road trip and fuel requirements

[jasonlee]

Hello brain trust. Heading from Vancouver BC to Orange County next week. Taking the P car along the coast highway. Should be a good trip. I have a couple of questions,. Here in Vancouver, I can fill up with 94 octane from Chevron, which contains no ethanol. I understand that ethanol may create issues with the older cars, so my question is, what do I use to fill it up in Cali? Keeping in mind the car may be down there for 6 months, or longer if I decide to register it there. Also wondering if there are pelicans along the way I could contact if I run into any problems? or just to meet and greet.

Any insight would be appreciated.

[GH85Carrera]

I can buy pure gas locally here. That is all I use.

On my travels is is almost always 10% ethanol. All the locals in those areas survive with it. If you car is stock compression you should be fine. I will be in California this summer for a week.

[boba]

As Glen said, unless you have a high compression build you should be OK on Cali gas. If you are concerned about ethanol I recommend you pick up some Sta-Bil Marine formula ethanol treatment and use as recommended.

[jasonlee]

Good news. I ma not running a high compression motor, so I am good with the ethanol blended offering. I will be sure to get some stabil as well.

[westcoast911]

Have a good trip! I am from Vancouver but now in Victoria and have made that trip several times but have yet to do it in my 911. I will live vicariously through you for now. Send us some updates along the way, and don't forget to stop at Neptunes Net if you are headed that far South.

Good Luck!

[dyusem]

I use either Chevron or Shell 91 in both of my P-cars in NorCal and they run perfectly so I expect that you will be just fine.

I'm just north of SF; if you want some hints about your route or through this neck-of-the-woods or other data points, please do not hesitate to ask...safe travels!!!

P.S. Please make sure that you post trip reports/pics!

[E Sully]

With the ethanol gas you will notice slightly lower mpg. It may also loosen old deposits in the fuel system, so if the tank and lines are not clean there is a chance of the fuel filter needing changing.

[mreid]

Originally Posted by jasonlee

Good news. I ma not running a high compression motor, so I am good with the ethanol blended offering. I will be sure to get some stabil as well.

If you're not running a high compression motor, why 94 octane? Just like wasting money?

[jasonlee]

Good question. In Vancouver the 94 has no ethanol, which was my main purpose of buying. Not a fan of ethanol in general.

[fanaudical]

10% Ethanol unfortunately is now prevalent in just about all fuel sources in Washington, Oregon, and California. Here's a site that provides listing of non-ethanol gas sources:

Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada

The listings can be somewhat out-of-date. I see only 10 stations listed in California.

[r-mm]

I didnt even know non blended fuels still exist, out here in ct theyre sure rare. Never a knock or hesitation on my carrera. Be sure to occasionally smell for fuel leaks, but it seems unlikely that a few tankfuls would cause immediate decay. I replaced my soft fuel lines with gates barricade e85 biofuel rated lines.

[RatherDrive]

Drove from Winnipeg to Phoenix this fall. You can get a "Pure Gas" app for most smart phones (and it's free). Found it v. useful finding non-ethanol gas in the corn happy mid-west. Worked every time I tried it - even in v. small towns. As a side note, the farther south I drove, the better the car ran. I think the highest grade gas has a slightly higher octane than we have at home. Enjoy the ride.

[boxster03]

Any factory stock Porsche will run fine on any premium gas

[brighton911]

94 is a little hard to find around in this part of Ontario. My 86 with a Steve Wong chip has never pinged once on 91 and yes, some do have ethanol (10%) in them. You should do just fine. Bon voyage!

[david9962000]

Originally Posted by E Sully

With the ethanol gas you will notice slightly lower mpg. It may also loosen old deposits in the fuel system, so if the tank and lines are not clean there is a chance of the fuel filter needing changing.

I use this in my 993:

Sta-Bil Ethanol Treatment - Marine Formula - 2WheelPros.com

[Bob Kontak]

I don't fully understand all of the octane numbers. Is the 94 you speak of RON or MON?. Probably RON as super-duper gas in Germany has MON numbers of 98.

Ethanol has a RON octane number of 89.7 and MON of 108.6 per the WIKI chart in the attached link.

I can't see you cooking a piston if you have a US version car with 9.3:1- even if you beat on it - but you did not clarify if US or ROW. ROW has what, 9.7:1? 91 or 93 RON will be just fine as noted with 10% ethanol.

If you have a US version, 89 RON (mid-grade) is all that you need and that may even be overkill.

I do like Shell/Chev/Exxon vs jobber or wholesaler gas.

Octane rating - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[jasonlee]

Thanks for all the info. Hitting the road today. I will post updates and photos along the way.

[jasonlee]

quick update, Car is running like a top, left Vancouver BC yesterday, and made it to Newport Oregon. Got a later start than I had hoped, and spent 40 minutes at the border crossing. Really enjoying the driver along HWY 101. Will post a few photos a little later. Thanks for all the advice on fuel. No issues, and averaging about 27mpg. Not bad for a 32 year old car. Hitting the road soon, for the second leg.

[zippy_gg]

In SOCAL you will find 91 as the highest octane so your car may feel like cheating on its diet...
I am in Woodland Hills, just North of L.A. Be sure to let me know if you need anything; you can ping me on PM for addy and cell number.
Enjoy the PCH, its many curves and its scenery!