Is everyone running 87 Octane in 2010 4Runner?

[SeattleMike]

I filled up for my first time yesterday and put 89 based on the owners manual stating 87 or greater (also stated 91 was used in all Toyota testing) which leads me to believe if you want the performance Toyota advertises, 91 is the way to go.

To each their own.........

What page of the manual is that on?

 

[san~man]

Unless you're experiencing knock or ping, or unless you're advancing timing via a programmer, you don't need higher octane.

 

[Snowfox]

What page of the manual is that on?

If I remember it correctly is Page 413

 

[kmiller8821]

Using regular 87 here...

 

[westwind77]

Running 93 here

I'm still running 93 ('free' company gas) - I can drive somewhat aggresive and get 16 - 17 around town and saw almost 23 highway on a 5 hours road trip to the mountains in NY a couple months ago (avg speed around 75).

Not sure if 87 would do the same.

Lets get 6 4R's together - drain their tanks, fill 3 with 87 and 3 with 93, all caravan together on a road trip & compare results

 

[prestone818]

been using 85. no issues and 475ish per tank with a mix of city/hwy/mtn driving

 

[teepee73]

Geez, I use 85 as well. I live in the mountains of utah and average just below 23 mpg city/highway combined!!! My last Honda didn't get the advertised mpg, my new SR5 gets better than advertized mpg (as long as I don't gun it too much)

 

[Fuzzylogic]

I have over 6k miles on mine all with 87 octane no issues. I am able to get 22MPG highway driving gingerly too.

Same here. No worries...87 is all you need. If you're paying for premium...it's a waste of money.

 

[3rdToyota1st4R]

Ive owned three Toyota's (06 Taco, 08 Tundra and 10 4R) and Ive used premium in all three with better results. I can feel a more smoother running engine and better miles per gallon. Currently on my 4R I regularly get 21-22 on the highway and 16-17 city. I purchased the 4R used with roughly 3k miles on it and have used premium ever since. The mpg's have risen steadily over the following 8k miles to level off around 22mpg.

Likewise with my 08 Tundra. My Tundra was a V8 Off Road Edition with Magnaflow Exhaust, Volant CAI, ProComp 6" lift/wheels and tires. Originally I was using regular gas because I knew this beast was going to cost me quite a bit. But on my long drives to Atlanta from North Carolina Id give her premium. This turned into me using premium every time. I was seeing city mpg's of 12 and highway mpg's of 18. Im no expert and this was my first V8, but I was pleased with the results.

 

[JB.]

Ive owned three Toyota's (06 Taco, 08 Tundra and 10 4R) and Ive used premium in all three with better results.

Yeah, blanket statements about premium being a waste seem pretty outdated in a world where ECMs have the potential to adjust timing in response to fuel octane.

 

[san~man]

Yeah, blanket statements about premium being a waste seem pretty outdated in a world where ECMs have the potential to adjust timing in response to fuel octane.

That's true to an extent as far as re****ing timing (in hot weather, to prevent knock, etc), but the $25K question is whether they advance the timing with higher octane?

I would say "no."

 

[SeattleMike]

That's true to an extent as far as re****ing timing (in hot weather, to prevent knock, etc), but the $25K question is whether they advance the timing with higher octane?

I would say "no."

You would be wrong. The ECM advances or re****s ignition as needed. Otherwise it would not be able to adjust for changing atmospheric conditions and would get wildly different mileage during a North Dakota winter than during a Florida summer or an Arizona spring. While there are limits to how much the ignition timing can be advanced, it HAS to be able to adjust in order to meet emissions requirements. The Dual VVT-i only adds to the ECM's ability to make adjustments for air pressure, humidity, octane rating, air flow, throttle position, speed, etc.

 

[SeattleMike]

Yeah, blanket statements about premium being a waste seem pretty outdated in a world where ECMs have the potential to adjust timing in response to fuel octane.

Except that I've never put anything higher than 87 Octane in mi Trail and I get the same mileage that he claims to get, 16-17 in the city and 21-22 on the highway. An ECM's job is to get the most complete combustion possible, based on a number of factors... octane is only one.

Chew on this... Premium fuel seems pretty outdated when ECM's have the ability to prevent pinging or knocking no matter what the octane level of the fuel it's being fed. The whole point of higher octane levels was to prevent pre-ignition in higher compression engines. Since the ECM can prevent that, and the additives are the same across the grades (say Shell 87 vs Shell 91), why bother spending more money for premium?

 

[pokwa]

Higher octane has a higher flashpoint and is gennerally used to avoid detonation, which can do harm to your engine. Cars with aggressive timing and high compression pistons often require the higher octane. Unless you experience pinging / knocking / detonation there is no reason to introduce higher octane than the 87 recommended by Toyota. I've experienced no signs of detonation using 87 octane.

When i am driving with D mode and eco light on,I have some knocking sound from the engine especially Air conditioner is turned on and up hill driving.But no knocking sound with S mode.I am using 87 since from the first day of purchase.??

 

[bradj]

Except that I've never put anything higher than 87 Octane in mi Trail and I get the same mileage that he claims to get, 16-17 in the city and 21-22 on the highway. An ECM's job is to get the most complete combustion possible, based on a number of factors... octane is only one.

Chew on this... Premium fuel seems pretty outdated when ECM's have the ability to prevent pinging or knocking no matter what the octane level of the fuel it's being fed. The whole point of higher octane levels was to prevent pre-ignition in higher compression engines. Since the ECM can prevent that, and the additives are the same across the grades (say Shell 87 vs Shell 91), why bother spending more money for premium?

Premium fuel is needed for certain high compression engines that no matter how well timed could detonate low octane fuels under certain conditions prior to spark.

You could advance or re**** the spark as needed in a high compression engine while using low octane gas to prevent knock but you wouldn't be utilizing all of the available enegry possible during combustion and power would suffer.


lol the auto censor on ret ard

 

[Fuzzylogic]

Yeah, blanket statements about premium being a waste seem pretty outdated in a world where ECMs have the potential to adjust timing in response to fuel octane.

OK...let me relay information passed to me by my stepfather who happens to own a rather large fleet (over 400) of taxi cabs, limos and shuttle vans.

They have done extensive testing on fuels. If the engine is rated for 87 octane, there is no...zero...nada benefit in using higher octane, unless you have modified the engine. There is no horsepower gain, no mileage increase and no additional engine cleanliness from burning higher octane fuel.

On the subject of oil. If you follow the recommended oil change interval, unless the engine is specially engineered to run synthetic oil, regular oil is just fine.

This company actually tests engines and other components for the car manufacturers. They routinely run engines up to 500,000 miles. They run 87 octane gas and use non-synthetic oil.

My company owns about 100 vehicles (light, medium and heavy duty trucks). We do the same thing. Regular gas and oil. The fleet representative from the manufacturer agree. There is no reason to pay extra for higher octane unless the engine requires it or has been modified. The same goes for synthetic oil (though synthetic will last longer as a general rule).

Some have said they are getting better mileage with higher octane. I have not seen anyone quote mileage any better than I'm getting...and mine isn't broken in yet.

 

[SeattleMike]

Premium fuel is needed for certain high compression engines that no matter how well timed could detonate low octane fuels under certain conditions prior to spark.

You could advance or re**** the spark as needed in a high compression engine while using low octane gas to prevent knock but you wouldn't be utilizing all of the available enegry possible during combustion and power would suffer.


lol the auto censor on ret ard

Sure, at the high-end of the spectrum like a Ferrari or say a modified street engine with an aftermarket head. But we're talking a bone stock 4Runner, not an exotic 12 cylinder sports car.

 

[san~man]

2* of ad advance on my old mustang necessitated the use of premium fuel or it would ping like mad. I'm no engineer, nor do I know much about the vvti motor, but I doubt it comes close to advancing ignition anywhere near that amount.

We can debate this all year, but I stand by my previous statement: unless I experience ping or knock, it's 87octane for me.

 

[Fuzzylogic]

2* of ad advance on my old mustang necessitated the use of premium fuel or it would ping like mad. I'm no engineer, nor do I know much about the vvti motor, but I doubt it comes close to advancing ignition anywhere near that amount.

We can debate this all year, but I stand by my previous statement: unless I experience ping or knock, it's 87octane for me.

On your Mustang, the knock occurred because the gas was a burning too quickly with the timing advanced. Higher octane gas burns more slowly. So, when you advanced the timing, the higher octane gas matched your spark vs. Valve actuation. You probably got some quicker throttle response. But, if you didn't have any mods, you didn't gain any horsepower (at least not enough to make a huge difference at high rpm.

Some new engines have variable valve timing (like ours) and of course the ECMs can make adjustments to accommodate higher octane gas.

But, there is no reason to. I've never used anything other than 87 in any of my trucks or SUVs. I've put about 100k miles on each of my last trucks (Titan, Expedition, Suburban), pulled large boats (now just a flats boat with my T4R), and have never had a problem.

 

[bradj]

Sure, at the high-end of the spectrum like a Ferrari or say a modified street engine with an aftermarket head. But we're talking a bone stock 4Runner, not an exotic 12 cylinder sports car.

Oh I agree I would never waste the money for premium in my 4r but I do put it in my G35 because Infinti designed the engine with that type of fuel required.

I was just stating why cars that need premium should get premium and cars that don't need it shouldn't get it.

You said that premium gas was outdated and thats not true.