This is something I am taking a close look at, http://www.pulstarplug.com/

I think they are little more than Nology Hot Wires in the form of a spark plug and that for most of you on Canadian or U.S. gas and the added advantage of being at lower altitude than I am at, Denso, NGK or even the TorqueMaster spark plugs I use would do just fine, but I suffer relatively higher HC (hydrocarbon or unburnt gas) levels than I would like running Pemex Premium at high altitude.

 

Ive had it that high for longer, but it wasnt easy. lol. Id do it again if I didnt have to use teh AC now

 

I just got my 400h a couple of days ago. Reading the manual I've seen this:

"Premium unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 91 or higher is required for optimum engine performance".


On a different thread members noticed that using "Premium" instead of "Regular" they improved the MPG.

Now, it looks like in order to get closer to the good mileage advertised by Lexus, one of the conditions is to use only Premium gasoline.

 

I think all lexus use premium fuel.

 

I don't think 91 exists, I have driven between NY, SC, & TX and I have never seen 91. It jumps between 89 & 93 and I always use the 93.

As far as whether octane makes a diffrence I recently watched an attempt to re-create the short take off distance that was required for the successful carrier take off of the Doolittle raid. The modern day pilot could not duplicate the feat and he remarked that the reason for the failed attempt was due to the unavailability of the higher octane fuel that was used in World War 2. I wouldn't call it conclusive scientific proof but it does seem to reinforce my opinion that a higher octane fuel will improve performance.

 

In central PA there is 92 octane.

 

So the "fabulous" fuel (money) economy of RX 400h is not that great after all if we consider that Premium gas is 10% more expensive that Regular gas used by most of the other cars

 

Think of it this way. You could have a ML350, use premium fuel, and only average 18 mpg. Or you could have an RX400h, use premiun fuel and average 27 mpg. And guess which one is cheaper? Thats right, the Lexus is.

 

I recently read an article in Scientific American regarding premium vs regular gasoline. Basically the article stated that in today's modern engines, there won't be any difference in performance, but in the past when engines were not so well designed, it did matter. During the few times that I have filled up a tank with premium gasoline, I have not noticed any difference.

On a good note though, I am finally getting some decent fuel economy for longer stretches. I also changed my style of driving a bit too and I think it is making a difference. Before I kept trying to drain the battery, and not use the ICE at all, but considering that the ICE will rev up to recharge the battery, that wouldn't be efficient. So now I just accelerate as necessary, then coast and occasionally tap the gas pedal using the electric motor to maintain constant velocity and it seems to work pretty well.

 

Don't accelerate on battery alone or you'll see horrible stats.

I'm writing an article about how I get 63.2 MPG when I'm behaving. (Its a Prius) The technique still applies to the RX400h and you'll see above the sticker MPGs too. I'll post when the article is done.

 

Looking forward to seeing that article.

 

I'm doing a test, this past tank of fuel, I managed to run 585 miles and averaged 34.1mpg using Regular Unleaded 89 octane.

I filled up with 94 Octane and I will see how it goes, whether there really is any savings using higher octane.

Regards

MadloR