premium gas?

[Tandrup]

Does anybody know if it is possible to find higher octane than 91 in California at all? Preferably in the Bay Area - or is the 91-octane premium definition a state-wide thing?

Thanks,
Lars - just north of San Fran

[Flavor 987S]

Originally Posted by Tandrup

Does anybody know if it is possible to find higher octane than 91 in California at all? Preferably in the Bay Area - or is the 91-octane premium definition a state-wide thing?

Thanks,
Lars - just north of San Fran

Race track??

[jbs986]

I always use 94 or 91 if I can not find 94 but I never have, or will use 87.

[Flavor 987S]

Originally Posted by jbs986

I always use 94 or 91 if I can not find 94 but I never have, or will use 87.

Nice save! That's good to know.

[thstone]

California 91 exclusively!

[Topless]

Originally Posted by thstone

California 91 exclusively!

Except of course here:
Kern County
Fastrip Gas
8001 White Lane
Bakersfield 661.835.1490
100 Octane

Mesa Marin Raceway
SR 178 at SR 184
Bakersfield 661.366.5711
110 Octane

Willow Springs Motorsports Park
3500 75th Street West
Rosamond 661.256.2471
100, 110 Octane

Los Angeles County
Irwindale Speedway
1330 E. Liveoak Ave
Irwindale 626.358.1100
100, 110 Octane

Brentwood 76 Service
12037 San Vicente Blvd
Los Angeles 310.476.9496
100 Octane

Pico Ave. 76 Service
11675 Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles 310.479.9496
100 Octane

Arroyo Parkway 76
155 E. Glenarm
Pasadena 626.441.3392
100 Octane

Phillips Ranch 76
16 Village Loop Rd
Pomona 909.623.2429
100 Octane

Cosby Oil Co.
12902 E. Park St
Santa Fe Springs 562.946.4404
100, 110, 114, 118 Octane

Canyon Service Center
507 Entrada Dr
Santa Monica 310.454.2619
100, 110 Octane

South hills 76 Service
150 S. Citrus
West Covina 626.339.8018
100 Octane

Orange County
Mark's 76 Service
2043 Commonwealth
Fullerton 714.278.0986
100 Octane

Laguna Hills Auto Spa
25172 Cabot Road
Laguna Hills 949.770.8300
100, 110 Octane

Dave's 76 Service
619 E. La Habra Blvd.
La Habra 714.801.3918
100 Octane

Graham 76 Service
2690 San Miguel Blvd
Newport Beach 949.644.7151
100 Octane


San Diego County
Cosby Oil Co.
6220 Fairmount Ave.
San Diego 619.280.6884
100, 110, 114, 118 Octane


San Gabriel County
San Marino 76
2390 Huntington Drive
San Marino 626.286.6030
100 Octane


Riverside County
Mike's 76 Service
2807 Hamner Ave
Norco 909.734.2962
100 Octane

Ventura County
Agoura 76
28203 Dorothy Drive
Agoura Hills 818.991.6241
100 Octane

Hope this helps someone..

[jbs986]

Originally Posted by Flavor 987S

Nice save! That's good to know.

No save here,Flavor 987s I am not (jcb 986), I am jbs 986, there are some cars that you can run 87 Oct., Are Boxsters use a higher Oct, because are motors are high compression motors, lower Oct, will cause "Engine knock" not a good thing for any Engine. let alone the M96.

[Overdrive]

I figure if you're in a pinch or in some backwater place where they don't have the octane you need, I imagine the car will run on 87, but first chance you get to throw the proper octane in, it should be done.

The way I see it, and read it in some cars' owner's manuals, most modern cars that are meant to run on a higher octane can run on something lower, though it is not recommended for regular use because over time that will cause damage. So again, in a pinch, you do what you have to do rather than be marooned in the middle of nowhere, and simply fill your tank with something higher when you can.

While not verbatim, I'm pretty sure our manuals say something along the lines of "use premium fuel, or the highest octane fuel available to you". Around my neck of the woods that is 93, though some places will only have 91, and there's not many, if any, stations left around here that aren't using ethanol additives, so I have to bite the bullet on that one. But I'm using the highest octane available to me, 93. If I end up on fumes in some random place like Yellville, Ark., and they only have up to 89...well, that'll have to do until I can get to a station with something proper.

Take a Jeep Liberty, for example. The manual essentially says the car can be run regularly on 87 without any issues, but if you're going to be doing any towing, that will require optimum performance from the engine, so they recommend using 89 for that. By the same token, you could also fill up on 89 regularly and be just as well.

If someone's looking to cut their fuel costs and seeing if they can live on commuting or joyriding on 87, well they picked the wrong car for that...if it could've been run on 87 regularly they would've built it around being able to do that. A Corolla the Boxster is not, so you have to give a premium car premium fuel.

No offense meant to anyone who happens to be from or near/around Yellville, just picked a random place.

[husker boxster]

So to stir the pot a bit more, which would be better?

91 octane
or
93 octane with 10% ethanol

We only had 91 around here but saw the 93 blend recently.

[nieuwhzn]

Trying to save a couple of bucks by filling up with lower octane doesn't work for high(er) performance cars. The ECU will just adapt the mixture so that the engine power stays the same. Lower octane will lead to lower mileage. We've been driving Saabs for many years and decided that the highest octane will cost the same in the long run and results in a smoother engine.

[Flavor 987S]

Originally Posted by husker boxster

So to stir the pot a bit more, which would be better?

91 octane
or
93 octane with 10% ethanol

We only had 91 around here but saw the 93 blend recently.

You will get better MPG's with the 91 octane (no ethanol) vs the 93 (with 10% ethanol). Did this experiment last year. 93 is probably still the best bet. 93 pure gas (no ethanol) is ideal. It is very easy to find in places like Wisconsin, maybe due to all of the RV's and boaters.

[laphan]

Originally Posted by husker boxster

So to stir the pot a bit more, which would be better?

91 octane
or
93 octane with 10% ethanol

We only had 91 around here but saw the 93 blend recently.

I did this experiment with my previous car (toyota solara). The car recommends 91 octane (but can take 87 with some engine output reduction/increase fuel consumption per owners manual). I put 91 un-oxygenated fuel when I was in Minnesota and I put 93 with ethanol when I moved to MI. No noticeable power difference, but 91 with no ethanol returns at least 2-3 MPG better on highway.

[Topless]

Originally Posted by Tandrup

Does anybody know if it is possible to find higher octane than 91 in California at all? Preferably in the Bay Area - or is the 91-octane premium definition a state-wide thing?

Thanks,
Lars - just north of San Fran

You can get race gas, 100oct unleaded but it is about $8.50/gal. I ran a 100/91 blend for a while on track days but now just run 91 pump gas. In Calif we are "special" so we get "special" gas formulations in an attempt to improve emissions. Welcome to the Golden state.