AJT123

In some cases, more than that!

It's not like the old days where it was a 10 cent difference. That wouldn't bother me.

sheikhmax

Agree 100%...
In my 2014 LX i use Regular all the time. Unless I am at COSTCO which sells the premium for the same price as regular at any stand alone gas station. I can certify that there is no difference felt on regular vs premium. So all good when it comes to LX.

riredale

Oh my goodness, another year, another fuel discussion.

I had an acquaintance who thought of himself as a true audiophile. The wires running out to his speakers were the size of a pencil and were held off the ground by ceramic insulators six inches high. He made sure that any turns in the cables were of a certain minimum radius.

It's the Placebo Effect. He truly believed his speaker cables had an aural effect, and he enjoyed knowing that he was "right." Fine. Can't be measured in the lab, but if you want to believe, then believe.

If you want to use premium even though nearly every modern engine in existence can alter timing if needed to run on regular, go for it. I can argue that technically all you lose is a bit of mileage and a bit of horsepower, but if premium gives you a warm feeling inside, great.

As for ethanol, it was legislated as a means of reducing our dangerous dependence on Middle East oil. But things change; we are now thankfully self-sufficient with regards to oil. But at this point farmers are as hooked on corn revenue as a heroin user is on needles, and politicians need to preach the virtues of corn ethanol if they want votes in corn states. No more complicated than that. Ethanol reduces mileage and potentially creates mayhem in the fuel system, but here we are.

Toys4RJill

Oh my goodness yeah. People giving advice on what to put in cars they don’t even own Whatever happened on using ones own car for reference or advice, heck maybe follow the manual. All four of our cars permit regular. Only our 4Runner adds the idea that “premium fuel” is recommended for optimal performance....I have tried it, there is definitely a small boost in what feels like a bit more torque, I am sure if I were to tow the 7100lb capacity, I’d probably want that extra little bit. There is also EPA to consider.....but apparently almost everyone on here exceeds EPA I’ve always got close to the combined rating (how refreshing is it to hear that)

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

We might as well have a thread on bottled water vs. tap water.

AJT123

Fine, merge this post into a thread if you want.

My inlaws spend a FORTUNE on bottled water. They must buy the 24 packs several times a week. What a colossal waste of money.

All you need is a filter in your fridge and boom, there's your bottled water.

I ask them if they realize they are throwing money away and they don't really respond one way or another.

mmarshall

Well, go ahead and start one. What's stopping you? Unless one lives in Flint, MI, one can probably make do with tap.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

wow, you guys are so easily lead astray...

back to regular vs. premium.

Toys4RJill

My parents have about 20 cases of water in garage. My mum still loves tap water. My dad not so much. People do crazy things and as you get older your habits change. They fuel both their cars with regular One of their ideas is not to waste money on premium, they look at things from the wealth perspective, but then again they have so many cases of water. They definitely don’t buy premium bottled water, they just get the regular bottled water

AJT123

Definitely you're right. To keep this OT, when I was younger I always had a debate with my now gone Grandfather about regular vs. premium.

I definitely agree with him now that I'm older, I just wish he were still here so I could tell him he was right. .

Toys4RJill

About 15 years ago things changed. Toyota was rating all of their engines not according to SAE spec. Once They started following the spec, all of the horsepower rating changed. For example, the Avalon was rated at 280 hp prior to the SAE certification, this was archived with full premium fuel (but the customer never knew). Then, the SAE certified Avalon was reduced to 268hp because of proper regular fuel rating. Does this make sense?


I believe the 05 LS has different power ratings than the 06.

To keep the negative Toyota/Lexus ones in check, all manufacturers were doing this, it was not just Toyota.

mmarshall

Well, your Grandfather probably didn't learn to drive with vehicles that had engine-control computers...or unleaded gasoline. If the engine was pinging, you either put leaded premium into it or went out with a timing-light (remember those), hooked it up to the wires, and retarded the timing yourself by trial and error, to the point where it wouldn't ping....sometimes taking power and efficiency out of the engine in the process.

mmarshall

No offense, but If you find it boring, I will (re)-refer you to my opening statement in the first post, before it was merged: Apparently you didn't see it.

AJT123

I'm sure you're right. Oh, the stories he would tell me. Like that back in the day cars would die at 40-60k or after a few years; getting to 100k was unheard of.

He always replaced all his hoses and belts in his cars when it wasn't needed because those all blew a lot back in the day, too. I'm talking 1950s.

Gramps was frugal, as most of The Greatest Generation were/are. He never drove anything nicer than a Mercury or Chrysler. But he did have respect for Lexus, especially after riding in one of his partners gen 1 LS400 in the early 90s. (And he knew how obsessed I was with Lexus as a child) He wrote me a letter telling me it was the smoothest and quietest and most luxurious car he'd ever ridden in. But he would have died before buying anything foreign, which I understand, finally, at age 38. Sometimes I think of Pearl Harbor and ask myself why I'm driving a Japanese car, but they are the best.

Stroock639

hey i'm a jew and have no problem zipping around in my supercharged **** speed sled my grandpa on the other hand is (was) a 2nd generation american who was fighting with the US army in europe during WWII would never get a german car... it's only thanks to consumer reports giving the LS the best score that he finally decided to get a non-american car, that and his 1991 lincoln continental was always breaking in some way or another

the people who designed our cars themselves had nothing to do with pearl harbor or the third reich so it seems unfair to hold them accountable for the actions of previous generations... i just want the best product available

aaaand to keep this on topic... i'm pretty sure he always used premium for the LS