GX460 ECM Remapping for Regular Gas? (2 Viewers)

[re_guderian]

For a trip over the continental divide, I'd go with the expensive stuff. Albeit, that's all I ever use, but especially for the high altitude and probably steep grades, I'd feel better with 91 - 95 octane (whichever you can get).
And again, for myself, I just plain seem to get better MPG from the more expensive stuff, which is a little bit of return on the extra $$ in the tank. So in the end I'm not really paying that extra .20¢/gallon, maybe more like .10¢ or .15¢ per gallon.

$0.20???? Around here it's at least $0.40 more per gallon, most between $0.40-0.60 more, Chevron up to $0.90 more per gallon. That's 9-18% more expensive. You'd have to get 1-2 mpg CONSISTENTLY better to break even, assuming a baseline of 12 mpg on regular. I have found that difficult to achieve on a consistent basis.

 

[BigSwede]

Yeah, it's 50-60 cents more for premium here. If it was 20 cents I wouldn't even worry about it.

As a compromise (in my mind anyway) I have been running 89 octane lately.

 

[Acrad]

$0.36/gallon more @ Costco here north of Seattle for Premium

I give mine Premium

 

[Rednexus]

My GX made multiple trips over the Great Divide last summer, including getting up to over 11K feet, and did just fine on regular fuel. It actually got much better MPG out West than it does here. Less oxygen in the air = less fuel to get the 14.7:1 AFR and results in better fuel economy. Many tanks were 20+ mpg, but it dropped right back down to ~17 mpg by the time we were across the plains. However, less air unfortunately means less power.

My GX has also been getting a steady diet of 87 when towing our camper. Towing is much harder on a vehicle than crossing the great divide (IMO), since the total vehicle + trailer weight increases by something like 60%. If I ever tow the camper across the continental divide, I just might consider putting some premium in it.

 

[vegasfj40]

I live about an hour away from the Divide and cross it regularly driving to our place in Vegas. I definitely put premium in when towing our little Casita trailer.

 

[2023gx460]

2013 GX and I have used regular since day one. 20mpg highway and 15-16mpg city. I can detect absolutely no difference in power. I can detect absolutely 30-40 cents per gallon savings.

Can you post how many miles are on your GX now? Still using regular gas?

 

[jonshonda]

I only used premium on my GX470 when towing or when I knew I would burn most of it on the interstate loaded heavy. I had the GX470 for 120k miles (120k-240k) with zero fuel related issues. I am doing the same thing with the GX460. What I should do is datalog the LTFT of both 87 and 91 octane to see if there is a big difference. My GX470 LTFT was 3% w/ 220k miles on it, my 2017 is 8% with 60k miles.

 

[Rednexus]

I only used premium on my GX470 when towing or when I knew I would burn most of it on the interstate loaded heavy. I had the GX470 for 120k miles (120k-240k) with zero fuel related issues. I am doing the same thing with the GX460. What I should do is datalog the LTFT of both 87 and 91 octane to see if there is a big difference. My GX470 LTFT was 3% w/ 220k miles on it, my 2017 is 8% with 60k miles.

I've done that with my GX470 - zero difference in LTFTs or towing performance, and that was before getting it tune. I watch all my sensors/parameters fairly closely when towing via Torque Pro. My engine is not stock and usually runs around 10% positive - likely due to headers, CAI, exhaust, etc.

The tuned 87 performance - towing or unladen - is quite a bit better than pre-tune, even pre-tune when running 91. I wasted a few hundred bucks in 91 towing my camper to the Gulf and back (pre-tune) and won't be doing that again.

 

[BC11SVT]

With 11.8:1 compression lower octane fuel will knock even if it's not audible knock. This is where WOT worries me because it's an open loop event with a much more aggressive the partial throttle ignition map and knock there can really hurt an engine.

The 1UR-FE that's in the GX460, Tundra, Sequoia, etc. has 10.2:1 compression.

It's the direct injected 1UR-FSE (4.6) and 2UR-GSE (5.0) that have 11.8:1 compression.

Toyota only requires 87 octane in the Tundra and it's actually rated 9 HP more than that GX.
More timing advance is required a low RPM because cylinder pressures are lower, as cylinder pressures increase (peak cylinder pressure occurs at peak VE, which correlates with peak torque) timing thresholds are reduced.

Lower octane will absolutely hurt power most at wide open throttle

 

[Rednexus]

FWIW I'm still like the 87 tune in my 470. Exceptional performance at high altitude as well, running 85 up there. The tune has paid for itself in fuel savings and the rig rips with that and the other mods.

 

[GrizzlyClint]

FWIW I'm still like the 87 tune in my 470. Exceptional performance at high altitude as well, running 85 up there. The tune has paid for itself in fuel savings and the rig rips with that and the other mods.

My aggressive 89 tune kept the fuel economy about the same but I got a tiny bit of low end grunt off the line with the adaptive remap and a few ponies. Overall I'm happy with it.

 

[Rogue556]

This is another important factor that should be considered when determining using non premium fuel. It's not just the octane rating of the fuel. If you purchased your vehicle new or with relatively low miles and intend to keep it for a long period of time, then you may reconsider using the lower octane fuel.

Lake Speed Jr. has a relatively new video out on the subject that many may find interesting.



From the video:

"That premium fuel isn't just higher octane. It's that premium additive package that makes the difference."

Of course, I'm not saying it's the end of the world or anything if you decide to run 87 octane "regular" fuel, but it's not a bad idea to understand the other benefits running premium exclusively. It likely makes a more drastic difference in direct injection vehicles, but our GX's don't have that, thankfully. I bought my GX new and plan to keep it until the wheels fall off, so the increase cost of premium is worth it to me.

 

[GrizzlyClint]

This is another important factor that should be considered when determining using non premium fuel. It's not just the octane rating of the fuel. If you purchased your vehicle new or with relatively low miles and intend to keep it for a long period of time, then you may reconsider using the lower octane fuel.

Lake Speed Jr. has a relatively new video out on the subject that many may find interesting.



From the video:

"That premium fuel isn't just higher octane. It's that premium additive package that makes the difference."

Of course, I'm not saying it's the end of the world or anything if you decide to run 87 octane "regular" fuel, but it's not a bad idea to understand the other benefits running premium exclusively. It likely makes a more drastic difference in direct injection vehicles, but our GX's don't have that, thankfully. I bought my GX new and plan to keep it until the wheels fall off, so the increase cost of premium is worth it to me.

Something else to consider is some of us either live in or frequently drive in high altitudes 5,000ft+. I'd rather not run 93 in those circumstances which is why I went with an 89 tune since there is lower air pressure at higher altitudes which means lower compression needed. Or at least that's my understanding.

 

[Rednexus]

One way to get a good fuel additive package is to buy Top Tier fuel in 87. Then, add in a $4 bottle of injector cleaner at every oil change.

There are lots of Toyotas running around with the same engines with hundreds of thousands of miles on them. All on a diet of nothing but 87 octane fuel.

 

[GrizzlyClint]

One way to get a good fuel additive package is to buy Top Tier fuel in 87. Then, add in a $4 bottle of injector cleaner at every oil change.

There are lots of Toyotas running around with the same engines with hundreds of thousands of miles on them. All on a diet of nothing but 87 octane fuel.

I will carry an octane booster bottle sometimes for when we go on road trips down at lower elevations.

 

[Rogue556]

One way to get a good fuel additive package is to buy Top Tier fuel in 87. Then, add in a $4 bottle of injector cleaner at every oil change.

There are lots of Toyotas running around with the same engines with hundreds of thousands of miles on them. All on a diet of nothing but 87 octane fuel.

Yup, that's what I try to use. Unfortunately, there aren't as many top tier options around me as their used to be. QuikTrip used to have TopTier but covered their stickers on the pumps sometime around COVID due to shortages with the additives (supposedly). I haven’t checked to see if they ever went back. We have Phillips 66, which use a lot of additives and some locations are listed as TopTier, so that's what I use now, but it's not cheap.

I do run Redline Fuel System Cleaner through the tank every oil change, though.

 

[r2m]

Something else to consider is some of us either live in or frequently drive in high altitudes 5,000ft+. I'd rather not run 93 in those circumstances which is why I went with an 89 tune since there is lower air pressure at higher altitudes which means lower compression needed. Or at least that's my understanding.

Humm. I would have thought higher octane at higher altitudes would be better.

 

[Hiluxforever]

I haven't found 93 in Colorado, I regularly run 91 up to 10k feet. Pulls like a champ. Best vehicle i have ever had for hammering up grades.

 

[r2m]

I haven't found 93 in Colorado, I regularly run 91 up to 10k feet. Pulls like a champ. Best vehicle i have ever had for hammering up grades.

Seem like the octane doesn't reach 93 till you go over the continental divide (going east).

 

[Hiluxforever]

Seem like the octane doesn't reach 93 till you go over the continental divide (going east).

I ran in my turbo whenever i could. I can't stand the dissonance of a motor pulling timing. I am neurotic about stuff like that, unfortunately.