Does this still happen to everyone???

[mdwyer]

..but, recently on my trip to Moab some of the service stations I came across didn't have a very high octane on their version of premium (I seem to remember 89 as the highest at a Texaco I stopped at) and when forced to run it...my VX not only ran fine but seemed to get noticably better mpg.

There's something about altitude that lowers the minimum octane rating you need. Around Colorado (which goes from 3,313ft to 14,440ft), all the pumps are 82, 85 and 91 octane. I understand the rest of the US usually sees 93 octane at the high point.

All my cars request 85, and I give it to them, even though it sounds like 82 would be sufficient up here. 'Course the ability to use cheaper gas comes at a cost. NA engines lose a lot of horsepower.