Premium fuel in non S/C Tacoma

Does the truck compensate for the higher octane? I have a programmer for my 2000 Mustang, and I have re-program it for higher octane. If I don't, I get no significant change in performance or mileage. If I change the programming to take advantage of high octane, ther is a significant difference in performance...but not mileage.

I have a dyno app, maybe I'll give it a try when my truck arrives and see what happens.

 

On the 4.0, possibly.
On the 2.7, no.

There is no need to run premium.
It is not cleaner, it is not more pure, it is not "better"

In some cases, it can actually be an inferior fuel because ethanol can and is used as an octane booster... and ethanol in fuel is not good.


Will the 4.0 adjust, advance timing, and perhaps improve MPG and power? Potentially.
Will that MPG increase offset the extra $0.20/gallon that you're paying for premium?
No.

 

If you buy ethanol free 91 , I bet you could offset the $.20 /gal over ethanol blended regular

 

it's about an extra $0.10/L where i live maybe about $0.14/L as the last time i filled up.

 

Same here , 10-14 cents / L

 

Unavailable in California and a number of other states.
Getting harder to find everywhere.



Until the government subsidies on ethanol production dry up.
Once it goes back to costing $10+ per gallon, it will no longer be used as a cheap octane booster.

 

What's this ethanol crap anyway? Doesn't it just attract moisture?

 

Ethanol free 91 has no ethanol as an octane booster , no ?

 

Pretty much. Attracts moisture, reduces power and economy, and is pushed on the stupid masses as "supporting our farmers" when the whole mess is run by agribusiness.

I did not disagree.

I said that it is "Unavailable in California and a number of other states.
Getting harder to find everywhere."

If I can't get it, I can't get it, and the majority of Americans can't.

And ethanol-free 87 would show similar improvements over ethanol-laden 87.

 

Well , I'm glad then that here in civilization I can still buy ethanol free 91

 

Sure.

For $6/gallon

 

About $5.50 right now

 

I'll take a little ethanol and $4.28

 

I run Sunoco premium all the time. My truck runs a lot better on premium then regular. In my opinion it's worth the extra money.

 

I use premium when I'm in my home town because it's the same price as regular in Maryland and the truck pulls the boat better.

 

Don't assume 91 is no ethanol. If the pump indicates ethanol is used, it's likely the 91 is getting the bigger shot of it. Higher octane is a property of ethanol. E85 is rated at about 95 octane. If you intend to avoid ethanol, you have to find a station that doesn't offer the blend.

 

With pleasure. The first generation 1GR-FE engine (still used in Tacomas) is rated for 236hp at 5200rpm and 266 ft/lb of torque at 4000rpm on 87 octane, according to the SAE J1349 procedure.

However, on 91 octane, this same engine produces 239hp at 5200rpm and 278 ft/lb of torque at 3700rpm. Toyota doesn't publish these figures very widely because they want to comply with the SAE J1349 standard in any advertising materials. The SAE testing standard requires that the engine be certified at the lowest octane fuel on which it's claimed to run. One of the reasons the J1349 standard was adopted, in fact, was that higher octane fuel was producing bigger differences in some engines than others, which the SAE felt would make it hard for consumers to compare apples to apples.

3 hp is meaningless, but 12 ft/lb of additional torque at lower rpm is nice.

 

i run premium in my truck... not because i think it really improves anything, but it's the only way to keep the CEL off

 

I use premium mainly to avoid the ethanol crap. And yes, around here the 91 is listed as having no ethanol. I get more mileage.. enough to offset the difference in cost? Not sure.. but I really don't care, just happy not having that snake oil in my tank.

 

I have run premium only in all my vehicles for years. When gas prices have gone up previously, I have tried 89 octane, and it runs noticeably worse and gets about 10 - 20 miles less to a tank. Doing the math, it just about equals out on cost, but most of all it's the extra additives keeping injectors and valves clean that I like. I know some people don't notice a difference in mileage, but that has not been my experience. I just see it as a better overall value and experience.

I'm not sure if the premium here has ethanol or not, that is an interesting thing to check into as to whether that is what the difference is.