California Octane
 

Hello -
Subaru recomends 93 octane however in California all I see is 91 octane. How will my future BRZ handle the lower octane?

:burnrubber:

It will revolt and want to leave California.
Glad I could help.

It’s fine. Just use 91. Think of all the German and other luxury/sports cars in California, especially LA and the Bay. People just use 91 because that’s the max available and nothing horrible happens.

The ECU will compensate. My 911 hasn’t died from using 91 lol.

Most rich communities in California have stations like this. Here is the pump at the 76 in Saratoga California.

Racing fuel isn’t uncommon but it’s complete overkill unless you’re taking a tuned car to the track. But it isn’t that common, even in “rich” communities.

Well, that answers a question I was going to ask. So, the BRZ requires premium fuel. Bummer, but not unexpected. The last car we bought that took 87 was the 2000 Miata. This is not a small matter, what was once a ten cent uncharge for premium is now $1.50... per gallon. Perhaps not enough to scare us off from purchasing, but mostly because we drive so few miles/year.

Yes and no. The 93 is recommended but 91 is required so you don't have to go all the way to the top. You will lose a tiny bit of performance on 91 but it won't hurt anything. Regular (87) can be used in a pinch but I would not use it all the time.
It is the compromise needed to run a high compression NA engine I am afraid.

I find it interesting that Subaru specified 93 octane when it isn't all that common across major portions of the country. When I travel for work, I rarely see it west of the Mississippi river.

In my BMW's and a VW, the manuals stated something like a "minimum of 91" like was mentioned above. This makes a lot more sence to me based on availability. Even when I lived in Europe, the most common octane I remember was 95 RON which equates to 91 octane here (if my memory serves me right...it was a long time ago).

They pretty much acknowledge that in the manual.

you'd think they'd tune it for max performance at 91....since thats more common than 93....

But maybe they couldnt get it to 200/205hp on 91 and needed the exra 2 octane?

Or perhaps 91 is what gives the 197hp rating in Europe instead of the even 200 that looks better on paper? (well for first gen, the second gen is rated at what...228 and 234hp depending on location?)

To be fair the FA24 has shown to be underrated and producing more than advertised horsepower even on 91 octane.

Thanks. It's been a year since I read that and didn't remember the exact wording.

My wife's Honda S2000 "takes" 91 now, but only one brand of gasoline in this area, to my knowledge, carries it. If, and only if, 91 of that brand is noticeably cheaper than 93 elsewhere, would it make sense to me.

Thanks for the input!

We only have 92 in Oregon. My 2013 complains for the first half hour or so after filling with Cali gas. After it learns to pull enough timing, it runs just fine. A little sleepy, but fine.

I once ran a tank of 94 octane. Was nice feeling the center of the tune but not worth the $$$ for me.