Premium Fuel or Regular

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Hey all.

What do you put in your Tacoma? Premium or regular? Ive only put regular in it ever since I got it last November, was wondering if putting in regular is just fine or would shorten the lifespan of the vehicle...want this to be my car for the next 15 years at least!

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[px3_taco]

Top tier fuel and frequent oil changes will be of more benefit for these than the octane of the fuel.

 

[bitflogger]

Top tier fuel and frequent oil changes will be of more benefit for these than the octane of the fuel.

Yes to the fuel requirement and all changing the oil too often does is waste money and creates the environmental negative externalities. Our personal experience mirrors studies and data. The 3 of 5 Toyotas we've had for 12-22 years were all serviced per their owner's manuals. I once was in fleet management and in operations have been close. Sticking to a manufacturer's schedule more than overdoing it is important.

Hey all.

What do you put in your Tacoma? Premium or regular? Ive only put regular in it ever since I got it last November, was wondering if putting in regular is just fine or would shorten the lifespan of the vehicle...want this to be my car for the next 15 years at least!

Now getting towards a year of ownership and 10,000+ miles with a lot of work, travel, and time in mountains, the pickup is fine with all gasoline that meets the specs. However, high octane does improve high altitude climbs, heavy duty use, and fuel economy. No higher octane tank has had the high octane cost effective. I just do an occasional high octane tank such as for full loads, towing, and mountain passes if loaded.

 

[Slappy]

i run the higher octane , just runs better , sounds less , more responsive . ymmv

 

[goin2drt]

Regular and the cheapest around when I need a fill up.

 

[PhilosopherSergeant]

I just recently did a premium refill and noticed no real tangible difference from regular

 

[Starman202]

I'm testing this out now. First, as others have pointed out, I only use Top Tier fuel. While I've not tried not regular 87, I've been running at 89 vs 93 past few weeks. Pricing is $10 a difference every fill up a week (so at least $500 a year in savings)

So far, my dyno butt hasn't noticed a difference in power nor increased throttle response, perhaps because I have no cargo and just myself most of the time. When I manually calculate each fill up for mileage, I haven't noticed a difference in MPGs either. I'm getting between 21mpg-22mpg with both.

*I should note, most of my driving is in the city [light traffic], mostly flat roads, and I rarely exceed 55mph.

Whenever I go camping, haul my motorcycle, or have fun off-roading, I may swap out to 93, but at the moment I don't "feel" the benefits of going 93 over 89.

 

[px3_taco]

Yes to the fuel requirement and all changing the oil too often does is waste money and creates the environmental negative externalities. Our personal experience mirrors studies and data. The 3 of 5 Toyotas we've had for 12-22 years were all serviced per their owner's manuals. I once was in fleet management and in operations have been close. Sticking to a manufacturer's schedule more than overdoing it is important.

Now getting towards a year of ownership and 10,000+ miles with a lot of work, travel, and time in mountains, the pickup is fine with all gasoline that meets the specs. However, high octane does improve high altitude climbs, heavy duty use, and fuel economy. No higher octane tank has had the high octane cost effective. I just do an occasional high octane tank such as for full loads, towing, and mountain passes if loaded.

How many of those Toyotas had turbos? Changing the oil is cheap. Turbos cook oil. On the environmental side, it’s synthetic and recyclable.

Just change the oil every 5k miles or 6 months.

 

[goin2drt]

There is a huge long thread on a different forum. After dozens of pages you basically get the half that are spending the money and they say their MPG's are way better, the truck drives better, the butt dyno is way better. Then you get the folks that aren't doing it and they say the exact opposite and therefore aren't doing it.

These threads are just like which tire brand threads, how many MPG threads, what PSI to run threads, etc etc. Everyone has an opinion and they are just that, opinions with zero science.

Do what makes you happy. Neither is going to be wrong, or right for that matter.

 

[Datrane01]

How does high octane help with altitude climbs and fuel economy? I have never seen any study done that says that. They always say no difference as long as using at least the minimum octane the engine requires. And for high altitude, ignoring the turbo aspect, engines can function just as well with lower octane. The turbos mean that the altitude does not matter much at all since they cause their own pressure. Power delivery is another question mark. The engines are designed for 87 octane, so that is where they perform best. Higher octane is no benefit.

 

[Yotota]

I run 92, and I mostly notice the power delivery improvement. Less chuggy in the low revs especially. Fuel economy hasn't noticably changed but my driving has been really inconsistent which makes it hard to get a baseline.

The dyno tests have proven a power increase, so the ECU is obviously pulling timing and/or boost with 87 octane which it then adds back with higher octane fuel. Some drivers would not notice the difference. I'm a nerd about engine tuning and I notice the difference.

 

[Kdbradley85]

Top tier fuel and frequent oil changes will be of more benefit for these than the octane of the fuel.

What do you mean when you say "top tier fuel?" I've only ever used 87, and most of the time, I try to get it from the Sunoco near my house, but I feel like all gas, for the most part, these days comes from the same places/refineries regardless of which gas station you are buying it from. Do you mean like a specific brand or brands of fuel, or are you talking about fuel with a higher octane rating? To be honest, I was kind of surprised that these new engines didn't require the higher octane fuel like every other turbo charged vehicle I've ever owned, but they call for 87 octane, so that's what I put in it lol. I'm not complaining either!

 

[px3_taco]

What do you mean when you say "top tier fuel?" I've only ever used 87, and most of the time, I try to get it from the Sunoco near my house, but I feel like all gas, for the most part, these days comes from the same places/refineries regardless of which gas station you are buying it from. Do you mean like a specific brand or brands of fuel, or are you talking about fuel with a higher octane rating? To be honest, I was kind of surprised that these new engines didn't require the higher octane fuel like every other turbo charged vehicle I've ever owned, but they call for 87 octane, so that's what I put in it lol. I'm not complaining either!

Top tier just means it meets certain requirements for detergents.
https://www.toptiergas.com/
It might all be crap but I try to use it.


We have a Land Cruiser with the same engine, except hybrid, and it calls for premium. I do not get why it’s different.

 

[JayTech]

Yes to the fuel requirement and all changing the oil too often does is waste money and creates the environmental negative externalities. Our personal experience mirrors studies and data. The 3 of 5 Toyotas we've had for 12-22 years were all serviced per their owner's manuals. I once was in fleet management and in operations have been close. Sticking to a manufacturer's schedule more than overdoing it is important.

Now getting towards a year of ownership and 10,000+ miles with a lot of work, travel, and time in mountains, the pickup is fine with all gasoline that meets the specs. However, high octane does improve high altitude climbs, heavy duty use, and fuel economy. No higher octane tank has had the high octane cost effective. I just do an occasional high octane tank such as for full loads, towing, and mountain passes if loaded.

I have sent my oil in for analysis before on numerous vehicles. I would never go by manufacturer specs as to when to change the oil. Its always broken down and barely performing as intended. Luckily Toyotas service interval still isn't too bad as some manufacturers have made theirs way too high in my opinion(some as high as 12,000 KMs or more). While that on its own may not necessarily cause excess wear and tear on the engine, it definitely won't help prolong the life of it. Regardless of if its wasteful, I would rather the oil in my engine actually be doing what its supposed to without it breaking down and not protecting the engine as much as it should. I do my oil every 6500Km or around 4000ish miles. That also helps keep the engine cleaner as old oil leaves more deposits and with direct injection you can get the unfortunate side effect of some fuel dilution.

 

[JayTech]

Top tier just means it meets certain requirements for detergents.
https://www.toptiergas.com/
It might all be crap but I try to use it.


We have a Land Cruiser with the same engine, except hybrid, and it calls for premium. I do not get why it’s different.

Different ecu calibrations and power/torque outputs can lead to more knock with lower octane gas so they recommend a higher octane that meets their needs.

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