What Gas Do You Use?

[Mz3Hatch]

Thought I'd start this thread just to see what gas everyone uses in their MS3 and if they have any particular reason why. With numerous gas stations, figured it would be interesting.

I use only Sunoco 93 in my tank. No problems, no pinging, nothing. If Sunoco is good enough for race fuels at the track and NASCAR, hey, should be the best for my car!

[Hank3]

93 Octane - Murphy USA at my local Walmart.

[baopham04]

Well our cars are boosted, so I think getting 93 Octane is a mandatory.

[KDiz]

93 from QuikTrip

[Psycho_Maz]

93 from Sunoco. The 91 is 2 cents cheaper so I say what the heck and go 93. That is like 1 dollar more a month.

[UHATEIT]

what kind of question is this? The gas tank lid even says use premium only. Would you actually use anything less than premium in the speed3???

[hugador]

what kind of question is this? The gas tank lid even says use premium only. Would you actually use anything less than premium in the speed3???

That said, 91 is what we get in California. bummer

[757speed3]

93 only. So what if it costs a little more. I knew the extra expenses like that when I got the car. Couldn't imagine treating it any different.

[bluelion]

i run 93 of course....but i had to run 91 during Hurricane Ike cause that's all they had

[kbzon01]

91 - I have never seen higher in TX. Chevron.

[EngulfinFlames]

93 ESSO (exxon) in Germany. Sometimes 100 from Aral.

[bluelion]

91 - I have never seen higher in TX. Chevron.

you must not live in houston......i've heard that the farther west you go in texas the harder it is to find 93.

[BillTheCat]

No brand allegiance for me. I try to avoid convenience store & off brands, but any major brand of 93 octane will do. If I had my d'ruthers, I'd stick to Shell, Sunoco or Mobil, but there aren't enough of them on my usual routes. Does Sunoco still sell 94 octane up in the Mid Atlantic & Northeast?

[MikeHTally]

The manual says 91 minimum. No 91 here, so she gets 93.

[greasemonkey524]

Does Sunoco still sell 94 octane up in the Mid Atlantic & Northeast?

I know we've got 94 up here in MI. Atleast around the Detroit area.

[TheRealDefman]

you must not live in houston......i've heard that the farther west you go in texas the harder it is to find 93.

93 all over the place over here in Austin, I usually tank up at Randall's or Shell.

[bluelion]

i guess i shoulda said the farthest point in texas is hard to find 93 cause i heard el paso and surrounding areas doesn't readily offer 93. and i'm guessing by his location " the pass" refers to el paso.....

[Saskatchewan17]

Most all of the time - 93 octane Shell.

[HeroinBob]

94 octane - sunoco
if i cant get to a sunoco then i get 93 vpower from shell ha ha

[Mz3Hatch]

I've heard of alot of problems with Shell gas especially now that its "Nitrogen" enriched or whatever crap they say. I remember I used it once because they had shut the Sunoco down to replace the pumps and my car felt like it ran like garbage!

I don't go to WAWA or any convenience store stations. Used wawa gas in my 04 3s and replaced 3 PCV valves on the damn thing!

[iplaythemic]

I started filling exclusively with BP because they're the only ones that carry 93 where I live. It kinda scares me that nobody else has mentioned BP... like everyone knows something I don't.

[dizzin9]

AAFES 93 octane!!!

(cabpatch)

[baopham04]

I started filling exclusively with BP because they're the only ones that carry 93 where I live. It kinda scares me that nobody else has mentioned BP... like everyone knows something I don't.

I ONLY use BP. I didn't mentioned it cause i figured no one had BP in their states. lol

[08cosmic3]

I used to run 92 from Speedway but now I run 93 mostly, from Shell.

[Speed3ForMe]

100 Octane.

So what if it costs 8 bucks a gallon.

[robin2660]

Thought I'd start this thread just to see what gas everyone uses in their MS3 and if they have any particular reason why. With numerous gas stations, figured it would be interesting.

I use only Sunoco 93 in my tank. No problems, no pinging, nothing. If Sunoco is good enough for race fuels at the track and NASCAR, hey, should be the best for my car!

Any of these: http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html
QuikTrip
Chevron
Texaco
MFA Oil Co.
Conoco
Phillips 66
76
Entec Stations
Shell
The Somerset Refinery, Inc.
Kwik Trip / Kwik Star
Aloha Petroleum
Tri-Par Oil Co.
Turkey Hill Minit Markets
Mileage Stations
Chevron Canada
Shell Canada
Petro-Canada
Sunoco Canada

Phillips 66 and Shell are the only ones in my area.

[davens]

I'm glad someone mentioned the Top Tier program.
These are companies that voluntarily meet a minimum standard for their all of their gasoline formulations.
This is not to say that a company who isn't on the list will sell crap, but participation should remove any doubt in the consumers mind.

[AllLostThings]

93 from Shell

[pdqgp]

Kroger (Grocery Chain) 92-93, can't recall what it is. Also, Shell 93. Both run excellent and have used them for years in other cars.

[619MS3]

That said, 91 is what we get in California. bummer

Yea man no good, stupid emissions regulations

[Jacobra]

Shell 93 octane is all she gets

[bigdaddy]

That said, 91 is what we get in California. bummer

yeah...i wish i could use 93 or 95 but then i would have to drive like 45 miles one way just to get it

[bigdaddy]

yeah...i wish i could use 93 or 95 but then i would have to drive like 45 miles one way just to get it

but i still use 91...the best I can get

[rmd]

We only have 95 and 98 Octane here in Sweden, and Mazda Sweden is recomending 98 Octane.

[CWPspeed3]

I use BP because I get 5% back with their credit card and it counts for the "cash price" too. I've had issues with local Shell stations and refuse to buy citgo/valero.

[becks]

I use Sunoco 91 because I hate all the ethanol added to Sunoco 94 and Shell 93 sucks around here (tons of problems with watered down gas)

[GoFast]

i use 91 or 93 not too picky when it comes to brands but will usually go for shell or bp.

[240ka]

93 sonoco and mobile only

[speed6r]

93

[amascio]

I must be pretty lucky; within a mile of my house I have a Phillips 66, a Shell and an Exxon, all with 93 octane grade available. If I'm willing to drive a little farther, there's a Chevron available too.

Always use 93, 'ol girl likes it!

[MaikuMS3]

91. highest in california :(

[HotSnatch]

Living in CA, 91 is all I can do as well. Are there noticeable differences between using 93 octane and 91 octane fuel?

[Russm]

BP 93 with Invigorate or is that Viagra?

[ALIEN3T]

Here in Orange County cali, since are only choice is 91. I have played around with a few stations. I have gottne better gas milage with shell 91 octane,

I use chevron next.

I have used arco, did all the tricks for better milage, coasting, stayign out of boost, not hard driving, driving 55mph in the early morning, tailgating big rigs for drafting, all the tricks, went to shell, drove it mor enormal, played a littel hit boost once in awhile, and got 15-20 more miles out of the tank.

[mckraut]

I ONLY use BP. I didn't mentioned it cause i figured no one had BP in their states. lol

+1 - I also only use BP 93, unless I'm on vacation or something and can't find one.

[jabba]

I now use only "big name" brands like Exxon, BP, Sunoco. With my previous turbo car, I used Sam's Club 93 octane mostly, and when I had to take the car in because of rough idling and misfires, they found that the intakes, etc were are caked in carbon. The primary guess is that good old Sam's doesn't use good detergents in their gas, and I had 7 years of deposits that finally added up. Guess I should have used a Techron cleaner or something once in a while...

[Peter B]

Whats all this fuss about 91 octane only? I was told by several people at Mazda that when gas started going through the roof, they re-tuned the engine. While they still say 91 only, it can in fact run the cheap stuff with no issue. I have run the 89 and 87 through it with no issue.

That said I do usually buy the good stuff, usually shell, hess, or mobil....or sometimes Peterson oil 93 octane.

-Pete

[liquidflem]

I've never seen a place without 93 gas, sucks to live in Cali, i guess in that respect. Here at track days (Virginia International Speedway) they have Sunoco 98, 101, 107, 112. Would it damage the engine to put higher grade 100+ in the car? Its like $6 a gallon, but something is making me want to try some :D

[Peter B]

I've never seen a place without 93 gas, sucks to live in Cali, i guess in that respect. Here at track days (Virginia International Speedway) they have Sunoco 98, 101, 107, 112. Would it damage the engine to put higher grade 100+ in the car? Its like $6 a gallon, but something is making me want to try some :D

More importantly.... would it make huge flames shoot out the back or make the car top Mach 1? Cause that would be friggin AWESOME! (headbang)

[MikeHTally]

... I was told by several people at Mazda that when gas started going through the roof, they re-tuned the engine. While they still say 91 only, it can in fact run the cheap stuff with no issue. I have run the 89 and 87 through it with no issue...
-PeteWere those people the ones sweeping the floor or cleaning the rest rooms? Boosted engines need higher-octane food. When you run the cheap stuff, the computer just pulls the timing back. The book specifically says NO 87 except to get the car to some proper octane.

[CobbSpeed3]

I read this article that sunoco and texaco are tied for the best gas out of all the brands. Exxon is one of the worst the reason being that they use really old gas and there is alot of moisture in their gas too, they said getting 93 at exxon is like getting 91 because the aged gas loses its octane over time so i have never gotten any gas other the sunoco and texaco

[Sport6]

Whats all this fuss about 91 octane only? I was told by several people at Mazda that when gas started going through the roof, they re-tuned the engine. While they still say 91 only, it can in fact run the cheap stuff with no issue. I have run the 89 and 87 through it with no issue.

That said I do usually buy the good stuff, usually shell, hess, or mobil....or sometimes Peterson oil 93 octane.

-Pete


Were those people the ones sweeping the floor or cleaning the rest rooms? Boosted engines need higher-octane food. When you run the cheap stuff, the computer just pulls the timing back. The book specifically says NO 87 except to get the car to some proper octane.

Ya in the manual it doessss say you can run lower than 91...but in emergency use only and it will basically detune the engine to run on it and will take a few fill ups to get it to run in full power again.

Just think of how knock-happy these engines are now and then think of that on 87..

This is what your pistons would look like if you ran 87 all the time..
http://www.thor-racing.co.uk/images/piston_detonation.jpg