What grade gas do you use.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Demandred7

I'm speechless.

humfrz

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

I don't think that's true. I drive all over Florida. The statutory minimum here is 91. All top tier stations sell 93, and it's rare to find an off-brand that doesn't have it. I suspect it's the same in most states where there's a statutory minimum. I also frequently drive in several states that have no statutory minimum, and I have no problem finding 93 there either. If the market usually moves to the minimum octane, these states should be offering 90 or 91 and calling it premium. They don't.

California gets 91 because your idiot government banned certain octane boosters, making 93 more expensive to produce. Meanwhile, most of your gas comes from a single pipeline owned by Kinder Morgan, which colluded with the distributors to provide only 91 at the lower cost and stop shipping higher octane gas. If there were competition offering 93, Kinder Morgan would have to offer it also to compete. Lucky them that they don't have to.

In Florida we don't have your regulatory overreach, so the cost to produce 93 wasn't unnaturally raised for our suppliers. And our gas arrives by ship into multiple ports from a variety of suppliers rather than just one effective monopoly. Out here in America we still have competition, so most stations provide 93 to compete.

I don't know how you did that but that is not a quote of anything I said.

[Tokay444]

Eventually OP will break a ring land and bitch and moan on the forum about what a shit design the engine is.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I don't know how you did that but that is not a quote of anything I said.

LOL. Sloppy editing. Apparently there was something of yours I wanted to respond to also, and I had you multi-quoted with Mav. Now I can't figure out what post of yours I quoted.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

LOL. Sloppy editing. Apparently there was something of yours I wanted to respond to also, and I had you multi-quoted with Mav. Now I can't figure out what post of yours I quoted.

The one where I said that the rated octane may not always be correct at low volume stations.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by finch1750

Is it the same for Arizon and Nevada? Cuz they got the same 91

The same Kinder Morgan pipeline that supplies all of California runs from west Texas through New Mexico and Arizona, supplying those states as well. A spur from that pipeline shoots off from southern California to Las Vegas, and another spur supplies Reno. Since most of the western states are landlocked and mostly rural, you don't get a lot of choices.

The northeastern part of Nevada is supplied from Utah, so I don't know what the dynamic is there. Depending on the elevation, they may not even need 93, since the thinner air at higher elevations makes knock less likely.

Kinder Morgan also has another pipeline that starts in Louisiana and runs through the southeast up the east coast. The difference there is that there are ports within a few hundred miles of the pipeline all up the coast. So if Kinder Morgan tried that shit over this way, another supplier would step up. So they don't. But they don't have to do that anyway, because we don't have the idiotic environmental regulations unnecessarily pushing up the cost of production.

[gravitylover]

Originally Posted by Tokay444

Why non ethanol?

I get better mpg and after a half tank or so the car runs smoother and the butt dyno says it pulls stronger on long uphills.

Originally Posted by mav1178

You might have saved in cost of your fillups, but the drop in efficiency would offset the savings.

Given that you posted about a cost difference of $0.60-0.80 per gallon between regular and premium, your situation is the exception and not the norm. I did some quick math:

94000 miles, $2500 gas cost savings.
At price difference of $0.60 per gallon as you mentioned, you've consumed around 4166 gallons for an average MPG of around 22.56.
Not sure what type of driving you're doing, but if it's mostly highway then that mileage really sucks.

All the gas stations in my area that have high turnover all have a spread of about $0.10 between each of the grades (87/89/91).

I'm waiting for the day when car manufacturers run out of ways to make the cars more efficient with existing fuel supplies, and start forcing the fuel industry to provide the public with 95+ octane or higher gasoline on a consistent basis. Economies of scale will reduce the cost, and we can all benefit from more power + better fuel economy.

The cost difference is the same here, even more significant if non ethanol is available, that can be as much as $1/gal difference. Sometimes it is painful to see an $8-10 difference when you fill up. At 35k/yr it adds up.

Originally Posted by ayau

Ethanol is good for high compression engines. It burns cooler and reduces knock. I wouldn't put 91 non-ethanol unless I was storing the car for winter/extended period of time. People with only 91 can safely mix 2-3 gallons of E85 to increase the octane.

The best to worst:
93 10% ethanol
91 10% ethanol
91 0% ethanol

If that's the case then why do I get better mpg and why does the car run cooler on non ethanol fuel? It might be because our fuel pump runs cooler on non e fuel so it is more efficient. For straight interstate running 10% ethanol does give me slightly better mileage but for twisty, hilly back roads with small towns mixed in non e is far superior.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by gravitylover

I get better mpg and after a half tank or so the car runs smoother and the butt dyno says it pulls stronger on long uphills.

Butt dyno = confirmation bias. Confirmation bias should always be considered suspect.

Nobody wants to be wrong, so we presuppose we are right. Basically what your confirmation biased butt dyno tells you is that because you presuppose that your decision was right, your brain interprets what your senses give it as support for that decision, to make you continue to feel good about that choice. That's not to say your choice was wrong, only that the way your asshole puckers isn't legitimate support for your conclusions.

It's perfectly all right to feel good about your decision if it works for you. However, don't get upset if other people don't trust your anus.

BTW, I have used non-ethanol in mine. My anus did not pucker any differently. So my butt dyno contradicts yours.

[Tokay444]

That placebo effect though.
If only there was some sort of measuring instrument by which to compare the output between two differing setups. Oh, wait.

[Koa]

Originally Posted by Chikna

I use either Shell or Exxon premium (93 octane) gas, even I told dealer at the time of pickup to premium gas which they did.


I am curious, does it hurt to put fuel injectors like Chevron Techron or Seafoam, etc.

Techron is just Chevron’s brand name for their suite of cleaner additives, and that virtually every commercial gas company adds, to a greater or lesser degree, additives that align with what Techron does.

[ayau]

Originally Posted by gravitylover

If that's the case then why do I get better mpg and why does the car run cooler on non ethanol fuel? It might be because our fuel pump runs cooler on non e fuel so it is more efficient. For straight interstate running 10% ethanol does give me slightly better mileage but for twisty, hilly back roads with small towns mixed in non e is far superior.

Non-ethanol gets you more MPG because there's more potential energy per volume of gas than 10% ethanol gas. This means under normal driving conditions, you'll be on the gas less.

Ethanol gas is more knock resistant than non-ethanol. So under high loads (e.g., wide open throttle), the gas will burn cooler, therefore, reduce knock. This is exactly why tuned engines can make a lot of power with E85.

The stock engine/tune will knock with 91 gas, which means you'll lose a little bit of power. The owners manual even recommends 93 minimum.

Also non-ethanol 91 will cost more than 91 ethanol, so your MPG gains are moot point.

[Sapphireho]

$2500 of missed opportunity.

[LotsaMiles]

Originally Posted by Borchert97

92 because that's what premium is local to the Seattle area. I haven't seen 93 around here although I am aware it's the recommended grade. When I did my road trip to Minnesota, I encountered a few scenarios where I was stuck with 87 or even fucking 85 because I was out in the middle of nowhere in Montana, on the fuel light, and had to stop at some local ma and pa gas station in a town with a population of like 200. Luckily I carried a gallon of 92 with me that I mixed with a few gallons of 85 to make ~87. Got back into civilization shortly after and found some 93.



I've never found any but I've been wanting to try 105, how does it run? You don't need a tune for that right?

I understand you can get octane booster at auto parts stores.


BTW, I drove in Seattle for 41 years before moving to Kentucky farmland and a 150 mile daily commute on these beautiful twisties. this car was tailor made for where I now live. I don't know what I'd do with one in Seattle other than get a lot of tickets. Heck, I was pulled over an average of three times a year in my xB when I was there. One of three usually ended up in some sort of ticket.

[LotsaMiles]

Originally Posted by Grady

No secret.

Diesel<Kerosene<Jet Fuel

Which is why, when I'm near commercial jets, it smells like a metro bus.