Random info on gasoline shared by shop foreman

There is no real subject of this thread, just wanted to share some info based on fuel that was shared with me by the shop foreman when I took my vehicle in.

1) In regards to anyone with clicking/popping sounds when accelerating from ~30-~45mph, the issue is based on a combination fuel quality and atmospheric temperature. My truck personally did this on hot days but does not do it on cold. Apparently it warns you about this in the manual as well.

2) Don't keep using the same gas stations, switch them up. Different brands use different additives for cleaning so it's good to cycle through them. He told me someone that was using nothing but Costco gas had clogged injectors at 40k miles. He also says Chevron is what auto brands use for testing and recommends it over any other brand in general.

3) He told me someone used premium fuel in their vehicle and documented mpgs. Apparently you still come out ahead if you pay the extra $$$ for premium fuel. The guy who did this research was receiving more mpgs for premium and the cost vs benefits outweighed. So buying premium was actually more beneficial.


Again this is all just info shared with me by the foreman. Take it as you will, just wanted to share it.

 

I can confirm the ping (a single ping only please ) in hot weather / heat soak. A bit worrying, but I read that blurb in the manual.

We used to stick with Chevron until the station closed. I've been using Costco since, in everything except my wife's Forester. She said that it didn't drive the same. Chevron used to advertise that the old Big3 would truck fuel in from Kentucky to do their EPA testing since it wasn't available locally. Either way before we were going to Chevron, I used to need injector cleaner every 6mo or so. I haven't felt that need even with a couple years of Costco fuel. I think they got TopTier cert a few years back, so maybe the mech knowledge was a bit out of date? I heard of Costco fuel problems when they started offering it, but not in recent memory? Another possibility is that the other brands have caught up to the magic of Techron?

I've tried 91 octane twice, once on the stock tune and once on the TSB tune. I lost MPGs and the engine felt a bit muted which is not a good character for this particular motor. I can post a pic of these losses if you would like? I'm sticking with 87, but others might get different results?

 

He said the car came in about a month ago.

No, but I appreciate it. I'm going to do my own testing based off my own driving habits and see whats best.

 

Chevron’s Techron can’t be beat, and in my case with premium gas in my 4Runner, I saw MPG gains that did end up making it a better buy.

 

at 6.50 a gallon for premium ill keep feeding my girl 87, guess it would depend on where you live to see a gain over cost

 

1. The engine has a knock sensor that detects pinging and adjusts different things so that it doesn't damage the motor. Shop foreman is basing this knowledge on motors from pre-90's. My manual says if you can hear pinging go to the dealer because it needs "adjustment or repair".

2. This is true but it's not a big deal. Cycle through the major brands. Off-brand gas stations don't get good additives, because they are generally patented. Additives don't really do all that much, though.

3. Untrue and has been proven false.

 

Shop foreman was speaking about 3rd gens

Perhaps, I'll give it a shot though, only costs a few extra bucks.

 

Costco gasoline cannot be beat in terms of quality nor the amount of cleaning additive. For reference, Toptier gasoline (the standard for auto manufacturers) has at least 2x the amount of additive required by the EPA, while Costco has at least 5x.

 

Chevron regular with Technon (sp?) additive.

 

Regarding the use of premium fuel in my truck (no tune) - I ran 93 octane from Nov 2017 to April 2018 and filled up at the same Costco that I always do for 90% of the life of my truck. There were no discernible MPG changes from its use (considering the same time frame in the previous year or expected deviation from my mpg curve). FWIW I have kept a log of every fuel up since purchase in my road trip app.

There were noticeable performance improvements regarding responsiveness and “smoothness” but those are subjective.

@T4RFTMFW - I’ve read an older Toyota document regarding the 1GR dual VVTi in 5th gens on T4R.org that mentioned, after a decent amount of miles, on premium only there are noticeable efficiency improvements.

OA

 

Where did you find that info about the Costco having 5x? I know they are a top tier gas, but didn't know about the 5x part.

 

I can't remember if I saw 3x or 5x, but it used to be on a banner ad in the stores.

It is 5x, discussed here:
https://www.costco.com/fuel-promise.html

 

I just fart in my tank for additives. Runs and smells great!

 

I work for a supplier of Costco gasoline, but they also advertise it on their website:

https://www.costco.com/fuel-promise.html

 

I respect a person who lives up to their avatar and owns it.

 

Instead of using premium, I use regular with a once a month or every other month adding a can of Seafoam. I can definitely see a small mpg improvement with that one tank if making a road-trip/highway driving. I doubt using premium would benefit in stop and go city traffic much more than regular though...

 

The only issue I have with this is; compared to what? Without running the same test at the same time on low or mid grade how can you truly note a difference? MPGs can fluctuate on so many factors not related to gas, that without a control and similar data sets for other fuels it seems anecdotal at best.

 

When I’m not complaining about mpg’s and fuel, I go to the range. Here’s my octane ...




Ain’t no one stealin my gas!!!

 

Everybody put on your tin foil hats!!

 

I'll weigh in here on #3. This is only partially true if it is a non-ethanol (E0) premium vs an 10% ethanol regular (E10). E10 has about 97% of the energy of regular E0 gasoline due to the ethanol content. To what extent this helps our Tacoma, I have no idea, but Premium is more than 3% more expensive around here. YMMV

Also, another item to consider is whether the person was running winter or summer gasoline blends, as the winter blends use more ethanol.