After an sti but 20 miles from v power station. Any help?

[Sam k]

I have been intending to sell my Mercedes for something with abit more poke and sporty feel. A blob eye sti had become my favourite option and I've been searching for a nice uk spec one for a few weeks now.
Yesterday whilst researching I found out they need to be ran on 98 octane fuel minimum which I a huge problem as I'm twenty miles from the nearest place that sells fuel 98 or above. Every station near me sells 97 Ron but I don't want to damage the engine. What I'm wondering is, is there a way I can run 97 in a uk sti without damaging it for example remaps? And if so would it be okay or am I just damaging the engine and in for some nightmares in the future. Would love an sti but it's not practical as a daily car to be going so far out my way for fuel.

[Sam k]

I know I feel like I live in the Stone Age round here we even have a tesco in our town but they don't sell momentum! My friend just does the journey for fuel but his is a weekend car so not too bad for him. I have a very small commute that takes me from a small village to the next town which only does 97 Ron. Really don't want to ruin one of these cars by putting poor fuel in but it seems the only car I really fancy

[Sam k]

So it can be mapped to run 97 then. Which companies would you recommend to do this? I don't mind more frequent servicing just want to look after it. What intervals would you recommend? Have many people done this? And what 97 Ron fuel is best as I have a good selection of 97 in the area and I hear people slating certain brands like esso. Sorry for the 100 questions just want to get swatted up on everything I need to know

[Sam k]

So take it steady until I get the map checked and if there are any issues when checking it just map it to run the 97. As the the drop off in performance could they slightly up the power of the engine when mapping to compensate for the fuel or is this a bad idea. Sorry although I'm not new to power I'm new to tuning so need abit of guidance. I'm in Leicestershire has anybody got recommendations on companies to use

[Sam k]

Thanks for the help mate, I'm a real novice to the engine tuning world. I will get on to them when I find the right car. Was starting to think an sti would be a no go for me. What sort of cash do I need put aside for the rolling road check and map?

[Sam k]

So the car will adjust ignition accordingly for the fuel then? That's good news. I'm not really a floor it everywhere sort of guy. I only do a 4 mile each way commute so the car is never warm enough on week days to use any power. It's only on the weekends it will be getting used properly so should be okay on 97 then I'll still probably have it checked over to make sure I'm not doing any harm just for peace of mind, but I do feel a lot better about the whole thing now. Talking to a mate today who after our conversation checked his Audi and found it also advised 98 octane too. He's been running it on 95 for years he told me not to worry but I would never use less then 97 in an sti anyways even before I found out about this min 98 octane recommendation.
So the general opinion seems to be in an ideal world use v power, but it's not going to go up in a cloud of smoke on 97 with a check over and abit of octane booster?

[Sam k]

So with running 97 is it sensible I buy a completely standard sti then. Was ideally looking for a standard one with ppp but I'm presuming even with octane additive I should only buy standard

[Sam k]

I know the nearest v power station as my mate fills up there for his weekend car. And yeah I can nip to the v power station it isn't the end of the world as its only 20 miles but I wanted to know if there was a way I could use one of the 4 petrol stations within 5 miles of me that do 97 Ron fuel as it is extremely more convieniant to do so. I work six days a week so it's nice to fill up on the way to and from work and chill out on my day off. I know fuel talk is a very dry and tedious subject I had just heard some horror stories about engines going bang and people saying you should only ever use v power so wanted to make sure I was okay to buy the car knowing it wouldn't be able to be filled with v power all the time.

[Sam k]

Thanks for all the responses guys, you have been a great help. Thanks to your suggestions I have decided to go for a uk spec sti and will start the hunt in a few weeks once my Mercedes is serviced and sold. I'll go for a mixture of a nice drive to the v power station and 97ron with octane booster when I'm caught short of time and fuel.
I know some people find questions like this abit silly and weird even from some responses pointless, but you don't know these things unless you ask sometimes and the knowledge of people on this site is second to none whenever I have a motoring dilemma or are unsure of something. Reading the owners handbook is obviously the first thing I would normally do but strangely never owning an wrx sti I don't actually have a owners handbook to hand to answer these sort of questions.
Thanks again everyone.