I believe you can find 85 octane gas in Idaho and Nevada.
According to the FTC (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/autos/octane.htm) it’s up to the individual states to determine what octane gas gets which rating (regular/mid/premium).

 

I have seen 85 octane in stupid Indiana,

 

I never really paid attention to the octane. I always just use regular. Mostly Shell.

 

I didn't think the John Deere's even ran on 85, Ben.

Tomas

 

Yes, all grades through the same hose. Remember I'm in Snohomish county

 

never seen 85 here. *shrug*

 

I believe we have pumps with 104 in Daytona, but I'm going off of memory.

 

91 from Chevron.

 

we have 85 here in colorado... never used it. i dont trust it, we aint got no 85 back in baltimore MD

 

Nothing but the finest gas for Old Yeller:

 

Here is Scion's definitive answer:
From: Scion <scion_mail@scion.com>
Date: Wed, 06 Sep 2006 16:09:12 -0700 (PDT)
To: <...@insightbb.com>
Subject: Scion xB horsepower and torque [Incident: 060901-000071]
"… The vehicle is engineered and tested using 87 octane fuel. We recommend that fuel for optimum performance, reliability, and fuel economy on the vehicle. The vehicle does make the same power at maximum throttle position on 87 octane as it would on higher octane fuel."

Also, here is a paste from the 2006 Tacoma Owners Manual showing that if high octane will improve performance, the manual would say so (and the xB manual does NOT):

OCTANE RATING
2TR-FE engine - Select Octane Rating 87 or higher.
1GR-FE engine - Select Octane Rating 87 or higher. For improved vehicle performance, use premium unleaded gasoline with an Octane Rating of 91 or higher.
(2TR-FE is the 2.7L I-4 and 1GR-FE is the 4.0L V-6)

For our 1NZ-FE engine, the xB manual just says 87 or higher, meaning no benefit from the "higher".

 

Thanks! That will finally put to rest all the "I use hi-grade to get more power" threads. They are just throwing money away (and oil companies love that)!

Yeah, I know, they'll say "but expensive gas has better additives in it". Ok, whatever. Then go ahead and buy your Shell or Chevron gas. But buy 87 octane!

SOmetimes I think that the gas companies are the ones who start all those myths.

...just because I'm paranoid it doesn't mean that they aren't after me...
:D

 

i use 87.... and i go anywhere cheap....

 

It is not a myth. Many engines get higher performance (hp and torque) from high octane. All older engines that have high compression and are not managed need premium gas to run without constant knocking. Modern engines are managed to avoid knocking by retardng the ignition, which must cost some power. If you read my earlier post, you will see that Toyota specifically says for the Tacoma 4.0L V-6:
This is true of many other engines, too. Usually these are high compression, high performance engines that are managed so they can run just fine on 87, but make more power on premium. The gas itself has no more power, but the resistance to knocking maintains the full ignition advance which does make more power. The Owners Manuals will say whether the manufacturer considers premium gas to be of any benefit.

 

One place where my beloved ScanGauge falls into the close-but-no-cigar category is that it will display ignition advance/retard info but won't record it (though there must be some sort of computer-oid/software-oid thing out there that does). It would be cool to be able to gather some actual data on this topic...

 

When I first got mine, I set it to show advance, but the numbers varied every instant, and I didn't like watching it all the time. I guess the numbers were degrees of advance. It would be hard to watch the display at full throttle, and write down the numbers for regular and premium. So I quickly set the display to show one of the other choices.

Dyno tests would be interesting, but it would require buying two sessions with the tank being run out of 87 and filled with 93 in between.

 

You just don't get it. You do understand how octane ratings work and about compression and ignition advance. But the SCION xB engine's PCM is not designed to advance the ignition more with 94 than it would with 87. So even if it doesnt' sense knocking, it only advances igniton to a preset limit (sort of like a governor). Also the xB engine is not a high compression engine.

I owned a Caddy Eldorado with a Northstar engine (high performance/high compression). It ran the best on premium 94/96 gas because was designed for it. When I put in 87 octane, the knock sensor retarded ignition but kept the engine running smoothly. Yes, I lost few horses of power (as expected).

But Scion's engine is nothing like Northstar. It just isn't designed to utilize the extra anti-knocking cababilities of 94 octane gas.

But go ahead and waste your money if you wish.

 

From Chevron themselves, good reading.

To sum it up. Only cars with knock sensors designed to benifit will benifit, anything else is in your head. As far as that goes, I know nothing of the xB's knock sensors.

 

OK, here is my experience with higher octane fuel in the box.

When I first got the box in March, I put 87 octane Chevron exclusively. Car ran fine, idled smooth, plenty of power (well, as much power as you could expect form a stock box). Then I decided to put 89 octane Chevron in just for fun. Same results. Car ran fine, smooth idle, good power. The only noticeable difference was when going up a grade. The box didn't have to downshift as soon as with 87 octane. Obviously, I have an auto. So this may not matter of you have a manual.

Well, I got bold on Friday and decided to put 93 octane VP Racing gas in the box (it cost $4.45 a gallon FYI). They just opened a station about 1/2 mile away from my job (they also sell 100 octrane at the pump for $6.50 a gallon!) I was just about empty (took 10.2 gallons) so it was almost a whole tank's worth. Well, wouldn't you know, car ran fine, idled as smooth as with 87 or 89 octane, and had plenty of power. Again, the only noticeable difference is when going up a grade. Doesn't require me to bury my foot as deep into the accelerator pedal as with 89 octane.

The gas mileage between the three different octanes was identical. No change either way.

So, my opinion about the whole thing after running three different octanes is that there is a minimal benefit to running a higher octane fuel. But is it worth it to YOU to pay the extra $.10-$.20 per gallon for said benefit? For me, it's worth paying for 89 octane. But I'll never spring for the 93 octane again (unless I decide to give ZPI a call!)

HTH

 

I strctly use 87 now, I tried the mileage/power experiment with higher octane, there was no noticeable difference to me. In fact the higher octane reflected LESS mileage. But honestly if I had been interested in performance, I sure would have looked into another car. I love my Box. All 103 HP strong...LOL