What is the highest octane available in your area?

[sickx]

...from the pump, unleaded.
(and in what area do you live?)

[TT]

98 unleaded - Switzerland, central Europe

[gigdy]

98 thats near racing fuel here. I think we got some 95 but mostly 93

[Cornutu]

107 at a Sunoco distributor near Pittsburgh,PA USA

[marciodcmendes]

95 and 98, both unleaded. No more than that.

[sentra_dude]

Well...you Europeans are always going to have 'higher' octane that us Americans, but that is only because of differences in rating between American and European petroleum disturbers.

"This is where the confusion sets in: The RON (European octane rating) method of octane measurement is not used in the United States. In the US, a different method entirely is used, called the CLC method. The number that results from this method is the average of the RON octane number and the MON octane number, so (RON + MON)/2 = CLC octane number. This is the number that you will find printed on a yellow label on gas pumps in the United States.

note: That is simplified, and leaves out some things, but you get the idea.

91 RON octane is equivalent to 87 CLC octane, 95 RON=91 CLC, 98 RON=93CLC.

In addition, because of higher quality standards demanded by the federal government we [America] actually have better fuel (the fuel is much more standard in the U.S.; whereas '98' in Europe can vary quite a bit, and is usually of worse quality) than Europe...despite the 'lower' ratings.

Anyways, I am a pilot and we use 100 octane, and some of the more serious planes require 120 octane...so there is really high octane available in my area.

[TT]

Nice explanation dude, I wasn't absolutely aware and always knew European fuel is better quality, but I guess I was wrong
Not that I could care less since anyway to fill the tank in US would be fucking complicated for me

[graywolf624]

93 unleaded for normal gas.
103 for sunoco race gas.
Both are available at the local gas station pumps.

[marciodcmendes]

Regarding performance, is there a big difference if you use 98 oct. rather than 95?

[Minacious]

91.
HOORAH!

[zevolv]

the best at a gas station is 110 octane unleaded but there is a shop that sells shell racing fuel from pumps and they have 130.

[Fast_car006]

93 but there a gas station in New Jersey selling 100

[sentra_dude]

Originally Posted by marciodcmendes Regarding performance, is there a big difference if you use 98 oct. rather than 95?

Only if your engine is set up to take advantage of higher octane gas. If you have a normal engine, say N/A and not much hp/L (just an economy car engine, like the engine in my car, 5SFE) you probably have low compression, which does not require high octane. So basically you are just burning money if you use 93 when the manufacturer recommends 87...
If you go really high above the octane rating recommended for your car the engine will lose power because the fuel is burning too slowly, and a change in ignition will be required to fix the problem. So its basically a good idea to run what fuel your car is rated for...

Now if you have a high performance N/A or turbo engine you need the higher octane, and especially turbos can benefit from high octane gas, but you should pretty much should follow what the manufacturer says to use unless you know what you're doing.

Btw octane is basically how fast the fuel burns, higher the octane the slower it burns...if you run too low octane it will ignite from compression rather than the spark (detonation), which is very bad for the engine. Under heavy detonation your engine may only last a few seconds...

Again, all of this is simplified to some extent...

[jeroen40]

100 at the shell stations in germany, it's called V-Power, the stations are covered with ferrari and V-power posters

[666fast]

Usually it's 89 and 93. There are a few places that sell 103-110 though.