new car

[boxofdelights]

So I have a new car (new to me -- it's older than my son), a Volvo station wagon with a turbo engine. The mechanic says it needs at least 87 octane gas, but the woman I bought it from always used 85 octane and never had problems. The mechanic says "Maybe, if you never put your foot down." I never put my foot down. Should I use 87? I live in Colorado.

Comments

[wcg]

At your altitude, 85 is fine. If you drive to Kansas you'll find that the octane rating for regular gas goes up to 87 as you drop in altitude.

[mishalak]

What he said with a link to the car talk article on 85 octane.

[boxofdelights]

Thank you!

[boxofdelights]

The mechanic lives in Colorado too. You'd think he would have known that.

[mishalak]

I think, possibly, that companies are overcautious about the recommendation of a particular octane of fuel because people could misunderstand and/or that if they say that 85 is okay at a mile high people might blame them for unrelated problems and sue. Some mechanics go with the recommendation of the company without necessarily thinking much about it. Bottom line if you start hearing knocking type noises you do need 87, but otherwise you are 99% likely to be fine.

[boxofdelights]

Thank you!