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Hi all, I just found this forum through a Google search. Excuse me if this whole Clovis subject has been rehashed and beat to death a million times. I've found several threads on Clovis, and I've gotten some valuable information. However, some of it is a few years old or over a year old and I was wondering if I could get some newer answers to some of my own questions.
1) How is the rental situation there? I don't plan on staying at Cannon very long (I'm sure Cannon will have other ideas -lol), so financially it won't be in the cards for me to commit to a house while I'm there. I really am not looking for apartments or condos, so it seems like my choices seem very limited if I'm looking at single-family style homes.
2) What is the highest octane gas you can buy at the pump there? I am a car enthusiast, and my car requires premium fuel...preferrably 92 octane or better. Up here in Alaska, the premium is 90 octane and it is garbage. My poor car has to be completely detuned to run the pump gas or I have to spend $10+/gal for race gas. If the premium fuel is only 90/91 octane in Clovis, is there E85 available? And if none of those are available, does anywhere in town sell race fuel (100 octane or better)?
3) How is the cell service there? I currently have AT&T, so pretty much I'm concerned with their coverage. Is it 3G?
4) How is the cable/internet situation? Who are the major carriers, and who offers the best deals?
5) Ladies, can you name some of the nicer salons in the area? My wife is a cosmetologist, and I'm sure she'll be ready to hit the ground running looking for jobs as soon as we get there. When I say higher end, I'm not talking about places like the on base salon, Walmart salon, Great Clips, Mastercuts, etc.
6) How are the winters there? Keep in mind, I'm coming from Alaska, so my winters I'm sure are COMPLETELY different. My biggest question is concerning my car, really. I have strictly summer tires on the car, and they are not snow tires at all. I'm just wondering if the snow sticks around long enough to warrant going to all-season tires. I'm at the last few miles of useable tread on my tires, so I'm judging whether or not to wait until I get down there to buy tires....because Lord knows it'll be a helluva lot cheaper to buy tires down there.
7) Is there emissions testing in New Mexico? If I register my car there, is there any visual inspections done at the DMV?
I'm sure I have more questions, but can't think of any more at the moment.
With regard to gasoline blends, the octanes in Clovis (as they are statewide) are very low by US standards; 87 is typical and 91 is about the highest you'll find at the pump.
That said, Clovis is high up (still >4000 feet) and engines work a little differently at these altitudes. The lower ambient air pressure changes the knock characteristics of an engine. 91 will perform like 94 at sea level, depending on the vehicle.
You're 2 hours away from the nearest E85, which is highly ironic because there used to be an E85 (well, the E part) plant in Portales.
If you find the local premium is still too pingy for your tastes, you can buy either octane boosters at Walmart (they do work) or even Xylene or Toluene from the hardware store (just keep an eye on that fuel filter).
Clovis doesn't get Alaska bad but the occasional blizzard does come through; I'd have all-season tires on in the winter, if for no other reason than those 2-3 days where you'd be crazy not to have them.
New Mexico does have an emissions testing program but most counties do not have to participate, and I'm pretty sure Curry county doesn't.
I moved over here temporarily for a truck position at the cheese plant a month ago.
I ride my bicycle back and forth to work, so go with what the poster above me listed.
Rental-wise, apartments seem to be on a come/go basis as far as availability goes.
But, since you're probably in the temporary relocation boat like I am, I would suggest either looking for a room to rent at a house, or one of the smaller, mom/pop motels here that seem pretty decent between $500 and $700/mo.
It might seem like a lot, but that seems to be the same amount one would spend total for rent, utilities, and cable/internet when doing a regular apartment.
Not to mention furniture and such would be a non-issue since its already in the motel room.
Less-to-pack up.
As far as phone service goes, my T-Mobile works well enough within city limits.
People also use Sprint and something called Plateau wireless.
1) How is the rental situation there? I don't plan on staying at Cannon very long (I'm sure Cannon will have other ideas -lol), so financially it won't be in the cards for me to commit to a house while I'm there. I really am not looking for apartments or condos, so it seems like my choices seem very limited if I'm looking at single-family style homes.
You are correct, your choices will be limited. I've heard the situation is especially dire if you have any pets. I had planned to rent but ended up buying instead. The housing/rental market in Clovis has been discussed at length on this forum and elsewhere.
2) What is the highest octane gas you can buy at the pump there? I am a car enthusiast, and my car requires premium fuel...preferrably 92 octane or better. Up here in Alaska, the premium is 90 octane and it is garbage. My poor car has to be completely detuned to run the pump gas or I have to spend $10+/gal for race gas. If the premium fuel is only 90/91 octane in Clovis, is there E85 available? And if none of those are available, does anywhere in town sell race fuel (100 octane or better)?
The highest I can remember seeing is 91. Still, my car also takes premium and I haven't had any issues.
3) How is the cell service there? I currently have AT&T, so pretty much I'm concerned with their coverage. Is it 3G?
In a word: sucks. AT&T has no 3G in Clovis. I switched to Sprint which theoretically has 3G, but often downgrades to the 'o' network and/or drops signal completely indoors. Also have frequent problems with voicemail, siri, and many other phone features. Verizon may be better, but I dunno for sure.
4) How is the cable/internet situation? Who are the major carriers, and who offers the best deals?
Suddenlink. I just got the basic cable package, it was sufficient for my needs. Some residents do DirecTV. Not sure about specific deals since I haven't been looking at them in a few months.
5) Ladies, can you name some of the nicer salons in the area? My wife is a cosmetologist, and I'm sure she'll be ready to hit the ground running looking for jobs as soon as we get there. When I say higher end, I'm not talking about places like the on base salon, Walmart salon, Great Clips, Mastercuts, etc.
Not a lady (or married) so I plead the fifth.
6) How are the winters there? Keep in mind, I'm coming from Alaska, so my winters I'm sure are COMPLETELY different. My biggest question is concerning my car, really. I have strictly summer tires on the car, and they are not snow tires at all. I'm just wondering if the snow sticks around long enough to warrant going to all-season tires. I'm at the last few miles of useable tread on my tires, so I'm judging whether or not to wait until I get down there to buy tires....because Lord knows it'll be a helluva lot cheaper to buy tires down there.
You shouldn't need snow tires if you'll just be driving around Clovis.
7) Is there emissions testing in New Mexico? If I register my car there, is there any visual inspections done at the DMV?
bentsrider, I have a ~1900sq ft. 4BR home worth of stuff to move, 2 vehicles, along with 2 dogs (chihuahuas), and my wife and a 2 year old. I doubt a small house, apartment, or motel will be in the cards. I will most likely be at Cannon at the very least for 2 years. So I need a fairly good sized living quarters.
crazytrain, thanks for breaking it all down for me.
As far as the octane, my car is tuned aggressively and is fairly modified. So to run at its full efficiency, it needs something better than 91 octane. 91 will work for daily driving, but I will have to tune it to run such a low octane.
From what I'm gathering from the various threads on here, the pets will pretty much force me to buy. I'm not looking to financially shackle myself to New Mexico, but if I want to live comfortably and affordably, it seems like I have no choice.
No 3G? What the hell? Wow. I may have to get a hold of Verizon and see how their coverage is.
If you find the local premium is still too pingy for your tastes, you can buy either octane boosters at Walmart (they do work) or even Xylene or Toluene from the hardware store (just keep an eye on that fuel filter).
CAVEAT EMPTOR! My neighbor here in Ruidoso drives a Lexus. I don't know what it was he put in his tank to "boost his mileage and octane rating" but it was something someone told him to do. He ended up having to leave his car where it broke down on the road and I didn't see it around for the next two weeks. All I recall from what he told me is that the additive fouled the fuel system and required repairs to the system, including renewal of his fuel pump.
CAVEAT EMPTOR! My neighbor here in Ruidoso drives a Lexus. I don't know what it was he put in his tank to "boost his mileage and octane rating" but it was something someone told him to do.
There's been a lot of misinformation of people advocating putting cheapo nail polish remover into their tanks (acetone + lead + who knows?) to somehow improve gas mileage. I would not at all be surprised if this was the case here.
The materials I quoted tend to be far more expensive ($15+ a gallon depending) and come from the same oil refineries and are used by the refineries themselves for the exact same purposes- boosting octane rating (I believe both are naturally in the 110-120 range). Also given that they're used primarily for paint work, they'll tend to be less prone to impurities, but I put the caveat on there anyway.
If the OP's vehicle requires this much tuning, the altitude alone is going to necessitate a fair amount of retuning anyway, and possibly a turbocharger.
Funny you say I need a turbocharger, because my car came stock with one...lol.
And the store-bought octane boosters only up your tank points. Like if you put 90 octane in your tank and add octane booster, you'll have more like 90.2 now. It's not substantial enough of an octane bump for modified vehicles. There's an octane booster out there called Torco, which has toluene in it. It will substantially up the octane of your fuel, but leaves nasty additives in your engine and exhaust after time, due to the toluene.
I'm sure I'll have to do quite a bit of tinkering, seeing as I've never lived anywhere with this high of elevation. Our race track out here is ~47ft. above sea level. LOL
It just sucks that once again, I'll be stationed somewhere where the fuel situation is sub-par.
...but leaves nasty additives in your engine and exhaust after time, due to the toluene.
There's already a fair amount of toluene in regular gasoline. "Natural" gasoline (the kind the Wright brothers used) has an octane of about 40. Oil refineries make high-octane additives (including xylene, toluene, etc.) from isomerization units in order to boost the octane rating.
Now if you're using an additive that's got crud mixed in with the toluene, that's one thing; but it's not the toluene's fault.
Funny you say I need a turbocharger, because my car came stock with one...lol..
Sounds like my daughter's Nissan Frontier 4x4 (supercharged 3.3L V6). It sits in the barn now dead and I think one of the reasons is that she mostly used 87 octane since it was new.
To date, emission testing in New Mexico is only required in Bernalillo County (Albuquerque).
BTW, I spent four years at Cannon AFB but since that was likely before you were born, my experiences are not very applicable to your own. I can tell you I've lived in much worse places than the Clovis area but tastes in climates, scenery, and people can vary a lot.
Good luck.
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