What gas grade do you use!?

CO, 87 or 91 non ethanol only.

 

I favor 91 and usually from Costco. I found it tends to have slightly better throttle response vs 87 octane.

 

87 at Costco. If I can't fill up there, I'll add @ 5 gallons of top tier 87 somewhere else.

 

i also use costco and get 87

 

87 chevron, shell, Exxon in that order.
All “raw” gasoline is the same in the refinery.
Depending on the company it’s their “injection package” that distinguishes it at the pump ie shell, chevron, Exxon top tier down to convenience store un branded.

 

I always buy 91 octane when available, and get Shell, BP or Chevron gas, as they produce high quality gas with high quality additives for keeping the engine clean. Exxon is good as well. There are other brands of high quality gas, but in my area Shell, BP and Chevron are common. Some say you don't need an octane higher than 89 and that may be true. However, I have always used the higher octane and never had engine issues. I do know that in my BMW, any octane lower than 91 caused occasional delays in acceleration. That is because the lower octane is not optimal for a highly tuned performance engine. It all likelihood 89 octane in a 4R is completely fine and would not cause any long term issues. I just stick with my old habit of using 91 whenever I can. I would not recommend getting an octane lower than 89, as those levels of octane are not as highly refined and could cause buildup in your engine.

Here is a nice article by consumer reports that provides more insights on fuel choices.
https://www.consumerreports.org/car-maintenance/study-shows-top-tier-gasoline-worth-extra-price/

 

I watched the video , and he definitely says don’t use higher octane because it’s a complete waste of money. I wouldn’t anyway, but just wanted to point that out. I do agree with using top tier fuel, but not high octane.

 

72 degrees is optimum combustion temp., and moisture content/air pressure has a lot to do with it. Long story short, I use high test to gain every bit of HP I can, and to run more efficient...

 

87 octane from a top-tier station.

 

87. Usually from Kwik Trip stores in Arizona. Kwik Trip is top tier grade.

 

So what exactly does this mean? Marked in blue.

 

I believe they are the same rating 87 vs research number. So stick with 87 top tier is best

 

87. Top Tier unless I'm stuck someplace without the option. Unfortunately, I can't avoid ethanol around here.

Surprised no one has mentioned higher HP with higher octanes. Maybe it's not really true, but I thought I saw on this forum somewhere that Toyota itself says the 4runner develops a bit more power with premium gas.

 

Higher octane does not in any way shape or form equate to more HP. Engines are built and ECUs tuned to use certain octane fuel.
Higher octane fuel is less volatile than lower octanes. This makes it suitable to be used in high compression engines (high compression ratio or forced induction such as a turbo or supercharger). Higher octane fuel is less prone to pre-ignition. Using lower octane is high compression engine can damage it as the mixture can self-ignite from the compression alone - before the spark even ignited and in doing so cause damage to the engine.
Using higher octane fuel in lower compression engine will actually give you worse gas mileage and will produce less power.
SOME modern engines are designed to use sensors to essentially listen to the engine and adjust (advance) ignition timing. In such cases, having higher octane allows the ECU to push the timing sooner to increase power output. If knock or ping is sensed by the ECU the timing is then retarded.
Our vehicle’s ECU will not advance timing when higher octane fuel is used. And, being actually harder to burn - you engine will produce less power and yield lower gas mileage. Anyone telling otherwise is suffering from their butt-dyno experiencing a placebo effect.
What does affect gas mileage and power in our engines is the energy density of the fuel. Having ethanol or other additions in there decrease fuel density.
Some people intentionally run ethanol in their cars as it allows for the timing to be more advanced - but doe to lower energy density you end up with horrible gas mileage.

Short answer - our engine will not produce more of anything from higher octane fuel.

 

Good to know.

I found the older posts I'd remembered seeing. They're in this thread: https://www.4runners.com/threads/what-type-of-gas-do-you-use.13972/#post-155920

A couple people there assert that our engine advances timing and thus adds HP with higher octane.

It's certainly the case that HP drops with lower octane gas in many cars that recommend premium. I've had at least a few cars like that. Their loss of HP with lower octane was documented in their owners manuals.

But I have no clue about the impact of octane on HP in the 4Runner. Just remembered seeing the discussion linked above. If it's not true it's not true.

Regardless, I love being able to use regular gas. And my Runner has not seen a drop of anything else. Every other car I'd had for many, many years before the Runner either recommended or actually required premium!

 

I was hoping to maybe get a little better explanation. Research octane number 91 or higher kinda makes my head hurt.

 

Absolutely. Most modern vehicles will retard timing (resulting is less power/gas mileage) is knock sensors pick up undesirable harmonics. This is done to prevent detonation. But, reverse is not true for using higher than recommended octane rating. Engines ECU has to be calibrated to deliberately and constantly try to advance timing until pinging is detected.

 

Where are you seeing this? Nothing about it in my manual.

 

It's confusing because, as you mentioned, the dual VVT-I 1GR has high enough compression to make use of higher octane fuel, but also personal experience and the manual suggest that it's a waste.

I have tried premium in the '15 Taco and the 4Runner out of curiosity with 0 difference from regular.

Environmental factors could affect this as well. Altitude, ambient temperature, ETC.

 

Wow you were not kidding. I stopped reading after a minute,lol

 

Top tier 87 works fine for me. I will add that I run a bottle of Techron through the system every 5k miles or so.

 

I would be interested to see a long term test where 2 identical 4runners are driven in the same conditions with one using regular and the other using premium. This would be the only way to prove that there is a difference.

In the meantime, I will continue to run top tier 87 and save my money.

 

What kind of mileage do you get on premium?

Yeah, the ethanol thing is a whole can of worms on it's own. I tried ethanol free on my '03 a few times with 0 difference from E10. On the '19, I run E15 occasionally as well and it makes no difference.

 

Even an empty 4Runner isn't keeping up with a Civic, so the guy was probably just having fun with you. Unless it was an older Civic?

The video looks fun. Mine moves pretty good, too, for a brick.

 

I saw it! Looks like a blast!

I have access to a beach through an old easement road on property owned by Family. The easement road is narrow and curves through the woods, then you drive through a sort of prairie/wetlands area and onto the beach. This past summer I was going back and forth as fast as I could, and blasting around the beach in circles. That was so much fun!

It looks like your suspension really handles well at that speed. If I recall, you're on Kings?

 

New member here, I've already gotten really great info just by lurking around.
On the fuel issue I only use 91. My last vehicle a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited with a 5.7 hemi, 91. 530i BMW 91, Nissan 300zx twin turbo 91. Even my 79 fj40 91. Now my new 4Runner, yes it's only SR5 Premium 4x4 with only 631 miles on it so far. Hey, I paid about the same amount of money for my first house. The 4Runner will get the best fuel.
BTW I love love love my new 4Runner and living in the California desert it's going to be fun. Installed my new Bugflector2 this evening. I can see adding to it is going to be addictive. Happy trails!!

 

Welcome to the forum!

 

Welcome from Wisconsin! Living where you do is going to be a good thing. When I traveled down I-15 I've seen lots of vehicles/atv's etc enjoying the trails along the way, from Barstow to Rancho.........Envy!

 

Well dang! I just found out from a buddy of mine whose cousin works at a store with a guy that knows a Toyota engineer. They said, and I quote:”to maximize the sport effect of your 5klbs suv, and the ancient 5 speed transmission, ensure you use 100+ octane only! For extra boost add octane booster additives to the mix per every 1/2 tank. More expensive the octane booster the faster your 4Runner will feel and more ass it will haul. Higher octane gas is also suspected to lower your vehicle’s center of gravity, tighten up the suspension, decrease overall weight and even affect the alignment settings. And then drive as fast as you can so that your hood scoop can ram more air into the engine - essentially same as forced induction”. don’t worry if you don’t have a good scoop, or if it’s fake. They all work the same. You can always get a piece of gutter, and pipe the air from your grill straight into the intake. Post filter only - of course. - for max gains!!
In other words - you should not be using anything less than 93 octane. Regardless of what the manual states.
Then, when we kill this horse - make sure to start a new thread asking what everyone likes to use for engine oil filter, their favorite brand, and whether it’s worth it to fill tires with nitrogen. Just to keep the crap interesting

 

Welcome.