87 Octane in New Taco V6

I am in the market for a new Tacoma Prerunner D-Cab with the V6. I'm Looking for better MPG for my commute to my new job. My 03 Silverado 1500 gets around 15.5 MPG. If a new Taco can get around 20 MPG I can deal with that. I have read on a few websites that the new V6's require 91 Octane or higher. Here in DFW 91 Octane is 25-30 cents higher per gallon then regular. That extra cost would take a chunk out of any savings received from fuel economy. Does anybody out there use regular 87 Octane and what kind of MPG do you get? Does anybody know if using lower octane would be hard on the engine?

 

Look Here: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/773-fuel-economy.html

 

This is a constantly re-occuring question on this forum. the V6 will run fine with 87. I'll explain it how it was explained to me. cars with a compression ratio of 9:1 and under will run fine on 87. the V6 on the Taco has a 10:1 compression ratio. Basically the engine will run fine with 87, but since it is on the borderline with its compression, it may run a little more efficient with 89. I have run every kind of fuel in my truck (except racing) and have come to this conclusion.... i can tell a positive difference when i go from 87 to 89, but no noticible difference between 89 and 91 or 93. I personally think the engine is more efficient with 89 as opposed to 87, based on slightly better gas mileage. i use 89 exclusively now and get 18-20 mpg. I drive a combination of highway and city and use my AC most of the time. I dont drive like a bat out of hell but i dont drive like an old lady either, my driving style is moderate. I think the 89 is worth the extra 10cents per gallon. it ends up only being about $2 more per tank, but the premium is not worth the money. Also i have gotten better mileage after switching to full synthetic.

Based on the feedback i've have gotten from the site, you can expect between 17 - 21 mpg on the V6 depending on how you drive, your oil, the weather, the octane rating etc...

I would recomend the Taco. You should definately get better mileage, not to mention all the money you'll save in the long run by keeping your truck out of the shop

There are a few issues to watch out for when shopping though. Most Taco's work fine, but a few have some minor flaws. you can read over them in this thread....
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/1831-2nd-gen-models.html

hope this helps. if you have any more questions dont hesitate to ask, we're all happy to help out. Feel free to PM me but i recomend starting another trhead if you have anymore questions so you can utilize the more knowledgeable members and get their feed back. Good luck, hope to see you around the site

 

I use 87 all the time and I average 17.5-18MPG mostly in slow traffic and a little highway. I have used 89 but did not notice a difference on two tanks so I went back to 87. Just as a side note, I have the 6 speed tranny so if you get the auto you should have slightly better mileage. In theory my mileage should improve as the motor breaks in more, which maybe true seeing how my last tank got 19MPG and I'm now reaching the 5k mark.

 

ndcouch hit the nail on the head. 89 is best for the V6, but 87 will be fine if need be. 4 cylinders don't need anymore than 87.

TRDeity is correct as well. As the engine "breaks in" your mileage will increase. I started at 20 MPG in my 2.7L. Now (17,000 miles later), I am up to 24-25 MPG.

Just a word of warning - since gas prices are going up, many gas stations that have older tanks have 91+ octane that is sitting. Some of these tanks collect water. I put a tank of water saturated 91 octane in my Honda Accord and I got horrible performance and injection issues. It took several tanks and an additive bottle to get rid of the water. Just be careful and don't spend any more money than you need to.

 

I consistently get 20-22.5 with 91 and close to 20/21 with 89. When running 87 you will get a bit lower, at least I did. What I like about running the higher octane is that it doesn't shift around as much when I am using the cruse. Besides the better mileage...to me it shifts less and runs smoother.

 

Agree with ndcouch here....

I've experimented with both 87/89/91 octane. My experience has been that running 89 over 87 the mileage has improved 1-2 mpg,(that in itself pays for the 10 cents higher cost over 87) there's also less downshifting and slightly lower cruise rpm's. I've ran different brands of gas, drove the same routes to and from and consistently found this to be the case. However, I have found absolutely no improvement between running 91+ over 89. Therefore, based on the 10 to 1 compression ratio it appears logical that a 89 octane would outperform an 87. I average 20-21 mpg (60% highway/40 city)(2WD/ACCESS/4.0L). The only additional item I might mention is if you would plan on doing any towing.... I would probably upgrade to 91+ octane.

 

I as mentioned earlier I have the 6 speed manual and I'm wondering if this is why I didn't notice any difference between 87 and 89 in my truck.

 

The difference between the 6 speed and the automatic, as you probably already know, is that the automatic has a different gear ratio(overdrive) and does generally operate at a lower rpm than the manual, hence better gas mileage as advertised by Toyota. Somewhat contrary to popular belief that a manual gets better gas mileage that an automatic. I would still think based on the 10:1 compression ratio, you should still see an improvement in mpg with 89+ octane vs 87. Also, try different brands of gas, I've found locally this could have quite an impact on mpg.

 

Thanks everybody, I really appreciate the input! Does anybody know if Toyota typically offers more cash incentives or discounts on previous year models as the new year models come out. If so I might wait a month or so to buy my new Tacoma.

 

i have only used 87 in my new tacoma, so far i am getting 20 to 21 with every tank full and am at the 3500 mile mark. this has been highway and city combined, i am very happy with my mpg, expecially since it is the v6 double cab 4x4. If it gets better with more miles, then i am really smiling.

 

I wish I got better milage... I understand 4mile short trips 5 times a day is killing it. The price I pay for living on post and going home for lunch.
I did get around 18 on the highway aprox 70mph 900 mile trip to IN.
Now the Harley gets aprox 40mpg w/ slightly built motor, cams, bigger carb intake,exh and the regear for sprints from light to light when the cowboys and gals wanna rev their cars/trucks/ sports bikes. Just started 89-91, will see!

 

Hey everyone i have been enjoying reading all your messages and decided to join i read all i can about everything i buy and found you guys/gals when i heard about the octaine situation. I don't know what it is but i am so excited about getting my new 2010 truck but i have some questions. After doing the reasearch and driving the taco (i love that nick name) and the nissan frontier se crewcab i really like the taco better mostly becouse it is higher up and looks like a tougher truck. I just sold my 2008 dodge ram 1500 hd 4x4 quad cab and found out that i really need a truck and like i said i am so excited about getting the taco but not sure if i am getting to much. I have on order, suppose to come 03/29/2010 the charcoal prerunner double cab 4x2 with the offroad pac. I want the offroad pack becouse of the locking rearend (for a boat) the outside temp control and i like the white wall tires i made a deal @ $28000, out the door (6%tax in fla and $150 reg) IS THIS A GOOD DEAL? is this over kill? Should i get a non offroad pac put tires on it, a temp gauge and a trd sticker? I guess i am paying @ $26200. For the truck. Times are tight and i hate to spend that much money but i see used tacos almost as much and only @ $1000-$1500. Less with out the trd pac. Nissan wasnt as comfy a little faster but less gas mileage but $2000. Rebate brings it @ 21500 but alot less options. Sorry to go on but last thing is what about the recalls does taco have accelleration problems? Sorry so long thanks

 

you're gonna get around the same MPG

 

Check out Fuelly.com. I commute about 110 miles per day (but I carpool, so it's every other week) and have averaged 18.x MPG over the first 13,000 miles of my truck's life.

Going 70 I can expect to get about 18 mpg average, going 55 I can get above 22.