Engine Pinging & Disappointed with Toyota

As long as I use mid grade or premium mine is fine, regular pings like crazy.

 

I had been noticing a slight pinging so I decided to try 93 octane and noticed no change in engine pinging. In fact my mpg went down slightly. Its not that bad so I guess I will just live with it for now.

 

summarizing....

pings when cruising in fifth gear @45, rpm's between 1000 and 1500...

solutions include the following...

Try 4th gear @45/50MPH, get the RPM's closer to 2000 (engines have pinged since time beginning because of lugging and in the early daze, high compression engines, lugging also dumped unnecessary gas in carb engines, prolly not a problem as much with injection)

Replace spark plugs with Iridiums (one time chunk of change)

Get midgrade or premium gas (and keep paying everytime you fill up)

Gas years ago had more octane but was lead 'dirty', nowadaze it is cleaner but the octane sucks and the ethanol does it no favors....

Of the three choices you have, other than selling the truck, which one would you go for?

Trying 4th gear first is free, you actually might get a smidgen better gas mileage running closer to 2000rpm rather than lugging it...

or

One time investment in Iridiums and be done with it (my favorite).....

or

Keep paying everytime at the pump for premium gas (my least favorite)....

Just some thoughts....

 

The regular gas here in Western Colorado is 85 octane, not 87. I run el cheapo regular most of the time (V6 auto) and my engine doesn't ping. In addition, I get almost 21 mpg on the freeway @ 75-80 mph.

 

What's the altitude?

 

ain't no place in Colorado below 3315', most a lot higher....

amazing gas mileage for altitude and speed...

 

Just curious on the statement in bold. You do realize that the fuel pickup in your tank is at the bottom, thus if water accumulates and settles in the tank, that is the first thing that your fuel pump will pick up.

 

lol this thread is lol

 

The way I was raised it was 87 Octane for 4 cylinder, 89 octane for 6 cylinder and 91 Octane for 8 cylinder. I have followed that and have no issues. Just my 2 cents. I have an 5 speed auto and have heard no pinging.

 

interesting, but imho you'd be pissing away cash throwing 91 in a 90s GM 350ci TBI as one example.

true, will that have the same cylinder pressure as a DA of 500 below sea level?

 

To each there own I guess. I never owned a V8 so I never would know about that. I've owned 4 V6 vehicles all Toyota and none have liked 87 octane. They got poor MPG and lacked power. I've driven in 100 feet to 10000 feet above sea level. They have always liked the 89 octane gas a lot better. But that is my experience.

 

Not trying to argue, but do you have info to back this up?

 

Thinkin he meant tanks at stations but could be same effect with pumps at stations drawing from bottom of their tanks......which is why you don't fill up right after the station's tanks have been refilled, if possible. Pretty much a crap shoot on that unless you see the 18 wheeler there on site tho.

 

Just a little FYI, Octane rating has nothing to do with engine size. It has to do with compression ratio. Higher compression engines typically require higher octane fuel to prevent pinging. that is why a supercharged engine of the same model requires higher octane. The compression in those engines is higher due to forced air induction. I have ran 87 octane fuel in every engine I have ever owned since unleaded fuel became standard (Yes, I remember when you could actually choose between regular gas and unleaded) and I have never had any issues with ping (pre-ignition) with any of them. However my brother in law has a Northstar V8 in his Cadillac which has a higher compression ration (10.5:1) and if you run anything less than premium it WILL ping.

That may be what he meant.

 

I was speaking about the gas station tanks and the tank farms your gas comes from. On the bottom of the tanks they have a step down where the water drops out of the gasoline.

 

no pinging here. Running 87 octane

 

Official altitude in Grand Junction is 4642 ft., but we're slightly higher here in Whitewater at 4678 ft..

The trip where we got 21 mpg was R/T from home to Gypsum, CO (near Eagle/Vail) which is at 6286 ft. in elevation. So uphill to get there, and downhill to get home. Distance was about 250+ miles. FWIW, we get 17-18 mpg around town, which includes 10 miles of highway to get to town.

 

the pinging is caused by the ethanol content in US gas. Almost every auto maker is coming across this problem. Try using a top tier fuel it has helped get rid of the ping in my truck. www.toptiergas.com

 

That automatic has a shifter... give it a shot. I use all the automatic gears all the time. Keeps the revs up a bit... and I don't give a crap about MPG... if I wanted MPG I'd have gotten a Yaris or a Prius.

 

With all due respect, you were taught wrong. As mentioned above, it has nothing to do with how many cylinders you have. It's the compression ratio in an engine which will determine what octane you need.

There are some high performance 4 bangers and 6 cylinders which require high octane. Example, the new Ford Taurus Sho is a 6 cylinder and requires 91 octane due to a high compression ratio.

Another example. The new 5.0 (V8) Mustangs can run 87,89, and 91. It has a 11:1 compression ration and is designed to run 91. The Copperhead ECU in the new 5.0 will adjust timing, preventing detonation; allowing you to run a lower octane.

Our Tacomas do not have an ECU like in the Mustang.