Gas Octane

I have an 09 v6, and I can't find anywhere in the owners manual that suggests 91 octane increases output. It recommends 87 or higher for optimum performance (there's no punctuation suggesting higher octane = higher performance).

Also, I don't really rely on what is "published" on wikipedia. Is there a reliable online publication/article (by Toyota), or a scan of your manual to back up the claim? Will Toyota back up this claim in an email? I will write tomorrow out of curiosity.

 

I used to run 87 in my 2.7 but recently switched to 91+ octane and have had a notable increase in performance, as well as consistant 20-23mpg mixed highway and city (if I use 4x4 cuz of snow and ice I get 19), only costs me about 4 dollars more to fill it up completely too, so it is worth it! Plus premium gas does not contain ethonol so that is good, I hate that shit

 

I'm noticing similar. I usually put 87 in my truck, but after reading through the numerous threads on octane on this forum, I decided to go with a tank of premium. Usually with 87 and winter blend, I would get around 15MPG. But from what I can tell, I'm getting some better mileage out of this tank of premium. For the $4 difference it cost me to fill up with premium, if the MPG's go up, I'll have to break out the calculator to see if it's worth it. As for performance, I don't see much difference, but I'm driving nicely on snow covered roads as well, so I can't really gun it, to see what the difference might be.

 

Yeah, I have really noticed it on the highway, I can climb many hills in 5th gear, something I used to have to downshift to 4th to do before on 87, really helped my 2.7 out. I filled up yesterday and got 23, idk if premium is winter blended but I am happy to be getting over 20!

 

87 normal driving, 93 towing, offroad, or anything abnormal

 

butt dyno sayz........89-91..........good......87, just feels like a slug.
MY butt dyno is completly..100%....accurate

 

i don't know what else you guys use to monitor fuel consumption.......I've just put my 3rd fill up with 92 and i'm only getting about 16mpg.

I drive very cautiously, rpm hardly ever over 1800, drive about 55-60 mph on the freeway, mixed freeway70%/city30% driving about 4.5 miles uphill going home.

I have a '09 dclb v6 4.0 automatic, and I'm planning on getting the ultra gauge to fine tune my driving style

 

I don't always use 93 octane, but when I do I am driving my Tacoma.

 

I use premium only, 91 to 93 depending on where I am. The little difference in price is offset by slightly better mileage. Around town I can't feel any difference, but towing and climbing grades I definitely can.

 

Well I just changed out the spark plugs, installed k&n CAI, mobil 1 syn oil, mobil 1 gear oil for both diffs and T case, and new tires. Will do the transmission flush at 50K. My 08 taco is sitting at 29,918 miles. I just dumped my race fuel in there, about 8 gallons to try it out and see how she will love it...

 

My truck runs on expired jet fuel

 

what kind??? jet fuel is like diesel without the lubrication properties of diesel.
unless you're running avgas, which is just a higher octane gas than what you would see at the pump.
the jet fuels that i know of are all kerosene based and have very low lubrication......guys that have diesels can run it but have to add some oil so their engines won't seize

 

The fast kind!

 

Use 100% gas (no ethanol blends), that'll boost your MPG's..... good luck finding it though. I'm fortunate enough to have a 100% gas station nearby that offers 87, 89 & 91 at competitive prices.

 

I always thought that it was basically kerosine.

 

I hate premium with todays prices.....

 

I ran 100 Octane a couple of times (out in the desert and only had race gas to get home on). It didn't make a difference at all.

 

I just towed a 3500 lb trailer from Denver to San Francisco. I only used 91 octane for towing. My mpg's were 13.2. 13.2, 18.2, 17.2, 17.3, & 18.3.

The 13.2 mpg's were due to gusts of wind up to 75 mph in northern Colorado and throughout Wyoming. My trailer is low profile so I didn't have too much of a problem. I saw a couple of higher profile trailers get turned over because of the wind.

Once I got past the wind I was averaging 17-18 mpg even through the mountains which is great because I was expecting 15 mpg or so.

My engine was struggling at first because I was using 87 before I started towing. Towing with 91 makes a HUGE difference with power.

 

I have noticed that with 91 I get better mpg when I am doing 75+ on the freeway, with 87 the engine seems to struggle and my mpg drops significantly.

 

So... I have been running 91 octane in my V6 for just over a month now. Just to see if it made any difference.

I have put three tanks of fuel through her, and fuel economy has not changed, enough to really count anyways.

Although I feel the engine is a tad more peppy, it could be my imagination. As chris4x4 said, "On the 1GR-FE, running 91+ octain does in fact make a difference in performance."

I believe it may have some performance benefit, but no fuel economy benefit, so for the extra money, it is not worth it to me to run 91 octane. I will be switching back to 87.

edit: I am back to 87 octane, 91 or 94 had no benefit except possibly being cleaner, and with more additives.