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Premium or Regular?

what gas?

  • regular

    Votes: 29 58.0%
  • premium

    Votes: 11 22.0%
  • Bacon Grease

    Votes: 10 20.0%

  • Total voters
    50

demo 9

Turbo Monkey
Jan 31, 2007
5,910
46
north jersey
What gas do you guys use for the non diesel drivers on here? I try to use premium since the original tundras were premium only, and it has to be better for the truck, which i drive moderately hard, and want to last till 200k i assume regular oil changes and premium will help this. I was hoping the gas mpg would go up with the premium, and it did a little, but that could also be my driving as well (up from 11.6 to 13.3 on truck dash computer) However, gas is up agian, should i really bother with premium? What do you choose? why? discuss?
 

jekyll991

Monkey
Nov 30, 2009
478
1
Belfry, KY
I run premium because it what my car takes. If your truck recommend 89 or whatever run that.

I don't feel like getting into it right now, but look up what octane rating actually means. I don't think it does what you think it does.
 

?????

Turbo Monkey
Jun 20, 2005
1,678
2
San Francisco
the 'premium' gas just means that it has a higher octane rating, which requires a hotter temperature to burn. Premium is just a name given to trick you into thinking that it's somehow better. In reality, it's worse for a vehicle that needs 87-89 octane.

High compression engines need the higher octane rating fuel because the engine gets hotter and will predetonate with a lower octane rating. If your engine doesn't get hot enough to reach the 93 or whatever 'premium' octane rating is, it will just not fully burn the fuel.

If anything, the higher octane fuel is not fully burning (so not giving you better gas mileage) and leaving behind unburnt fuel deposits in your engine.
 

eaterofdog

ass grabber
Sep 8, 2006
8,189
1,431
Central Florida
Modern engines detect knock and try to prevent it. If you run fuel with less than optimal octane, your engine is doing all kinds of stuff trying to keep the pistons from being driven back into the crank. Don't do it.

But octane burns slower so don't run a higher octane either. Run whatever is recommended. You're not going to outsmart the engineers.

Useless crap: Gas is made of octane and heptane. Cracking generates lots of heptane and limited amounts of octane. So the more heptane they can use, the cheaper it is.
 
Last edited:

DirtyMike

Turbo Fluffer
Aug 8, 2005
14,437
1,017
My own world inside my head
Original Tundras required premium???

Well the answer has already been stated here....... Use whatever the PCM has been programmed to run the vehicle on

If its tuned and programmed for 87 run 87... that will get you the best performance, milage, and longevity

if its tuned for 91, run 91...



Octane is a rating, its a combination of lab results, and real world results that are then averaged together.

The higher the octane of any fuel out there..... the slower and colder it burns.


Hence, if tuned for 87, and you run 91, you will drop milage due to the flame starting to chase the piston instead of pushing the piston, also if you run 87 instead of 91, the flame will push the piston too soon.....<Long drawn out detailed explanations>..... ETC ETC
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,232
20,015
Sleazattle
As stated before premium gas is just higher octane. Higher octane gas actually has less energy content. The advantage they have is they detonate later allowing engines to have higher compression ratios. If you engine does not require higher octanes you are spending more money on fuel and getting worse fuel mileage. Most cars that require higher octane are usually turbocharged or are very high performance engines with higher compression ratios.
 

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
my ECU is flashed to run on 92/93 only. any lower and i get the knocking.
yesterday i got my best mileage in a while, 15.4mpg on mostly highway! but 11mpg in the city.
 

demo 9

Turbo Monkey
Jan 31, 2007
5,910
46
north jersey
Original Tundras required premium???

Well the answer has already been stated here....... Use whatever the PCM has been programmed to run the vehicle on

If its tuned and programmed for 87 run 87... that will get you the best performance, milage, and longevity

if its tuned for 91, run 91...



Octane is a rating, its a combination of lab results, and real world results that are then averaged together.

The higher the octane of any fuel out there..... the slower and colder it burns.


Hence, if tuned for 87, and you run 91, you will drop milage due to the flame starting to chase the piston instead of pushing the piston, also if you run 87 instead of 91, the flame will push the piston too soon.....<Long drawn out detailed explanations>..... ETC ETC
I believe it was originally meant for premium(watching a video of a 0-60 a year or so ago, and it had it writtin across the dash) "premium unleaded fuel only"-mine doesnt. mine doesnt state state anything. Should i assume the cheapest, i have done both and not noticed a difference, or at least much of 1. As for 13.3 Thats about as good as it gets, it only sees city driving, 13.3 is as good as i can get-drive around fast, that quickly drops to 10-11. 5.7 crewmax=bad commuter car
 

yuroshek

Turbo Monkey
Jun 26, 2007
2,438
0
Arizona!
driving up from South Carolina this past weekend I got a personal best in my Titan with a 17.2 on regular! and it was priced at 3.17 a gallon unlike NY prices at 3.75
 

ZoRo

Turbo Monkey
Sep 28, 2004
1,224
11
MTL
As for 13.3 Thats about as good as it gets, it only sees city driving, 13.3 is as good as i can get-drive around fast, that quickly drops to 10-11. 5.7 crewmax=bad commuter car
Wow, can't believe you are actually driving a car like that. Downsize man! Do you REALLY need a huge muther*ucking truck to drive around town. That's ridiculous I just don't get it.
 

Serial Midget

Al Bundy
Jun 25, 2002
13,053
1,896
Fort of Rio Grande
For me cheaper gas was a motivating factor in choosing a new 4 cyclinder vs a used H6 when I purchased my Outback.

Stolen from teh web said:
Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We hope that you have been enjoying your 2006 Outback 3.0R Wagon.

The 3.0-liter H6 engine is designed to operate using unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 91 AKI or higher. Regular unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 87 AKI or higher may be used. This is not just for emergency situations. You can use regular unleaded fuel in your vehicle on a regular basis. However, for optimum engine performance and driveability, it is recommended that you use 91 AKI or higher grade unleaded gasoline.

You may experience reduced output, poor accelerator response, and reduced fuel economy when using gasoline with an octane rating lower than 91 AKI, depending on your driving habits and conditions.

If you experience any of those conditions while using a lower octane rated fuel, you may want to return to using 91 AKI octane rated fuel as soon as possible. Additionally, if your vehicle knocks heavily or persistently, or if you are driving with heavy loads such as when towing a trailer, the use of 91 AKI or higher grade unleaded gasoline is required.

Thank you for the opportunity to be of assistance. If you need any future assistance, please feel free to contact us again.

Best wishes,

John J. Mergen
Subaru of America, Inc.
Customer/Dealer Services Department
 

cecil

Turbo Monkey
Jun 3, 2008
2,064
2,345
with the voices in my head
high compression = high octane
dont waste your money on hi-test

also gas stations only have 2 types of gas in their tanks, their is a mixing valve in the pump so the octane you chose can vary depending on the calibration of the mixing valve
 
i have never purchased gasoline in my life... don't have a license don't want one and hopefully won't ever need one. therefore my ride is fueled by calories and it gets about 31 calories per mile, if i slow down a little better, if i haul butt a little worse. i have found fruit and tons of water make for efficient transportation and those cycling snacks/ gels are a bonus. pasta, pie, shrimp wrapped in bacon, fish tacos, cheeseburgers and milkshakes are my favorite fuels but not always the most affective. i assume cars would be similar the better the product put in the tank the better the results.
 

Serial Midget

Al Bundy
Jun 25, 2002
13,053
1,896
Fort of Rio Grande
I remember when my ideals where not polluted with responsibility...

i have never purchased gasoline in my life... don't have a license don't want one and hopefully won't ever need one. therefore my ride is fueled by calories and it gets about 31 calories per mile, if i slow down a little better, if i haul butt a little worse. i have found fruit and tons of water make for efficient transportation and those cycling snacks/ gels are a bonus. pasta, pie, shrimp wrapped in bacon, fish tacos, cheeseburgers and milkshakes are my favorite fuels but not always the most affective. i assume cars would be similar the better the product put in the tank the better the results.
 
I remember when my ideals where not polluted with responsibility...
totally true... responsibility often breeds the need to adapt and change. i am not against cars, just don't personally want the expense (maintenance/fuel etc.) also riding in them scares the living crap out of me, thus i assume driving would be worse. also if i purchased a car look at all the money i could have spent on bicycles.
but, with a family and such it might be hard to live the way i do. my life is very simple... sleep, eat, ride, eat, work, ride, eat, ride, work, ride, eat and start it all over again.
 

yuroshek

Turbo Monkey
Jun 26, 2007
2,438
0
Arizona!
premium isn't gonna get you up the hill to your girfriend's house any faster
but premium gas in the powerful tundra helps get his 220 pound ass up the hill to his girls house. Justin: "Mom! I need 40 bucks to go to Bri's house! gwad!" Mom: "ok hunnie, Im just finishing up your laundry!"
 

ucsbMTBmember

Monkey
Nov 20, 2009
137
0
typically you can run any octane rating you want in modern cars. just unplug the battery and let everything reset and the engine will sort itself out to run on regular.