Gas Mixing????

Is it OKAY to fill up your tank with Premium and then go back to Regular???? I would like to try to do some experimenting with it to see how our truck do with it. Have anyone tried it???? I know Tacoma calls for regular gas, but will it hurt to put the better stuff in it?????? Thanks

 

It is perfectly ok to mix different octane. That being said you will not see any gains from only one tank of premium...the computer will revert to a different map to exploit the high octane, but it needs more than one consecutive tank to do so and will not stay that way unless you continue to run premium.

Search yields lots on this topic...

 

I've experimented with premium and regular on my taco with no problems. On my Miata, I did 5 tanks of premium followed by 5 tanks of midgrade then 5 tanks of regular. I did this all last summer as a gas mileage experiment to see if I got better or worse mileage with one grade or another. I saw no harm to either vehicle as a result of changing grades of gasoline.

 

As everybody else has said, it will not hurt your truck at all.

 

when you push the midgrade button..the pump dumps a 50/50 mix of regular and premium into the tank.

it isnt a big deal.

 

its perfectly fine to switch back and forth, however the benefits of one over the other generally depend on the habits of each specific driver. if you tow or haul a lot, you may want to step up the octane. give it a few tanks with each (maybe 10 tanks reg. then 10 tanks premium) and see if there are any differences. you may see a difference of 1-2 mpg. dont worry about doing any damage though with switching back and forth. also, try to stick with one brand of gas while doing the comparisons only because different make vehicles might prefer one brand of gas over another. they will each have a slightly different mix of detergents varying gas mileage. and one more thing, winter gas (in colder regions) will generally yield worse mpg number. hope this helped.

 

What were the results with mileage?

 

YOUR ENGINE WILL SET ON FIRE!! THEN YOUR GARAGE, AND THEN YOUR HOUSE!!!






























j/k

 

FYI, Tacoma calls for 87 octane or higher. Around here, that's mid-grade, regular gas comes in only at 85.

I've run 4 consecutive tanks at both 85 then at 87. No statiscially significant mileage increase, but does seem to run smoother and more low-end power at less than 2K rpm.

But no worries about damage, run whatever octane your wallet can afford.

 

wow low grade here is 87 mid is 89 plus is 91 and supreme is 93

Kinda weird. Not all places have 91. some skip from 89 to 93 and there is only a 10 cent difference. but most places skip from 89 to 91 with a 10 cent difference. So if you find the right station, you can get 93 for the same price as 91.

 

I mix different grades all the time. I try to put the high octane in every couple fill-ups... during the summer when towing the boat I only use the good stuff. I also use the techtron gas additive on a regular basis. I've never noticed the engine knocking noise everyone speaks of here. Is it due to the gas or additive? Who the hell knows but I don't plan on changing anything to find out.

 

Engine knock and the "tacoma tick" are two total different and separate issues. I don't care to explain the difference right now.

Engine knock is due to detonation, while "taco tick" has to do with emission systems and other mechanical movements in the engine. Search for further explanations.

If you have true engine knock, than yes, an increase in octane can alleviate this. However, if your Tacoma is truly knocking or pinging, you probably have other issues than what octane you chose.

Knocking is more common on higher compression engines.

Another common misconceptionabout octane...the higher the number dies not equal more energy in the gas, but rather the resistance to detonation


it's pretty complicated these days BUT, as a
general guide, higher octane fuels have lower volatility (they
evaporate slower).

The octane rating is basically an anti-knock rating. Engine "knock" is also sometimes referred to as "ping". It is basically pre-detonation of the fuel before the piston is in the correct position (either near top of it's stroke or on its way down on the power stroke). Ping occurs while the piston is on the upstroke. Essentially, it is the elevated combustion cylinder temperature mixed with the now elevated cylinder pressure (compression) that will cause fuel it ignite without the spark.

 

Save your money and stick with what the owners manual says, if higher mileage were to be obtained with Premium Toyota would of advertized there truck with higher mileage figures as a selling point. my $0.02

 

All from this thread...http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/108072-premium-gas-more-power.html

Where is Chris? You guys believe him, right?

 

Sorry...When I mentioned "knock" I was referring to the "tick"...I've never noticed either one.

 

Wasn't trying to bust your balls...
Just trying to use clear, concise terminology to try to avoid confusion. Someone might read you previous statement and come to the conclusion that all new tacoma engines have a problem with detonation.

One of the curses of doing a lot of technical writing, I guess... Terminology is everything when you are not there to clarify for those reading what you wrote. Just one of 'those things'. I notice every mis-spell and grammatical error too, can't help it.

And again, just trying to be concise...not point out errors, or put anyone down. Just the way I was taught. Sorry

 

On the taco, I tried premium on a 900 mile highway trip that I had done several times using regular. I got slightly worse mileage, (.5) with the premium gas. On the 2006 Miata, the premium gave me 1 to 1.5 mpg worse on the highway and about .5 mpg worse around town. The midgrade and the regular both gave the same mileage.

 

Even the V6 taco's call for 87? I always thought it was higher, lol

 

Here is a sticky for you

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/technical-chat/33253-minimum-octane-rating-gasoline-should-used-my-vehicle.html

 

mixing grades can sometimes be a cheap way to get that 91 some cars call for when everyone always sells 89 and 93. The chemistry DOES work like that.