93 octane w/ethanol or 91 without
 

In my area some stations offer 93 octane (with 10% ethanol) premium, and others offer 91 octane premium (no ethanol). They are basically the same price. Which would you chose?

Using 93 for now.

When I was back in Nebraska, I was only doing 91 without ethanol. The minute I used 93 with 10%, I got crickets. So if it were me, I'd go with 91. Now I have no choice and can only put in 93 with 10% ethanol and I get crickets all the time. Ugh.

Ethanol = Crickets

So ya, no Ethanol

Crickets?

Yeah, I'm a little confused exactly what this means too. Seen "crickets" mentioned elsewhere. Guessing a reference to some engine sound and not an infestation of one of nature's more annoying insects?

:bonk::bonk::bonk:

Listen to this video for the crickets: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65189

I also read somewhere on the forums that 91 no ethanol and 93 with 10% ethonal have the same 91 fuel.

The 113 octance rating of the 10% ethanol brings the 91 fuel rating up to 93:

(91 x .9) + (113 x .1) = 93.2

93, crickets never bothered me, never spend much time idling and they've gone away on their own.

93. Crickets are fixed easily enough with a nice catback and I like the extra insurance of 93 for knock protection, particularly on hot days.

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How the hell is the "fuel pump" fixed by adding a catback? :bonk:

It covers the noise pretty well! :) After all that's all it is, an annoying noise.

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From my experience, the higher octane you can go, the better (at least in warmer weather). In my area, we have 94 with ethanol, and 91 without. In temperatures above 75 degrees F or so, the car runs noticeably better on the 94. So much so that I put up with the damn crickets to run it (no crickets on the pure gas 91).

The high pressure fuel pump in this car often makes a squeaking sound at idle that sounds just like crickets chirping. The comparison is uncanny.

Some people swear that ethanol is the source of the crickets. However, in the 186 page thread on this subject in the tech section, there are people who have reported crickets on ethanol-free gas, and there are people who swear their crickets went away when they switched over to E85. If ethanol were the culprit, we should see consistent results for everyone, and we don't.

Personally, I think these fuel pumps just sound like this, and the people who don't have them are the exception. I also think the additive packages in the fuel blends can make them better or worse. Unfortunately, since there are more than 20 blends of gas marketed in the US, there is no way you can be sure what exactly you are putting in your tank, even when you fill up at the same station every time.

Some people have reported success in getting rid of crickets by using either an upper cylinder lubricant or ashless two-cycle oil as a fuel additive. Their thinking is that the extra lubrication in the fuel smooths away the cricket. I'm about to try Marvel Mystery Oil myself. We'll see how it goes.