Better Gas mileage with Premium?

3 month thread revival...nice.

 

I'm getting on average 20 mile to the gallon on 87.
If my math is correct the 91 octane is the better choice.
$2.29 local price for 87 and if the mpg is 18 then it costs 12.72 cents per mile.
$2.59 local price for 91 and if the mpg is 21 then it costs 12.33 cents per mile.
I'm going to switch to 91 and see what the results are.

 

I can't be bothered to read all these comments, but to summarize;

Ethanol in gasoline is:

1 Bad for your wallet,
2 Bad for gas mileage
3 Bad for your engine

It's a nice idea, but it won't fix nothing.

Put the lead back into fuel.

http://monarchrifle.com/dougs_tacoma.html

 

Edit: After I posted this, I looked at the dates and realized this is a really old thread. My bad, I'm new.

I like math, so I did some theory calculations on my truck-
Gas prices are based on my last fill-up ($3.39, 87 Octane), with 15 gallon fill-ups (my usual):

87 Octane
$3.39 * 15 gal = $50.85
Assume 18 mpg
15 gal * 18 mpg = 270 miles
$50.85 / 270 miles = $0.188333.../mile

93 Octane
$3.59 * 15 gal = $53.85
Assume 18 mpg
15 gal * 18 mpg = 270 miles
$53.85 / 270 miles = $0.199444.../mile
Assume 19 mpg
15 gal * 19 mpg = 285 miles
$53.85 / 285 miles = $0.188947.../mile
Assume 20 mpg
15 gal * 20 mpg = 300 miles
$53.85 / 300 miles = $0.1795/mile
Assume 21 mpg
15 gal * 21 mpg = 315 miles
$53.85 / 315 miles = $0.170952.../mile

So somewhere between 1-2 mpg gain, Premium pays off. If below, I'm paying about 1 cent per mile extra to run Premium. Which, if I go 100,000 miles with no mpg gains from Premium, I'm paying a little above $1,000 extra over those 100,000 miles to run Premium.

 

I get about 2 MPGs better with 91 against 87.

 

I tried it but I didn't see a noticeable gain.

 

I've switched between the two a few times. 91 seems to give me around 5% more. Also, according to scangauge, I have to higher the trim percentage when going to regular, then lower it when fueling with 91.

Also, according to chris4x4, you get (if I remember well) from 266 to 279 pound/foot of torque when using 91

I do run 91 most of the times.

 

If they stopped putting ethanol in fuel there would be no difference in mileage between the grades of gasoline. The octane rating is only important if you're not running a stock engine or you trailer a big load up a hill.

Change the exhaust system or air intake system, mess with the computer, yadayadayada. You may need the higher octane rating for your improvements and if it results in better performance and higher gas mileage to boot. So be it.

Bottom line is to run the fuel recommended in your owners manual if the truck is stock.

If you want to save money you make use of dollar cost averaging and always keep the tank full.

Here's how it works.

The tanks 3/4 full but on the way home from work, the price is cheaper than the last time you tanked up so you stop & top up.

You're going to visit family in another town for the day and you have enough gas to get you there and back.
You make note of cheap prices on the way and fill up on the way back.

Petro Canada car wash discount.
If you choose the Works they will offer a 5 cents/litre gas purchase discount if you buy 2 touchless car washes. You just have to keep track of the expiration dates.

When you're down to the last 1/8 of a tank and you're wondering what to do?
You turn to websites like gasbuddy, ontariogasprices and tommorowsgaspricetoday for information and trends.

If you keep the tank full then it will last longer and not rust out from the inside.
When rust gets through the metal, you won't necessarily see spots on the driveway.
Just damp spots on the fuel tank that will impact your mileage.

 

I thought the full synthetic

$29 75w-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w-90 gear oils where compatible with limited slip rear ends? No additive needed.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but on 2012 base models the LSD is only on when you turn off traction control? Or do I have it backwards? Hence it is electric?

 

Glad to see some guys from Ontario on here.
My dad lives up in Horseshoe Valler, and I have other family in Barrie, Jarret and Price's Corners.

I have personaly found no difference in running premium. With regards to ethanol and 91 octane there is a good site that lists stations according to Province or State:


http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=ON

With regards to the 94 Octane now at Petro Canada/Sunoco:

1. Does Ultra 94 contain ethanol? Does Petro-Canada still offer an ethanol-free gasoline?
   Ultra 94 contains ethanol. Due to the fact that various fuel grades are blended at the point of sale, most grades of Petro-Canada fuel may now contain up to 10% ethanol. This represents a change from the previous state, where premium fuel was ethanol-free at Petro-Canada.

I personally only buy premium for my small engine and 2 stroke stuff including my snowmobiles.
I usually get it from Shell as they seem to be one of the only stations that don't add ethanol to there premium.

Shawn

 

Been running premium through my 95 2.7L for a few months now. Didn't see any difference in gas mileage. (& I check on every fill up). I'm running the cleaner burning fuel for the benefits that it brings to the engine in the long run. Cleaner burning fuel means less carbon build up on valves & cylinder face = less maintenance costs. I'm willing to invest a few cents per mile extra to avoid $1000s in repair expenses.

 

[FONT=&quot]2010 Long Bed Double Cab 4x4, stock everything. I drive about 18,000 miles per year.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I tried this 4x each.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]17mpg mixed driving with 87 @~$4.35/gallon = 25.5¢ per mile = $4605 annual fuel cost[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]19mph mixed driving with 91 @~$4.55/gallon = 23.9¢ per mile = $4310 annual fuel cost[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]LQQKS like I will save about $300 per year. you can debate my MPG accuracy if you want, but I am 100% sure I get an extra 30 miles per tank.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]At 1/8 tank I usually head to the gas station, and I'd have 300 miles on the trip odometer. now, it shows 330 miles when I am at 1/8 tank.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]@18,000 miles per year, that's about 5 less trips to to the gas station.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]of course, this only works because gas is very high now. the cheaper the gas, the more it becomes a wash, but I will always have a better range. not to mention a cleaner burning engine. I plan to keep this truck virtually forever - I used premuim in my last car (1990 Acura Integra) and I got 20 years and 318,000 out of on it. Not to mention it was still running perfectly when I sold it…[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]now I wonder, which fuel is the more PROFITABLE from the manufacturers point of view? that's another quesiton.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot].[/FONT]

 

Ive been reading about this alot around these forums , i dont understand.. i thought the manual says but in 87 in wouldnt it hurt the engine if you put premium ( sorry for the misspell)

 

Manual will say something along the lines of "Minimum of 87 octane required"

 

Unfortunately a few stations around here are trying to break the 10 cent tier convention and make it 15. One mobil station even makes midgrade +15 and premium +20 over that. It kills the benefit of the mileage advantage I get and then some if I go to one of those stations.

 

My 2009 manual says 87 octane or higher