Premium gas

Hey you guys, anybody notice a significant difference using premium gas and does it help when A/C is running? Might just try it but with the price of gas up here…

 

need an ecu tune to see any benefit.

 

My AC runs all year (Arizona desert). Feedback will likely vary based on who you ask. Personally, I tried premium fuel fully stock and noticed nothing. I tried the premium octane OV tune after running the 87 octane OV tune and noticed nothing except worse mpg. Happiest with the 87 octane OV tune. Throttle response feels best with the 87 octane tune to me as well.

I've noticed it helping on other cars, but not on this. Was worth the $10/tank extra to test but didn't feel any benefits from it. My daily Scion tC, on the other hand, felt much better with 91 even before tuning for it.

 

Save your money.

 

Nope.

 

Don't waste your money. You will not see the difference you think you will...

https://youtu.be/ryqyTPfNj1Q

 

Thanks you guys I also think premium most times is a pile of and many consumers can be suckers !!

 

It is needed in some vehicles. The Tacoma does not benefit at all.

 

+25 hp with cat back and CAI installed

 

The Tacoma can definitely benefit from premium fuel. The 2GR-FKS engine was initially made to run on premium, but the stock tune in the taco takes some of the benefits away. Getting a tune can bring back those perks by a significant (notional) amount.

With that being said, the stock tune knocks quite a bit, even to the point it's mentioned in the manual. Running premium octane without a custom tune can eliminate some of that, but won't remove it all. Some users have also reported premium octane does drive more smooth. Is it enough to justify the cost? That's up to the driver.

 

Isn't premium E0 in Canada?
Try it.

 

More like +25 on the cool sounds scale.

 

This is why I run 93, even at additional cost. While I understand the manual states it's normal / fine, I really, really dislike hearing the active pinging when I'm driving. My 2013 with the 4.0L would ping like crazy too. Toyota actually released a TSB to solve that but I could never get the dealer to apply it for me.

Yes, my experience is anecdotal at best, but I can absolutely attest to what you've said.

 

Most newer vehicles use computers to tweak engine performance as you drive. Running premium CAN improve performance even though the engine is designed for 87 octane. The difference is small, and I observed a very slight improvement in fuel mileage. Not enough to offset the additional cost, but it does ease the pain some.

I'd suggest giving it a try just to see for yourself. Keep detailed records, and don't give up after just one tank. I'm not one to run my tank down much below 1/4 tank and for me it would be the 3rd fill-up with premium before I would have nothing but premium in my tank.

What I observed is just enough power gain to reduce the amount of downshifting when driving in hilly conditions. Particularly when towing. Based on my research running premium will also help reduce engine and transmission temps when towing. Even though the truck may be rated for 87 octane

And the newer the vehicle the greater the gains. A 3rd gen should see more of an improvement than my 2nd gen truck.

Another observation concerning buying fuel. Virtually all stations where I live only advertise regular fuel prices. I found that most of the stations with the lowest advertised regular fuel, had the highest prices on premium. Often $.70 to $.80 per gallon higher. But by shopping around there were several stations where I could get premium for $50/gallon more than the cheapest regular fuel.

 

My Tacoma doesn’t run any better that I can tell with Super. Got gas today and reg is $4.65 and Super is $5.25/gal. So since I can’t notice any difference, Im going to use the most economical fuel.
My other car that requires 91, absolutely and knocks/pings when I use Regular, so thats where I stick with Super.

 

the ecu will advance the timing a lot more on higher octane fuel. when i go back to 87, the timing is retarded.

 

Higher octane fuels are for higher compression engines. It will not give you any sort of benefit in these engines and you'll just be throwing away more money (especially these days).

 

not true, the ecu will advance/retard timing depending on the knock-resistance of the fuel

 

Your ECU is designed to adjust to many different conditions. There have been many demonstrations and studies which show there is no benefit to running a higher octane in an engine not designed to run said higher octane.

 

I haven’t noticed much difference whatsoever when switching between 85 87 or 92 octane.

Where I do notice a difference is when I switch to ethanol free. I usually live in the 17.5-17.9 mpg world but when using ethanol free fuel I get around 19-19.5