wonchoi88

Just bought 05 997 from state of maine and I currently live in california.. when I picked up the car from east coast, i noticed from the inside of fuel cap stating that min 93 octain required but 91 octain is consider premium here instead of 93.
Any recommendation? also, I noticed that this car still needs CA emission test...
From the original sticker, it does not have anything regarding CA emission test..

Help me.. thank you everyone... Love the car...

gota911

IIRC, all Porsches are built to meet the Cali. emissions requirements.

Also, the on board computer (OBC) will advance the ignition to account for 91 octane.

beentherebaby

The engine ECU can adjust for slightly lower octane if it senses detonation, i.e. pinging, so there is no issue. I have no info. on the CA emissions standards as they are whacko out there.

axhoaxho

For the years I drove my 07 997S in California here, I exclusively used Chevron (91 Octane) Supreme gasoline, and it worked okay.

Just be aware that, with 91 Ocatane gasoline, you might occasionally hear that little 'ping' sound when accelerating under light throttle (which has been discussed numerous times in this forum. The short answer is that it is fine and don't worry about it.)

Enjoy your new Porsche.

Regards,

ADias

91 is just fine. Use top-tier suppliers, Chevron, Shell, 76.

Macster

Others have addressed the gasoline question. I would add buy from a busy station to ensure you get the freshest gasoline. Generally the busy stations have the lowest prices.

For CA emissions the 1st time I took my Boxster to a dealer. Subsequently I have had the car checked/tested at a local smog shop. They're everywhere.

I wanted to use a dealer the 1st time to establish a baseline for subsequent emissions tests in later years.

The engine wants to be in good tune. Air filter, plugs, oil fresh and not overfilled, and so on. You don't have to have all these done before you have it smogged but don't let too many of these services come due at the same time when it is time to have the car smog tested. As the car ages and accumulates miles it can need a bit of help to help it pass smog test.

Also, and this is very important, be sure you drive the car a long time -- 30+ miles -- under varying conditions to thoroughly get the engine up to temperature before you stop in at a smog test shop. Many owners make the mistake of just picking a place nearby and driving to it directly from home. The car is not hot enough and unless the shop a good one the tech will put the car on the dyno cool and the engine may not pass.

I have to pick a hot day for my Boxster -- 2002 and with around 234K miles -- cause one converter is weak and on cooler days it will trigger the CEL and log an error code. The CEL will of course fail the car and even if one clears the code(s) this resets the readiness monitors to incomplete and the engine controller can only have 2 of these set this way. Any more and the car fails.

This last time the CEL came on not too long after the test.

My 996 Turbo (an 03) was smogged at the dealer before I bought it -- used -- but the next registration wil require it be smogged as well.

Be sure you get a printed copy of the test results in case the results don't make it to the DMV by computer. I keep a copy in the files of all my cars.

Sincerely,

Macster.

ross74

all the above are correct.
however if ever you have the chance to find premium unleaded >96 octane make sure you take the opportunity just to experience what the engine is really capable of. here in europe we are lucky to have what is called racing gasoline which is nominally 100 octane (our normal gasoline is 95 and there is also a power version of 98). You guys wouldnt believe what a difference it makes...its like adding 50hp to the car

911SLOW

recent: https://rennlist.com/forums/997-gt2-...2555-fuel.html

John

Skibum

I buy 15 gallon drums of the 100 octane Sunoco stuff and mix it with pump 93.
4 gallons 100 to 10 gallons of 93. I'm happy thinking that it makes a difference.
(I've tried switching back and forth and swear I do feel it...)

csorrows

I researched this extensively when I was looking, and thought I might end up having to buy a car from a neighboring state to California. After all the research I did, my understanding is this...

If the car has LESS than 7500 miles on it, California considers it a NEW car (no matter from where or from whom you bought it) and therefore has to have both Federal and California emissions equipment on it.

If the car has MORE than 7500 miles on it, California considers it a USED car, so it's okay if it only has Federal emissions equipment on it, but it still has to pass the California smog tests.

Some of this info is also backed up on a FAQ at the California DMV's website, but they don't spell it out clearly. I had to double-check with a couple different DMV offices to verify it:

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures...cts/ffvr29.htm

As long as any car you're looking at has over 7500 miles, you should be fine. Provided it's in good enough shape to pass California emissions. Also, be aware that if any mods were put on the car that affect the engine or exhaust, they have to be CARB certified. That's California's regulatory body that certifies what kind of equipment can go on the car. If it's not CARB certified, it will fail the visual part of the smog test (even if it doesn't affect emissions in any way) and you won't be able to get it smogged/registered. So be sure and ask the owner (and look the car over) to see if anything aftermarket was added to the engine or exhaust.

Hope all that info helps, and good luck!

swajames

Gas in the US is measured using a different scale to most of Europe... Europe uses RON, another scale in MON, the US uses AKI which is the average of RON and MON. Using the AKI measurement scale for the same fuel that you can buy in Europe will generally results in a 5 point or so lower number - but the fuel is identical.

In short, 93 here is broadly equivalent to 98 when measured using the scale you are talking about...

Also, unless you're running a remap on your ECU you won't see any benefit with higher octane gas. Using higher than the Porsche recommended octane rating (91/93 AKI here in the US) will indeed make your car a bit faster, but only because it's lighter as you now have a few less dollars in your pocket than you would have had you filled up with what Porsche recommends.

RollingArt

Open the engine bay lid and start looking around at the stickers in there. You should be able to find a CA emissions sticker. All Porsches in the US since I don't know when, have all been CA legal cars and come with the CA sticker. Smog check station will be looking for this sticker. Your car should be able to pass with flying colors, no problem. It will pass even if you drive it just one mile to the smog station. No problem.




Phil

LlBr

The engine "knows" what it's getting octane-wise, why can't I know what the engine knows?

PCM means what? Porsche Communication Management. I want to communicate with my engine: why don't we have sufficient 'Excellence" to do that?

Would be nice to know if you're getting quality gas (octane-wise), or even if you're getting the gas that's supposed to be high octane, at the places you buy it from.

Macster

Only tried it once in my 02 Boxster, I drove the car until the low fuel warning light came on then put in over 6 gallons of 100 octane racing gas (unleaded of course) fuel at a gas station in Tracy CA not far from where I live.

I was hoping the 100 octane gas would burn better cause I was going to have the car smog checked later in the day. (Smog tech told me it was a good idea but not likely to make any difference. He told me cars either pass with some margin or they fail with some margin. Anyhow, car passed.)

Of course, I took the car on a spirited drive and while I was hoping to notice a difference I did not. Now it might be my imagination but I have noticed some difference at various times after filling up the gas tank. It seems some fillups end up with the car getting a particularly good batch of gas, or perhaps the previous fillup was a particularly crummy batch of gas. But the engine is noticably more responsive.

When I get a chance I'll try this 100 octane gas in my Turbo and see if I can detect any difference.

Don't misunderstand me. Were it available and at a competitive price I'd buy 92/93/94 octane gas in a heartbeat vs. this 91 octane junk that is all too common here in CA. But a steady diet of 100 octane gas is just not realistic given its considerably higher price and inconvenient availability. (20+ mile round trip from where I live.)

But if someone wants to try a higher octane gas in his Porsche I say go for it and report back.

Sincerely,

Macster.

wonchoi88

thanks guys for the info and will have to ask you guys more questions in future regarding 997.. Like i said, Im loving this car already.... This is the first and only car that I bought without even looking at it in person or test driving it..
will post pictures when I get the car from the shipping company