Premium Fuel (1 Viewer)

[WVMuddin]

I've used all three octanes in my FJC, and the only difference I've noticed is the how quick the peddle is to respond with the premium over the mid-grade or regular.

So if you want that extra get-up-and-go put in the premium, but if not run the regular or mid-grade. I'm no engineer so I don't know what it will do over the life of the engine, but it should be fine to run a lesser grade.

 

[LandCruisers4Life]

Well the point really is, that we CAN run regular unleaded, but the beast likes to drink premium (who wouldn't prefer a Guinness over a Bud Light?).

Off topic but relevent (cost) is why are Americans putting up with the gas prices? Can't everyone in the country get together a protest to bring fuel costs down to a reasonable level again? Sorry, but even 2 bucks a gallon is ridiculous considering it was about $1.23 / gal before all this crap in the middle east started. As well, I don't see a REAL reason for the increase. Most of our oil comes from our own GOM, not the middle east (middle east is just supplemental).

 

[1911]

Most of our oil comes from our own GOM, not the middle east (middle east is just supplemental).

Not true; the majority (63%) of all the crude oil we consume every day is imported, and has been for a long time.

http://www.api.org/statistics/

 

[arbetrader]

I work for toyota, and during our product training on the 4runner and tacoma 4.0 v6 (I'm assuming also for the FJ), the advertised power rating is only achieved with premium fuel. We were advised that you will not get the advertised power rating (back then it was 245bhp, before the new ratings were released) if you used less than premium fuel.

Just a heads up on what the insiders had to say.

 

[spaldam]

. . .
Off topic but relevent (cost) is why are Americans putting up with the gas prices? Can't everyone in the country get together a protest to bring fuel costs down to a reasonable level again? Sorry, but even 2 bucks a gallon is ridiculous considering it was about $1.23 / gal before all this **** in the middle east started. As well, I don't see a REAL reason for the increase. Most of our oil comes from our own GOM, not the middle east (middle east is just supplemental).

If you adjust for inflation, we still have cheaper gas today at $3/gal then they did in the 70's and 80's when the prices spiked. Personally I’m surprised our gas isn’t closer to $3.50 or $4/gal if you consider the declining value of the dollar on the international market.

I actually think the higher prices are a good thing because it’s forcing us to finally deal with the downside to not being an energy independent nation. Most European countries have high taxes that put their gas up to an equivalent of $5/gal, so we really aren’t that bad off and could be in a much worse situation.

As for octane ratings: higher octane means it doesn’t detonate as easily because it won’t ignite until it hits a hotter temperature. That hotter burning temperature means more energy is released with a more complete and clean burn, leaving behind less emissions and other junk to clock up your engine and exhaust. In the long run it will save a lot of ware and tare on your exhaust valves. As for the intake valves, they need detergents to keep them clean, and as the Chevron guy said, the octane rating is higher in premium because they put more additives in it, which also means more detergents. And yes, under the exact same driving conditions, the higher octane will give better gas mileage because of the hotter burn. More heat means more energy is transferred to the engine and converted to mechanical motion.

The only reason not to use a higher octane fuel is if your engine wasn’t designed well enough to use the higher octane so as to worsen your performance. That’s also one reason why you can’t put E85 into just any engine: its octane rating is around 105. Plus it will eat away your aluminum and rubber fuel system parts.

 

[pkfj]

hey i was just wondering, does anyone know (like with some reasonable evidence) just how neccisary the high octain "requirement" is? i know that using lower grade fuel will decrease my performance, but i'm curious as to weather or not it would be harmful to use regular unleaded. Some places super unleaded isint readily available. also if theres nothing to sacrifice but a few HP i think its more cost effective to use regular, its not like the FJ is underpowered.

I believe the engineers recomend high octain, and the marketing department wants to ensure the FJ reaches the largest market, so they say 87 is O.K...Personally, I'll follow the recomendations of the engineers.