Dear Tom and Ray:

Both of my cars recommend 87 octane unleaded gas, which is readily available where I live. But sometimes on the road, "regular unleaded" is 85 octane, "premium unleaded" is 90, and there's no 87 available. I've noticed this especially in parts of Utah and Colorado. Which octane should I use? Gus

Ray: The answer's simple, Gus. Use half and half in those situations.

Tom: Yeah. You may want to throw in some heavy cream, too.

Ray: The gasoline you buy at the pump is a mixture of different octanes to begin with, so mixing 85 octane with 90 octane will work fine. You'll get 87.5 octane.

Ray: The reason the octane is lower in those areas is because they're at high altitudes, where the atmospheric pressure is lower. At lower pressure, you can get by with lower octane, which costs less and causes less pollution. In fact, the yaks that climb the Himalayas only use about13 octane!

Tom: So if you were going to STAY in that area for a while, you could use 85 octane, and your car would run fine. But if you're "on the road," and just passing through, use a mixture. Or, if that's too much trouble, be a big spender and splurge for the 90 octane.

Changing your oil is the cheapest insurance you can buy for your car, but how often should you change it? Find out by ordering Tom and Ray's pamphlet Ten Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car Without Even Knowing It! To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.

© 1993 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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