Toyota Speaks on Gas!

so i was talking to my service guy yesterday and told him bout our huge debate on which gasoline the 4.0 desires. he said premium is the way to go for these types of engines.

 

Oh great the guy can read the manual... I don't have much respect for the service guys

Besides the mpg jump I had (about 4 mpg) for using 89 instead of 83 I'm not gonna be using premium.

 

The book says 87. Did he give you a reference

 

yea well if u have a good relationship with ur service guy youll be surprised on how much money they can save u by giving u their discounts. my service guy is ok in my book

 

he said on the 4 banger 87 will run fine, but for the 4.0 premium is the right way to go

 

ehhhh i ran 91 before and gas mileage still sucked, a little bit more power but 87 will do.

 

the idling is alot smoother with premium. same with acceleration, also not much of a ticking with 91

 

Well, it's not exactly "Toyota" speaking out on gas. It's your service rep. There are service reps who say the suspension is fine even though there is a TSB out on it. Mine runs fine on 87 (not ethanol). I was running mid-grade when I first bought it but tried regular. No difference in mileage on mine (unless your truck runs crappy on regular, you won't see a boost in mileage). Our truck is right at the threshold for going to premium (10:1 compression). Premium is recommended for any vehicle with over 10:1 compression. If your truck isn't knocking when you hit the accelerator (sign of preignition), going any higher is just a waste of money.

You might see a mileage difference if your regular gas is ethanol.

 

How about with the 3.4's?

 

thanks for the compression info. sorry should of clarified my self more when i said "toyota" speaks bout gas

 

3.4 are perfectly fine with regular

 

What He Said

 

Tacomas have VVT (variable valve timing). Which means that the truck will change the timing in which gas is let into the cylinder as well as change the timing in which the spark plug fires. Tacomas will never knock, but you may see a difference in gas milage based what type of gas you put in.

I'm trying premium for the first time, hopefully my gas milage goes up.

 

thank u i have been saying this forever.

 

and yes they will nock mine pings like crazy if i run 87

 

My tick is so loud!



87 is the only thing that fits in my budget though.

 

No difference in mine.

 

My FJ Cruiser had the exact same engine and the owner’s manual required 91 octane. Some FJ owners used 87 octane and reported no issues. Others noticed a benefit from using premium fuel.

I worked for years at my father’s gas station and after testing various fuels have come to the conclusion that premium fuel is worth the extra .20 a gallon. I have seen a slight increase in MPG, reduction of pinging and an overall increase in engine smoothness. Is it necessary? Probably not, but if I drive 15K, per year and average 17 MPG, it amounts to $176 a year to use premium fuel (if it is 20 cents more a gallon). IMO, it’s certainly worth it. Others have not noticed any measurable benefits and there may be many reasons for this……different types of gas (summer and winter blends), each state has different standards, individual vehicle operation, ect. At the end of the day, there is no right or wrong......to each their own.