88 octane or 93

Anyone ever try the 88 or have you seen better mpg with 93? Thanks fellas

 

Whichever octane you can comfortably afford

 

In the winter I was using the higher octane, bc of the winter gas.

 

In our experience, well just stay away from the 15% methanol. it is tempting to save a nickel a gallion, I get hesitation, sluggishness on it in my M/T Taco, cannot speak to the MPG, I have a heavy right foot. my wife says the same is true of her 2019 Rav4. Auto trans. for us we get better performance on real gasoline.

 

93 FTR. Mine runs better, I can tell a difference. Some will argue it but I'm speaking for myself, happy with my choice and could give a rat ass what the manufacturer says and what your level of knowledge is. I'm satisfied and that's all that matters to me.

 

I have seen more than enough to know what ethanol fuel can do to small engines and fuel systems so I try to avoid any fuel with ethanol. I usually run the standard grade non-ethanol gas from my favorite local gas station, but will throw some high octane gas in the tank when non-ethanol is not available.

 

It depends on your elevation. Lower elevation = more oxygen = easier combustion (i.e. more knocking) = recommended more octane

Octane content =/= quality. Octane is really more of a combustion suppressant; meaning the more of it you have the more pre-detonation prevention you have.

The engine is designed to run on 87, so you're perfectly fine to use it. Unlike some motors, the manufacturer in this case does not state that full HP/MPG is afforded by using higher octane.

With that said, the engine will adjust itself as necessary to the octane level you fuel it with, however, at sea level I have found that 89 works the best (no knocking at low RPM under load).

Now, Toyota and many other OEMs recommend Top Tier fuel. This does not mean the marketing term "premium" this means fuel suppliers that add higher amounts of detergents and other additives that likely add life to the engine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Tier_Detergent_Gasoline

 

Nope. Toyota USA did their mpg tests with 91. Its in the manual.
The minimum is 87. This engine is good for 87 to 93.

OP,
My engine idles much smoother with 93. The mpg might be a little better, but not enough to write home about.

 

It just pushes the timing that little bit further, it makes no sense unless high load in my opinion. It's not noticeable while driving and the MPG is negligible, even if premium was only 10c more.

 

Try both and go with whatever your foot and butt dyno tell you

 

I run regular unleaded, 40 cents a gallon cheaper than super. Works for me. Engine is designed to run on regular, may show slight power gains on super but not worth it money wise for me.

 

Some of you need to look up Tier 3 guidelines for; certification fuels, octane allowances, optional test methods and what claims can/can't be made by the vehicle manufacturer.

FWIW, I use only E0/91.

 

I see quite often people on here talk about how using 93 octane is a complete waste of money and won't make a difference in how the truck runs. I disagree and people who say that are partly correct and partly incorrect.

The elevation that you live at or currently traveling through will be the biggest determinant on whether higher octane provides anything beneficial for you. The higher the elevation, the less higher octane makes any real difference. Conversely, the closer you are to sea level, the more beneficial higher octane fuel becomes. Secondly, whether you have the stock tune or an aftermarket tune can also make a difference in how much benefit you receive from higher octane fuel.

I live at sea level and anyone who says running 93 doesn't make a difference is just flat out wrong. There is a night and day difference in how my truck runs. However, its completely situational.

 

The once a week new thread on octane, always look forward to them! Here's some food for thought on an experience I often share - I have a few vehicles that come to my shop with catalytic converter codes constantly throwing the engine light, which is a big issue when it comes to passing emissions. Every year a few weeks before they schedule to come in they switch from 87 to 93, and by the time they come in the engine light has turned itself off and it passes right through. Does this make for a universal fix for all cars with cat codes? No, but it shows that there are benefits to higher octane that some may never realize since it's not commonly brought up. Every time a vehicle first pops a cat code, I suggest they try a couple tanks of 93 to see if it makes a difference before forking over money for a potential inconclusive diagnosis as it's probably the cheapest place to begin and saves both of us a lot of time. The only time it wouldn't be my first suggestion is if there is something else that could obviously be the culprit, such as an exhaust leak before or near the downstream oxygen sensor or similar issues that can be immediately seen or heard. So yes, mostly any vehicle can run on the lowest octane, but pretty much any vehicle can see benefits from higher. Whether it's worth it to someone to fork over the extra money is their business, I know I always go for the side that has the most benefit regardless of cost.

 

In my turbo charged vehicles I have always seen a pretty decent bump in MPG - Especially when the EcoBoost was pulling a trailer.
In Naturally Aspirated Vehicles, not so much. Not enough compression. You might at sea level where the air is thicker and has a little moisture in it. That can increase the compression pressure a little.

Also, and this seems somewhat counter intuitive, but at altitude, around 5,000' asl, you actually get a little better performance out of the lower octane.

But the one gas I'm eager to try in the Taco is the E-0 - NO ETHANOL gas. It did GREAT in the EcoBoost engines and the Supra absolutely loves it. Might not be as dependent on the Turbo Pressure as the higher octane is.

 

I run 90 octane ethanol, free when I can.
I routinely see about 2 to 3 mile per gallon improvement

 

Where do you get 90 Oct E-0? I can only get the lower octane stuff.

 

usually run 91/93 in the summer. slightly better performance w/ less timing retard. sometimes i use 89 when it's cold out. 87, trucks runs awful once it adapts to the lower octane. some people will say it doesn't matter but they probably don't monitor the timing advance. the owner's manual says you can use 87 or better. most modern engines can adapt to the different octane level.

 

Kwik Trip in Wisco has a 91 (0) ethanol that I run all year.