What up everyone, this question has been weighing on my mind and i just wanted to get as many thoughts or opinions on it as possible. so here we go. would/do you prefer 91 octane with no alcohol/ethanol in it or like a 93 octane with alcohol/ethanol. i know the manual says 91 and above and doesn’t mention anything about the ethanol. Both styles of gas are readily available to me. any thoughts are appreciated. thanks all!

 

Personally, I try and avoid ethanol as much as I can....

 

I use shell V-power and Esso only. Use to put in 91 from anywhere, when I switched to those 2 gases my fuel economy improved about 10%.
Im in Canada, those are the only “Top Tier Gas” certified stations in my city. I think as long as you stick to Top Tier gas certified stations you’ll be fine.

 

In California, 91 is the highest octane available.

 

Shell V Power for sure: https://www.shell.us/motorist/shell-...-gasoline.html

16 IS3 AWD - FSport

 

There are a few places to get 100 octane. I have not tried it. But down here there are at least 3 places I know of.

What I'm confused about is the ethanol content. Some reading suggest only 91 doesnt have it, and that's it's not preferred. But for some reason I was under the impression higher ethanol percentage is better for performance.

Looks like 10% or E10 is standard in California. And the more of it you have the worse off your mpg.

 

the shell where im from goes 87 89 93 i try to stay 93 but everyone here seems to go with 91.....

 

I run Shell 91, apparently has no ethanol here.

The one time I filled up with 93 at an Esso station, there was no real fuel economy or noticeable performance increase.

 

Never seen higher than 91 up here. Ethanol always seemed like a reason to buy lots of corn from the farmers and not great for cars.

 

Usually fill at Costco or anywhere that has Top Tier Gas preferably

 

The manual if I remember correctly says you can use up to E15. Either way, the less ethanol in the gas the better.

 

Best bet , call up the station and ask the station manager (stab in the dark) if it's pure gas or has ethanol

 

manual says “not higher than E15 and not lower than 91octane. In reality I tested my car on e0 91 as well as e10 93. Mpg was about 3% lower on e10 93 fuel.

 

"Another" is right... This topic has been beaten to death. Manual says 91 or higher, and the fuel filler door (or somewhere in there, don't recall exactly) says up to E15 may be used. So, my advice is just to stick to those requirements, with a bonus being if you use Top Tier fuel.

I haven't noticed any difference between 93 and 91, but I do believe what sunamer is saying about E0 yielding better MPG. It could be placebo effect, but I also think the car felt just a tad smoother on E0. Either way, I don't go out of my way to use E0 - benefits are really small and mostly comes down to piece of mind or miniscule MPG benefits.

 

Just do what the manual says and you'll be fine. Doesn't make sense to nitpick everything as basic as oil and gas nowadays as everything is great as long as it meets spec.

Peoples time is better spent walking around your car to visually inspect your tires for damage or low air so it's safe to drive. That's the discussion people should be using their energy on =)

I'll do this for friends who aren't necessarily car people and i was shocked at things i've found. Could've saved someones life!