shannah1806

Hey guys,
This may have been covered elsewhere, but I couldn't find the topic in a search so forgive me if I am making a redundant post.

What gas are you guys in SoCal using? I had been filling up at a Chevron near my home just because it was convenient. Today I filled up at a Unocal 76 and noticed a big difference in performance. Supposedly the octane ratings were the same, but I don't think that they are. The Unocal ran so much better.

Anyone have any recommendations on where to consistently find the best?

Dennis C

I've been pretty happy with Shell premium gas.

Orient Express

In NorCal, Shell, Chevron, Costco, etc. all come from the only gasoline refinery we have in the area. The only thing different with each blend is the additives.

I have been using a 3:1 blend of 91 octane Costco with 100 Octane Union 76 Gas forever with no ill effects. The blend is the same as 95 Octane.

fbgh2o

I tend to buy Shell 91 as it contains no ethanol... Also use the PetroCanada (formerly Sunoco) Ultra 94 even though it does have 10% ethanol. Wish I could do the same thing as Orient, but not 100 Octane available here...

Tacet-Conundrum

Wish Shell still sold 92 Octane like in the 90s.

Dennis C

91 is the best we can get in Colorado.

shannah1806

Where do you get the 100 octane gas? I haven't seen that at my local Unocal's.

Byprodriver

I used to live across Rosecrans ave from the Chevron refinery in El Segundo CA & went on a refinery tour. Both the Chevron owned gas stations closest to the refinery got their gasoline from Ohio. There is a 76 station with the 100 octane fuel located by Bonita Canyon road in Newport Beach but it costs close to $9.00 a gallon these days. When I was prepping the Shelby Series1 & Saleen S351 for EPA emissions certification, both engineers insisted on nothing but Chevron Supreme in the fuel tank, but that has been 10 years & gasoline has changed alot since then.

2K7TTMIA

Down here in S. FL, almost all premium here is 93 octane, with the 10% ethanol label. All I know is my 00 996 cannot run well on 89 midgrade. Costco, Sams, BJ's currently have the better pricing ( around $4.08-9/ gal on premium; I also tried some Chevron @ 4.25; but felt no difference. ( exc. in the wallet).

there's a Sunoco with 96 and 100, ( for airboats that run out in the Everglades, but out of the way, and IIRC, VP Racing fuels in Ft Lauderdale also sells some Hi-Octane 96 and up).

porsche-t

The Unocal 76 at the end of the 110 Fwy in Pasadena sold 100 octane. Been a while since I was back home, so I don't know if they still sell it. I used to run 100LL aviation in my turbo bike, but I had to go to Whiteman airport for that

Macster

Generally you and the car and the engine are better off buying a name brand gasoline (to get the full complement of additives) of the proper octane grade (or as close to it as you can get/find) and buying from a busy station to get the freshest gasoline.

This last point is very important: Fuel tests have found that fuel freshness can account for noticable differences in engine performance as measured on the dyno and subjectively by a professional driver on a closed course.

My experience has been Chevron, Shell, and to a lesser extent Unocal 76, Philips and major truck stop gasolines -- most of which I have used dispense name brand gasolines with Shell being the most common -- are pretty good.

For example, on a 4000+ mile road trip just last week I filled up from a variety of stations (Shell, Chevron, Philips and various major/busy truck stops) and didn't get a 'bad' tank of gas from anyone of them. A few fillups I was able to fill the car's tank with 93 octane gas (in WY at $3.819/gallon at one station!) and didn't really notice any difference. But the route I was on (I-80) was at a pretty good elevation from 4K feet to over 8800 feet at one point) where higher octane gasoline is generally of little value cause octane requirements go down as elevation increases. (On the return leg -- coming back on I-40 -- I encountered a lot of 90 octane gasoline and at substantially higher prices, the worst being $4.999/gallon at a Shell station in Needles CA.)

Sincerely,

Macster.

morganabowen

I was using top octane Chevron in both my 928s and now I am running top octane Chevron in my 2000 996 C4, and it seems to be running pretty darn good

jrgordonsenior

That one still sells the 100 octane as does one in Brentwood at San Vicente and Bundy. Somewhere in the archives is a listing of all the So Cal and Nor Cal Union stations with 100 octane fuel.

FWIW, my 3.4 race car runs smoother and stronger on 91 than 100 which leans it out too much as dyno tested.....

shannah1806

Thanks for the input. I may try a bit of 100 if I come across it. I'm curious to find out if there is any real diff between the standard locally available 91's. I was pretty surprised at the difference between the chevron and unocal. I have no idea where the gas actually comes from. I think both stations were pretty high traffic with regular 91 octane customers (Yorba Linda and Brea). I'll try Shell in Lake Forest next and see how it goes.