First fill up! Octane question

[steph280]

This past weekend I filled up my baby for the first time. These break-in periods seem to last eternity! anyway I saw a label inside the cap saying minimum octane should be 93. I looked everywhere and it seems all the premium unleaded gas at local gas stations are 91 octane. Is this a California thing?

This ad is not displayed to registered and logged-in members. Register your free account today and become a member on 6SpeedOnline!

[Dadio]

Yes. Don't know why but the locals probably do. Won't hurt the car though. You could always move to the Midwest where premium gas is all 93 octane.

[camhabib]

I believe just about all the Premium out here on the east is 93. If the Porsches are anything like Audi's, they should automatically adjust to make allowances for the differences - can't say for sure tho.

[Sev]

We have the same thing here in Canada. been running 91 since ive owned the car...

[yrralis1]

California is 91 . a lot of guys on the Turbo forum woiuld love to put 93 at the pump . I have never driven my car with both to compare . Florida is all 93.

[wa1l1in]

cali has no 93... just way it is... u can get race gas some places its like 107..

here in florida 93 everywhere and sonoco carries race gas too.. dont gotta drive to middle of nowhere places.

[500]

My 997S occassionally knocks on FL 93 octane* (before the sensors kick in)...hate that!

*Shell, Chevron or Mobil

[500]

Originally Posted by wa1l1in

cali has no 93... just way it is... u can get race gas some places its like 107..

here in florida 93 everywhere and sonoco carries race gas too.. dont gotta drive to middle of nowhere places.

I'm on the SE coast of FL and our Sunoco stations just go to 93...is the race stuff available at all the Sunocos in your area?

[camhabib]

Originally Posted by 500

My 997S occassionally knocks on FL 93 octane* (before the sensors kick in)...hate that!

*Shell, Chevron or Mobil

If your NA car is knocking with 93 gas in there, you probably have something wrong. I run a oversized turbo in an Audi and can put 89 in and still have no knocking present. I use mostly Shell or Mobile, and Shell 93 is Shell 93 all over the place (perhaps various additives, etc, but level of refinement is consistent).

[500]

Originally Posted by camhabib

If your NA car is knocking with 93 gas in there, you probably have something wrong. I run a oversized turbo in an Audi and can put 89 in and still have no knocking present. I use mostly Shell or Mobile, and Shell 93 is Shell 93 all over the place (perhaps various additives, etc, but level of refinement is consistent).

The knocking question has come up on Rennlist a few times where several members with 997S's emit a slight knock under certain circumstances...I dont know if it's a timimg thing where some ECU may be programmed slighty more aggressively, or maybe they are running a bit too lean? When I brought this up to my SA he replied "do you want your ECU to be flashed for less power?"...

[Dave07997S]

Originally Posted by steph280

This past weekend I filled up my baby for the first time. These break-in periods seem to last eternity!

anyway I saw a label inside the cap saying minimum octane should be 93. I looked everywhere and it seems all the premium unleaded gas at local gas stations are 91 octane. Is this a California thing?

I see you are from S. California such as myself. The car is loosing between 8-10rwhp due to the 91 piss water they call gas out here. What I do is I blend in 2.5 gallons of F&L 105 unleaded race gas, this will get me to just over 93 octane. If you want to blend in 100 octane it would require bout 4 gallons per fill up. You can also run Torco Race Gas concentrate, I have used this with good effect. Here is the website.

http://torcoracefuel.net/pro-accelerator.html

You can also find a local dealer on this website.

Here is alist of gas stations that carry unleaded (has to be unleaded) race gas.

SoCal 100 Octane pump gas - List of locations

The car will run better on 93 octane. I like to run it a little higher than 93 due to the amount of ethanol in the fuels here in S. California..heck all of Ca.

If this helped..hit me with some lovin

Dave

[steph280]

I doubt I will know the difference between 8-10 HP, but nevertheless thanks for the great info!

[Gpjli]

Originally Posted by 500

The knocking question has come up on Rennlist a few times where several members with 997S's emit a slight knock under certain circumstances...I dont know if it's a timimg thing where some ECU may be programmed slighty more aggressively, or maybe they are running a bit too lean? When I brought this up to my SA he replied "do you want your ECU to be flashed for less power?"...

As was stated above, the car should not knock on 93 octane. The solution may be as simple as trying gas from a different station. There is no guarantee you are getting what you are paying for. If the car does not run right that would be my first guess. Lousy gas. Try different brands as well as stations. I like Shell here in NY. I would not tolerate any knock. Not a good thing. As for the SA's statement, consider that when there is knock the sensors will retard timing to protect the engine and are in effect tuning for less power. Come to think of it, you might want to try a different sa as well

[NorthVan]

Originally Posted by Sev

We have the same thing here in Canada. been running 91 since ive owned the car...

Sev, Canada is a big country. Out west (BC) we get 94 at all the Chevron gas stations. I always fill up with 94, except when in the US at track days. I bring an extra 60 litres, but it doesn't last for 2 days

[Sev]

Originally Posted by NorthVan997C2S

Sev, Canada is a big country. Out west (BC) we get 94 at all the Chevron gas stations. I always fill up with 94, except when in the US at track days. I bring an extra 60 litres, but it doesn't last for 2 days

Oh, we got petro canada 94 octane here too, but there aren't that many petro canadas out here, especialy not around my house. I just tank 91 octane at Esso.