Hmmm never knew that... does everyone else run premium? I tried it at one point and noticed no difference. Been running on regular for a looooong time....
Supercharged 1998
- Thread starter hidesertfj40
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The sticker on the gas door of my '99 LX calls for premium. Is this not the case across all 100/470 series? If not, what changed? (Besides VVTi)
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- #23
Thanks everyone. I will be looking at it today here in California. I will post whether I bought it and the price I paid.
Ya mine calls for premium too, but the PO never used it and neither have I. My buddy has a 2000, in his family since new, and they've never used premium either. Not to mention, I don't think the Tundra/Sequoia/4Runner calls for premium (someone correct me if that's not the case) and they've got the same engine....
Crazy! DO you run mid-grade? Or regular unleaded?
Just plain old regular here.
Toyota changed the programming and timing slightly, I believe in 2000, and the requirement went back to regular. Search, only a couple dozen threads on "do I have to run premium?", "am I going to kill my truck running regular?", etc.
Ya I remember reading those and thinking that regular was fine when I got the truck, afterall it was fine for the past 14 years with the PO. I'm not going to change anything, was just surprised to see your comment about premium.
I ran an experiment on the reg vs premium gas issue. I ran for about 6 months on premium, then regular, then premium again. I got significantly worse mileage running regular gas, and it improved again when I switched back to premium. The regular gas still had a cheaper net cost because I was saving more money than I was losing MPGs. In the long run though, running regular instead of premium may wear other internal components as the engine knocks slightly more often.
If I wasn't tracking my mileage religiously the difference would not have been noticeable. It was around 10% or something. The premium cost difference was slightly more.
After proving pretty conclusively to myself that running regular hurt my MPG (and likely overall power as well) I'm convinced that at least MY99 LCs should run Premium. The few dollars you save buying regular could be easily offset if there's even a small negative effect anywhere else that I didn't notice during my trials. Taken to an extreme, increased knocking can cause head gaskets to blow prematurely, etc....
If I wasn't tracking my mileage religiously the difference would not have been noticeable. It was around 10% or something. The premium cost difference was slightly more.
After proving pretty conclusively to myself that running regular hurt my MPG (and likely overall power as well) I'm convinced that at least MY99 LCs should run Premium. The few dollars you save buying regular could be easily offset if there's even a small negative effect anywhere else that I didn't notice during my trials. Taken to an extreme, increased knocking can cause head gaskets to blow prematurely, etc....
Interesting, thanks for sharing that.
Around here, gas stations have started pricing mid-grade $0.20 over regular unleaded, and then premium $0.20 over mid-grade. WTF? It used to be a $0.10 delta. I guess when gas prices fall, greed must still prevail...
If it's Toyota's TRD installed from the factory then it should have the piggyback ECU and all the necessary tuning adjustments.
The supercharger replaces the intake plenum and the supercharger kit weighs more than the parts that it replaces. I'm not sure by how much. It may be relatively minor.
Having driven my fair share of 80 series I'd expect the supercharger to be an amazing addition to the 80. Even the later model years with the updated engine were just too slow. The 100 series is a couple seconds faster than an 80 series to 60 mph and through the 1/4 mile. More power is always a good thing in my book, but I guess it depends on your intended use of the Cruiser. I use it to get way out in the middle of nowhere. My key conern isn't getting there faster, but instead making sure I get there and back.
The supercharger is also a constant drag on the engine, similar to a turbo. There's a hit in MPG, but it may not be too noticeable unless you're tracking it closely.
As said earlier, the 1998 and 1999 models are supposed to run premium all the time regardless.
All this being said... One thing I really like about the supercharger is that it looks nice in the engine bay. You can ditch the cheesy factory plastic and get that nice black TRD logo on the engine.
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- #34
Ok. I just got home. I paid 10,500.00 for her. She is very, very pristine. The po is a retired robotics engineer and maintained her extensively. She also has the rear locker. I drove six hours pretty much nonstop at 70-80+mph. No problems whatsoever. Thanks guys for your help on this one.
Next step is buying an ome lift from orange45 and putting some km2's on her. Will post to pics when done. Happy new year brothers!
Next step is buying an ome lift from orange45 and putting some km2's on her. Will post to pics when done. Happy new year brothers!
Pictures!!!
Sent from my iPhone
2005 Lexus LX470
Sent from my iPhone
2005 Lexus LX470
I notice better power in my 99 on premium as well. Toyota engineers knew what they were doing. I'm happy to feed her what she needs to be the best rig she can be and last me as long as possible.
Here's a little insider tidbit on premium versus regular. Toyota certified the land cruiser with premium, and had to recommend it per the EPA.
Running regular won't hurt anything except a little performance loss... Maybe fuel economy depending on wear and condition of your spark plugs and resistance of the coils... And carbon build up.
Running regular won't hurt anything except a little performance loss... Maybe fuel economy depending on wear and condition of your spark plugs and resistance of the coils... And carbon build up.
Very cool!!! You'll have to post up some pics and show her off. Sounds like you got a good deal.
Sent from my XT1060
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- #40
Here is one of of the supercharger and a quick shot when I got home doing inspections...more pics tomorrow.
