12-17-2004, 04:38 PM
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#31
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Octane for one thing.. "Premium" here in Alberta, Canada is 91 and a new "premium" that is being pumped as well is 95 octane.
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12-17-2004, 04:56 PM
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#32
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Quote:
Octane for one thing.. "Premium" here in Alberta, Canada is 91
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Yeah, that was my point - that you really need to specify octane rating. Here is SoCal most stations pump 3 grades - 87, 89 and 91 but I can also get 100 octane (at a very premium price), other places in the country I have seen 85 octane. I use 87 octane in my 4runner.
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12-17-2004, 05:39 PM
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#33
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87, 89, 91, 95 - at the pumps here.
I use 91 octane at a nice price of 79.0cents CDN$ per Litre
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Black 2003 4Runner Limited V8 4WD
(Canadian Edition)
- TRD High Performace Air Filter
- TRD Cat-Back Exhaust
- 25% Front Tint / 15% Rear Tint
- Bridgestone Dueler Revo A/T
- Projector Foglights w/ 4300K HID
- Black JDM style Taillights
- 2006 Projector Headlights w/ 4300k HID LINK
- Custom Rear Fog Lights w/ Switch - LINK
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12-19-2004, 12:08 PM
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#34
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Premium, Super, High Test, etc. is usually referring to the highest octane fuel sold at your local gas station (91 to 94/95 US octane). Some stations have a middle octane fuel somewhere in the 88 to 90/91 range. Regular is usually 86/87 octane.
The ideal octane is the lowest octane without producing engine knock. The manufacture should know what's the best octane for their engines. The owner's manual should have the recommended octane. If I had to guess (which I would not), from the information I've read about the Toyota engines (9.something : 1 compression) I would think that to play it safe I would use at least the middle octane gas and keep an ear out for any knocking. Best and safest bet is to follow the manufactures recommendation. There is definitely no need for 100 octane fuel!
I have a motorcycle with 12.5 :1 compression and it runs best with 89/90 octane. The manufacture recommends 92 octane so I use that most of the time, but when I 'm going out to play I use the middle grade fuel. I must tell you that I do not guess at what is best. I have a power commander, a device that is integrated into the engine's fuel management system so I can reprogram the timing and fuel mix. I can manually adjust the air/fuel mix and timing for the engine at 500 rpm intervals and at different throttle positions, from idle to the rev limiter (12,800 rpm). To take the human factor out of the equation, You can link this system to an automated computerized dyno, using an O2 sensor in the exhaust. It runs the motorcycle through a 2 hour program to determine the exact settings for air/fuel/timing at every rpm and throttle position (for about $300). It even simulates a load on the engine like you actually driving. After this is done the settings are downloaded to the power commander and you end up with the exact fuel/timing map for your engine. The trick is to do all your modifications (cams degreed, head work, boring, stroking, turbo, changing to less restrictive air filter and exhaust, etc.) before you have this done. This takes the time consumption and guess work out of the achieving accurate settings.
Koz
Last edited by Koz; 12-19-2004 at 12:12 PM.
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01-19-2005, 07:50 PM
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#35
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Re: regular vs premium
Quote:
Originally posted by aj884runner
I drive an `88 4Runner with a sucked out 3.0 V6. When I first got the truck, in `93, I used only regular, then my friend, who drove an `88 Iroc-z, told me to try the premium. I laughed! Well, soon I tried it. The results...My sucked out V6 woke up a little. Using 94 octane compared to 87 increased power under hard accleration. I`ve since experimented a little and found that if you drive normally regular gas is fine, but if you drive like me, with the right foot on the floor, Premium fuel is great. This is especially true on performance engines, like my wifes `89 Cressida with a 3.0 inline six. I did however figure out that some gas is garbage. At some fill ups I found that my fuel mileage decreased considerably. I concluded that the additives make a difference. Ethonal is good way to keep water out of your tank, helps with power and keeps the injectors clean. My 4Runner now has almost 400,000km (245,000 miles) on it with the original injectors and it still runs smooth. The higher octane does increase the mileage a little, but not enough to justify the price. I still fill up with premium. I get my gas at the same name, but I mix up where I fill it. This I think is the best thing to do.
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Ditto here in my '86 4-cyl. If I use 87, I can't push the engine above 65mph on the interstate in Phoenix w/o major pinging. OTOH, the octane is altitude dependent in that if you're sufficiently high, you can use lower octane. I tried 87 in Flagstaff (7000') and couldn't really tell the difference since that's about the altitude when power majorly drops off due to lack of oxygen. And w/ the 4 cyl, you need every last bit of power you can muster. I get 24.5mpg driving around town on chevron 91 (mostly 35-50mph). Ethanol will probably drag your fuel economy down since there's less energy contained in it.
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03-08-2005, 01:03 PM
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#36
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So, why does Toyota recommend 91 or higher for the 2003 V6? I heard it was b/c of the aluminum block engine. Anyone here had problems with ping with the regular fuel?
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03-13-2005, 10:34 PM
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#37
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Quote:
Originally posted by Koz
The ideal octane is the lowest octane without producing engine knock. The manufacture should know what's the best octane for their engines. The owner's manual should have the recommended octane. If I had to guess (which I would not), from the information I've read about the Toyota engines (9.something : 1 compression) I would think that to play it safe I would use at least the middle octane gas and keep an ear out for any knocking. Best and safest bet is to follow the manufactures recommendation. There is definitely no need for 100 octane fuel!
Koz [/B]
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Koz, I totally agree but only have one question. With the knock sensors that are in current engines, would we even be able to tell if the engine was knocking? Of course the timing would compensate so is there another way to tell if the engine's performance is lacking due to insufficient octane?
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03-14-2005, 10:35 AM
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#38
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Quote:
Originally posted by J_W_Speed
Koz, I totally agree but only have one question. With the knock sensors that are in current engines, would we even be able to tell if the engine was knocking? Of course the timing would compensate so is there another way to tell if the engine's performance is lacking due to insufficient octane?
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Very good question; you would probably not know the octane is too low because of the way the system adjusts to compensate, unless the system reached its adjustment limit. The only way to know for sure is to monitor the system in real-time to see what the timing is doing.
I use premium fuel (Amoco, which is clearly better) because I have a problem with my right foot; for some odd reason my right foot wants to push the pedal through the floor, all the time.
Koz
Last edited by Koz; 03-14-2005 at 10:39 AM.
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04-25-2005, 08:15 PM
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#39
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Just drive my 03 V8 from Vista, CA to Phoenix and back (850 miles) in one day, on business and did it one way on regular and the other on premium....no difference in the mountains or anywhere else, same mileage, same performance, so like in the past it's going to be regular. Premium is a wast of money.
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04-26-2005, 07:50 AM
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#40
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Quote:
Originally posted by Larry
Just drive my 03 V8 from Vista, CA to Phoenix and back (850 miles) in one day, on business and did it one way on regular and the other on premium....no difference in the mountains or anywhere else, same mileage, same performance, so like in the past it's going to be regular. Premium is a wast of money.
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Larry, thanks for the input! Good to know.
CV
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05-31-2005, 09:36 AM
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#41
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I use 87 octane in the 4runner, but based on this thread I should also be able to use 87 octane in the wifes 350Z, even though it requires 91 octane. All that would happen with the Z is that the performance would decline a little and she drives it like a little old lady so I doubt she would notice.
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06-01-2005, 12:55 PM
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#42
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INTERESTING discussion! I'm glad I found this forum. Hmmm...I should stay with Premium then if it's going to extend the life of the 4R's engine.
A few months ago, I almost loaded the tank with Diesel. I was such in a hurry, I didn't bother checking the pump. When I turned around to select the petrol type, I noticed the pump didn't have one....and then I saw the word "DIESEL".
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06-01-2005, 09:09 PM
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#43
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Quote:
Originally posted by limited4wdman
Hmmm...I should stay with Premium then if it's going to extend the life of the 4R's engine.
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Really where did you read that? Trust me it's not true.
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06-23-2005, 01:20 PM
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#44
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No offense dude but a motor out of an 88 cresida doesnt qualify as a high performance engine anymore.
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07-16-2005, 08:07 AM
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#45
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Premium vs. Regular
Hey to all, this was put to bed last night on 20/20, report on 10 biggest myths. basically the report was unless it "specifically" states premium required that you/we can run regular in 90% of today cars. just thought I'd throw that out there. CSM-H
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