Is ABQ elevated? It is BEYOND me how companies can sell 85 octane fuel legally in America when every modern car’s cap literally says MINIMUM OCTANE 87
Yes, ABQ is what 5500 ft? 85 is fine for cars that use "minimum 87" due to the higher altitude, but I'm near sea level here in NoVA.
When I was in Santa Fe last (about 7500ft, there was this huge scandal where one of the local stations was found to be selling 83 octane in their 85 pump.
For those not familiar, in layman's terms, octane is knock resistance and as altitude goes up (air becomes less dense), a lower octane works just fine - 85 is like 87. And cars run just fine - people, not so much.
The guy that replaced me at NORTHCOM HQ in Colorado Springs said to me during our handoff "there is no air in the air" and I knew exactly what he meant because I felt the same way the first week or so. There is a slight incline (think long sloped driveway) going up the front door from the parking lot and for the first week or so you feel like you've just climbed 10 flights of stairs.
Driving back to DC, the only open station had 85 (I was driving a 335xi - so minimum 91) and it ran just fine on the 20,000 miles though the flat part of Kansas.