical tire symbols
Standard tire
Compact spare tireTire size ( →P. 512)
DOT and Tire Identification Number (TIN) ( →P. 5 1 1 )
Uniform tire quality grading
For details, see “Uniform Tire Quality Grading” that follows.
Location of treadwear indicators ( →P. 374)

510 6-1. Specifications
BRZ_U (A4450BE-A)
Tire ply composition and materials
Plies are layers of rubber-coated parallel cords. Cords are the
strands which form the plies in a tire.
Radial tires or bias-ply tires
A radial tire has “RADIAL” on the sidewall. A tire not marked
“RADIAL” is a bias-ply tire.
TUBELESS or TUBE TYPE
A tubeless tire does not have a tube and air is directly filled in the
tire. A tube type tire has a tube inside the tire and the tube main-
tains the air pressure.
Load limit at maximum cold tire inflation pressure (→P. 377)
Maximum cold tire inflation pressure ( →P. 502)
This means the pressure to which a tire may be inflated.
Summer tire or all season tire ( →P. 377)
An all season tire has “M+S” on the sidewall. A tire not marked
“M+S” is a summer tire.
“TEMPORARY USE ONLY” ( →P. 464)
A compact spare tire is identified by the phrase “TEMPORARY
USE ONLY” molded into its sidewall. This tire is designed for tem-
porary emergency use only.

511
6-1. Specifications
6
Vehicle specifications
BRZ_U (A4450BE-A)
Typical DOT and tire identification number (TIN)
DOT symbol
*
Tire Identification Number
(TIN)
Tire manufacturer's identifica-
tion mark
Tire size code
Manufacturer's optional tire
type code (3 or 4 letters)
Manufacturing week
Manufacturing year
Manufacturer's code
*: The DOT symbol certifiesthat the tire conforms to
applicable Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standards.
Ty p e A
Ty p e B

512 6-1. Specifications
BRZ_U (A4450BE-A)
Tire size■ Typical tire size information
The illustration indicates typical
tire size.
Tire use
(P = Passenger car,
T = Temporary use)
Section width (millimeters)
Aspect ratio
(tire height to section width)
Tire construction code
(R = Radial, D = Diagonal)
Wheel diameter (inches)
Load index (2 or 3 digits)
Speed symbol
(alphabet with one letter)
■ Tire dimensions
Section width
Tire height
Wheel diameter