Diesel Toys

good to know! i shall learn from your experience
... just not sure exactly why some on TW are messing around with injectors at all!

 

Higher octane fuel is for high compression engines like you find in Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, or if you are boosted in anyway. The compression ratio in those cars and engines are higher than they are in a normal 87 octane engine like the one in the Tacoma.

You’re wasting your money putting 91 on your 87 engine. There is no reason whatsoever unless you’re boosted.

I run 91 octane in my truck because I am supercharged. When you’re dealing with boost and higher compression you always run higher octane.

 

ethanol free if you can find it

 

i am a wannabe boosted at times

 

Yeah, it makes your wallet lighter for no good reason.

If you're putting 91 octane in your tank because you think it has less ethanol in it, I have a bridge to sell you... Only 2 states in the nation allow non-ethanol premium gas. And that's only to allow it, not to require it.

https://www.bellperformance.com/blog/bid/110140/does-premium-gas-have-ethanol-in-it

Only 3% of fuel sold in America is ethanol free. Good luck finding it.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/the-truth-about-ethanol-in-your-gas/

As for the injectors "thing", it's simply not a real thing. I'm willing to bet that at least 99% of all Tacomas on the road today have used a significant amount of ethanol fuels for a majority of their lives - unless you're one of those people who have access to the 3% of non-ethanol fuel out there. We're going on 25 year old Tacomas here where at least 10 of which was on ethanol fuel, and people's injectors aren't failing left and right.

This fear of ethanol comes, imo, mostly from old timers who drove iron block, carburated domestic trucks who fear anything they didn't grow up with, and pass this "knowledge" to their sons who drive fuel injected aluminum v6's. Ethanol does degrade old rubber parts (pre 2001 vehicles), but as one of the article I linked to describes, those parts degrade over time anyway, and once you replace those with new ethanol safe parts (which is all you can buy), you have nothing to worry about.

I've even been putting ethanol fuels (well, I don't know it's ethanol free, but I have never sought out ethanol free gas) in my dirtbike for the last 15 years with absolutely zero issues. Though I drain the carb after every ride (shut the fuel off and let it idle until it dies).

My argument(s) against ethanol fuels has more to do with using food (corn) to produce fuel. I think our food production resources could be better used to produce, you know... food. This gets into the whole corn subsidy thing (political implications) but that is for another thread, lol... I digress...

 

Yay, another gas debate! I'll toss my 2¢ in the fire.

https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/octane.shtml

https://www.truecar.com/blog/premium-vs-regular-gas/

 

"When I run ethanol free 91 octane I get 25mpg in my lifted 4x4 v6 with 33's"

 

Comparing to 10% ethanol gas ?

 

well there is no sticker at the pumps other than the others 87 & 89 that say the 10% ethanol added, so i did not know what is behind the curtain (again)

and yes, i may be interested in that bridge, always like me a good bridge that is toll free

...

ok, this scenario just occured to me...
how about the higher octane to reduce knocking at lowish RPMs

those old timers eh, some of them used leaded gas!
my Dad used leaded gas in the mid-70s Ford van and i stood in the exhaust fumes as a wee little boy and boy did i catch a buzz

 

Nope. You wish

 

i had a lugger today trying to adjust speed in traffic and no knock with 91 octane currently in the tank
once in awhile when this situation occurs with the 87 it knocks on me
maybe something else queer is going on, i don't know
its a rare occasion

 

It's something else. You won't get knock.
If you truly are knocking than you need to get it fixed and not try to band aid it with octane. But I'm 99.99999% sure your engine isn't knocking. Run the expensive gas if you want. Just understand if you do that there isn't a benefit for your engine in its normally aspirated state. Spend that money on something else.... Or keep wasting it on that octane gas. Now that you have the correct, accurate info regarding gasoline now, I feel my part to try and help you save your dimes is done. It's now on you.

 

only knocks or pings if i have the wrong gear and not correct speed for said gear and rpms running way low, it rarely happens but does occasionally

 

That's just lugging. Don't lug it. You're the one that said knocking. I doubt it's knocking or pinging. You telling me the stock oem ECU can't handle the timing for your completely stock oem setup?

 

All sorts of BS on this comment

 

i suppose i don't know difference between the two!

 

I mean I guess theoretically it's possible that you could have carbon built up on the pistons and that COULD increase your compression and cause ping...... No, no I'm not going there for the sake of argument. Yours isn't ping or knock, I've never heard your engine or seen it or even seen any indicators of your engine health, besides those spark plugs, and I'm still confident you're not pinging or knocking.

 

well it does something if the RPMs are low and too high of gear chosen when i miscalculate it all manually from my 'feel' for the road
this is not a concern for the AT enthusiast, or i would not think so

 

I will still default to what the engineers at Toyota recommend: 87 octane unless you're boosted.

If you're pinging at low RPMs you're either in WAY too high of a gear in your 5 speed, or you may have a mechanical issue that needs correcting.

This explains a lot...