Regular to Premium

[034runner13]

I have just acquired a 2003 toyota 4runner and it has 116000 miles on the 4.0 v6 it is in very good condition and is running well. (was my aunts i have she gave all the service records) My question is i know the 4.0 can take regular but in the manual it says for best performance use premium. I would like to use I mixture of both. Would i be doing any damage to the engine by switching to premium after it had regular all its life or if i switch back and forth from either?

 

[CJ3Flyr]

Welcome! :worthless


You won't hurt anything other than your wallet. The T4R's engine computer is very slow to adapt, it may take 5 full tanks to have any change and even then maybe you won't notice much. The Toyo Prado is the Aussie GX470. They get a six cylinder option. This links talks about the 4.0L and premium fuel. http://www.lcool.org/technical/prado_high_octane_fuel.html

:cheers:

 

[034runner13]

sorry still new at looking around this site i should know better then making a first post with out pictures i added one to the original post

 

[CJ3Flyr]

sorry still new at looking around this site i should know better then making a first post with out pictures i added one to the original post

Looks good, I like the blue:bigok:

With 116k of gentle use and good maint it should give many more miles of reliable driving. Congrats!

 

[nc211]

The only time I have used premium fuel, is when cruising through the mountains at highway speeds. I do this to keep the car from having to downshift all the time. I've driven from Chicago to Raleigh three times in the 4runner, and each time I get into the Virginias, I fill up with the 93 octane, and easily notice a difference in the way the car handles the hills. Flat surfaces though, just 87 octane.

 

[Thai]

Would i be doing any damage to the engine by switching to premium after it had regular all its life or if i switch back and forth from either?

If you do decide to go premium-regular-premium-regular, then why not just use midgrade all the time?

 

[Summit]

85 for me

 

[eskimochaos]

I have found on my V8 that I get about 35 miles more per tank with premium. (1-2mpg) better. Makes premium actually "cheaper" to use for me. I'm a V-Power convert.

 

[blaniac22]

I have just acquired a 2003 toyota 4runner and it has 116000 miles on the 4.0 v6 it is in very good condition and is running well. (was my aunts i have she gave all the service records) My question is i know the 4.0 can take regular but in the manual it says for best performance use premium. I would like to use I mixture of both. Would i be doing any damage to the engine by switching to premium after it had regular all its life or if i switch back and forth from either?

Welcome to the boards - nice 4Runner!

This is off topic, but I couldn't help but notice where you're from. Flemington is one of my old stomping grounds. I lived in Whitehouse Station as a kid before moving to PA. I used to go to the Flemington Speedway every week. I know now it's a Lowes and Walmart or something like that. That's too bad, a lot of memories and history from there and the fair.

Anyway, welcome again. We now return to our regularly scheduled program.

 

[Mark86]

When my truck was brand new, I gave it strictly premium. Then gas prices increased to over $3 and I downgraded to 89. My truck runs the same on mid as it did on premium. My parents GX also gets the same treatment. I think these engines would run fine on 87 (although I am too scared to change yet).

 

[Jeffrey_VB]

I run mid-grade in my 4Runner all the time.

 

[nc211]

I have found on my V8 that I get about 35 miles more per tank with premium. (1-2mpg) better. Makes premium actually "cheaper" to use for me. I'm a V-Power convert.

I actually found the same thing, even when going through the mountain passes. On flat surfaces, loaded down, cruise control set at 80mph, my little read out averaged out to about 19.5 mpg. But when I put in the 93 to up and down the hills, still having the cruise control set at 80mph, the readout at the end of the run said 19.8...go figure. And, that's with some downshifts.

 

[034runner13]

Thankyou everything for the replys. So it seems that if i went to premium i could have a chance to get better mpg. I would like to try this. The only thing i am afraid of is. Will it cause harm to the internals of my engine since it is so used to running on regular and i switch it up to Premium? Should i gradually go into premium or am i over thinking this way to much?

 

[nc211]

You're over-thinking this WAY too much... :bonk: