What type of gas?

[TRDCal]

We should not be burning our food. My parents are soybean and corn farmers and even they disagree with the whole ethanol use.

Unfortunately we don't have a choice, the world will eventually run out of fossil fuels so we need to find an alternative. Also, farmers benefit from the use of ethanol, it provides more markets to sell their corn plus as long as the demand is high, the prices will remain high as well. It's a win win especially for the farmers.

 

[got556]

Unfortunately we don't have a choice, the world will eventually run out of fossil fuels so we need to find an alternative. Also, farmers benefit from the use of ethanol, it provides more markets to sell their corn plus as long as the demand is high, the prices will remain high as well. It's a win win especially for the farmers.

Yes the prices on corn are the reasons my parents almost strictly plant and harvest corn these days...they still have to make a living. But when it comes down to it, they don't agree with it.

I agree we need some alternatives. Just wish we could get more diesel vehicles here in the US.

 

[rbpower]

Interesting thread. The real question is if you get better MPG with the premium fuels than without? Or will the lower grade gasses cause damage to the vehicle over time? Does anyone have any stats for that?

 

[TRDCal]

Interesting thread. The real question is if you get better MPG with the premium fuels than without? Or will the lower grade gasses cause damage to the vehicle over time? Does anyone have any stats for that?

The Audi salesman I bought my 4runner off of insisted premium fuel increases mpg and as part of the sale I got a full tank of gas and he put premium in. I'm not convinced but I'm going to check my local premium prices and if its only 5 more dollar per fill up then I might try a couple tanks. 87 won't do any damage tho.

 

[wadle5]

Yes my mpg are better with premium. I know for a fact as I track every tank. I consistently get higher mpg with premium compared to super unleaded. In regards to ethanol, I will never put that gunk in my vehicle.

 

[tcpoob]

in theory, higher # gas won't increase mpg unless your engine calls for it. so good for you. the book says that # is a measure of resistance to premature detonation. some engines are designed to that so they perform optimal with higher # gas.

does any of the 4th gen trims (v6 and v8) call for #91 or #93?

 

[JDSupreme]

Ive been running 89 lately but im going to switch to 91 because i didn't notice much of a difference going to 89, little smoother than 87 (could be in my head tho lol) but no mpg increase that ive noticed.

Also, what do you guys run as far as brands? I have always been under the impression that Chevron was the best, followed by Shell, then BP & Exxon, then everything else. I dont have any chevron stations around here but going between bp, shell and exxon i think exxon runs the best

 

[ebg18t]

I tried a few tanks of 93 and a few 87. MPG was about the same. Around town I just use 87, if I am loaded or towing I use 93. I don't find the toyota very sensitive to brand quality. I noticed no difference between shell and SAMs club 87 oct. My other car runs notably different on SAMs club gas vs Shell. Thus I only run shell in it.

 

[MikeInNH]

Hi-Octane gas is just that...higher Octane. It's sole purpose is to prevent the engine from knocking...NOTHING MORE.

If your vehicle is designed to run on lower octane then running at a higher octane is waste of time. If you do see an increase in gas it's because somethings wrong with your vehicle.

Using a lower octane rating then what your vehicle is rated for can cause the engine to knock. Modern vehicles are equipped with knock sensors. This sensor will sense that the engine is knocking and will re**** the timing....thus giving you worse performance and gas mileage.

But if your vehicle is designed to run at 87 octane then you should NOT be getting better gas mileage. If so..then take it to a mechanic to determine why.

The premium and mid-grade levels is a marketing gimmick to convince people that by buying the higher octane gas they are actually getting a HIGHER QUALITY gas...and they're not...But the marketing gimmick is working GREAT.

 

[Mtn.Runner]

Hi-Octane gas is just that...higher Octane. It's sole purpose is to prevent the engine from knocking...NOTHING MORE.

If your vehicle is designed to run on lower octane then running at a higher octane is waste of time. If you do see an increase in gas it's because somethings wrong with your vehicle.

Using a lower octane rating then what your vehicle is rated for can cause the engine to knock. Modern vehicles are equipped with knock sensors. This sensor will sense that the engine is knocking and will re**** the timing....thus giving you worse performance and gas mileage.

But if your vehicle is designed to run at 87 octane then you should NOT be getting better gas mileage. If so..then take it to a mechanic to determine why.

The premium and mid-grade levels is a marketing gimmick to convince people that by buying the higher octane gas they are actually getting a HIGHER QUALITY gas...and they're not...But the marketing gimmick is working GREAT.

So let me get this right. I went from 17 to 20 mpgs on my V6 when i switched from 87 to 91, unfortunatly all ethanol since im in CO. I did add an URD TCAI ( which everyone knows is a huge mpg gimmick and really adds nothing but sound) but no MAF cal yet so I know that's doing nothing for my mpgs. My point is that you think I should take my rig to toyota and tell them I'm getting better mpgs because there's something wrong with it and ask them to fix this? I don't understand your logic but I may just be an *******.

 

[SkylineGTRracer]

93 and VP 109 race gas for me.

 

[Mtn.Runner]

93 and VP 109 race gas for me.

How's it run on that 109? Serious performance gains, or a lot of money for barley noticeable gains. Mpgs?

 

[SkylineGTRracer]

Runs good. I have not modified the timing using race gas yet. Now when I install my APR fuel rail then I will run it more often at the track like MSRH and/or auto x. When I turbocharge my truck I will run race gas alot more then running E85. As far as MPG's I'm not the one to ask, I avg 22 - 23 mpg ever since I got rid of the factory y pipe on trips between san antonio and houston. That mod along with the headers really open the truck up and if you keep your foot outta it will net you a decent mpg gain.

 

[MikeInNH]

My point is that you think I should take my rig to toyota and tell them I'm getting better mpgs because there's something wrong with it and ask them to fix this?

If your vehicle is designed to run at 87 octane..then there should be no reason what-so-ever that you should get better gas mileage using 91 octane. There's not a automotive engineer who'll say differently. If there is please show me this person. It's NOT premium gas...it's just higher octane. Octane has NOTHING to do with better performance or gas mileage....it's just to prevent ignition knock.

The ONLY way it could have an effect is if when you use 87 octane the engine knocks. The knock sensor kicks in and backs off the timing. This will give you worse performance worse gas mileage. But that shouldn't happen unless somethings wrong with your vehicle. Maybe a plugged EGR valve. A malfunctioning EGR valve can cause the engine to knock. By using a higher octane gas will decrease the knocking...thus better gas mileage. BUT if your engine is running properly then it should NOT knock with the 87 octane gas and there'll be ZERO difference performance between 87 octane and 91 octane.

 

[The LandShark]

In my 2003 owners manual it says it will run on 87 but for top performance to run 91 or higher octane fuel. I think when 87 is put in and as soon as the knock sensor hears a knock it rolls back ignition timing and I believe it changes the fuel injection timing. I ran my truck down to vapors and unhooked the battery overnight to reset the ECM and hand recorded the miles gotten from a dozen tanks or so of 87 and then did the same dozen tanks after unhooking the battery overnight with 93 and I did get a few more miles per tank feeding it 93 octane. It was only a small difference but to me it says that the motor was able to keep the timing advanced and use the better fuel maps to get a bit more out.

I guess I'm not in a spot where an extra $4-5 per tank is going to kill me financially but the notes are in the owners manual. The truck also feels like it has much better midrange power as well when drinking the good stuff.

Your right that octane does nothing for making power on it's own but when an engine is running higher compression or is pressurized then you want the higher octane to keep detonation from happening. Thats really hard on the ring lands of the pistons. The 4.0 is a higher compression engine that does not have direct injection, boy would it be an ass kicker if it did, so I can see why Toyota would say that for top performance to run 91 or higher octane fuel. Maybe with the dual VVT-i engines they can use 87 to get that higher horsepower with the ability to play with the cams and valve lift. I don't know about the new ones and, frankly don't care, my truck is paid for and it will be around for quite some time. Drinking 93 octane the whole time as well, a few extra bucks ain't killing me.

This is an argument that will go on and on forever, there should just be one grade of gas, 93-100, and all engines tuned to that.

 

[The LandShark]

My "tests" were done running my usual routes to work and back and I generally don't speed so I can get somewhat decent mpg's and I got tired of going to court dates to fight speeding tickets to get turned into non-moving violations so my insurance would not go up. I only horse around here and there now a days.

 

[MikeInNH]

Your right that octane does nothing for making power on it's own but when an engine is running higher compression or is pressurized then you want the higher octane to keep detonation from happening.

I agree 100% with that. It's right in line with what I said. My wifes Lexus has the same statement in the owners manual. It CAN run on 87 octane...but it's best to run on 91 octane. Which means...IT'S designed to run on 91 octane..you can run it at 87 octane but under certain conditions the knock sensor will kick in and re**** the timing for less performance and lower mpg.

But there are MANY MANY cars on the road the are designed to run at 87 octane...and won't knock one bit at 87 octane. Using anything higher is a waste of money.

The other thing you have to worry about is if the knock sensor fails. I've torn down an engine that was destroyed by severe knocking. It was completely destroyed.

 

[cleger]

Here in Alabama regular gas is 3.51 a gal and premium is 3.91 a gal
So 3.91-3.51 is .40 cents a gal x 25 gals roughly. That's 10$!! And when your already putting 78$ worth of cheap grade gas makin it 86$ almost kills me especially when I'm just going to be filling up in another 4-5 days. And what makes it worse is I just got my 4Runner after driving a Honda civic for 2 years only putting 40$ in it really hurts

 

[ebg18t]

Here in Alabama regular gas is 3.51 a gal and premium is 3.91 a gal
So 3.91-3.51 is .40 cents a gal x 25 gals roughly. That's 10$!! And when your already putting 78$ worth of cheap grade gas makin it 86$ almost kills me especially when I'm just going to be filling up in another 4-5 days. And what makes it worse is I just got my 4Runner after driving a Honda civic for 2 years only putting 40$ in it really hurts

Oh I hear yeah.

91 octane w/ ethanol (E-10) at the pump is $3.93/gal

91 octane ethanol free at the marina is $5.49/gal

Has me considering buying ethanol treatment for the boat to save $$, especially since we only get ~3mpg.

 

[cleger]

Oh I hear yeah.

91 octane w/ ethanol (E-10) at the pump is $3.93/gal

91 octane ethanol free at the marina is $5.49/gal

Has me considering buying ethanol treatment for the boat to save $$, especially since we only get ~3mpg.

Yeah we have a gas station here that sells ethanol free and it's like 6 something a gallon cause its from a small engines mechanic. (Lawn mower shop). Not worth it.