View Poll Results: Fuel Type?
Regular
26
12.32%
Midgrade
25
11.85%
Premium
160
75.83%
Voters: 211. You may not vote on this poll
The Mother of all LS430 Fuel Threads: Regular, Midgrade, or Premium? (merged)
03-08-12, 06:45 PM
#211
"plus" means different things to different people and to different gas stations. Its like saying you really like that red car, you know, the pretty one.
Lexus recommends 91 octane or higher. AS far as I am concerned, brands are all marketing but I know many folks that swear by certain brands for certain reasons.
Lexus recommends 91 octane or higher. AS far as I am concerned, brands are all marketing but I know many folks that swear by certain brands for certain reasons.
03-08-12, 07:09 PM
#214
Yes. IT will likely result in more horsepower than your rear axles can handle as the engine wasnt designed for plus, and you could have the whole rear end of the car fall completely out from underneath you. You also risk your seat heaters getting too warm, from which someone could actually get 3rd degree burns.
Id say it isnt worth the risk.
Id say it isnt worth the risk.
03-08-12, 07:21 PM
#215
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Yes. IT will likely result in more horsepower than your rear axles can handle as the engine wasnt designed for plus, and you could have the whole rear end of the car fall completely out from underneath you. You also risk your seat heaters getting too warm, from which someone could actually get 3rd degree burns.
Id say it isnt worth the risk.
Id say it isnt worth the risk.
03-08-12, 07:41 PM
#216
Yes. IT will likely result in more horsepower than your rear axles can handle as the engine wasnt designed for plus, and you could have the whole rear end of the car fall completely out from underneath you. You also risk your seat heaters getting too warm, from which someone could actually get 3rd degree burns.
Id say it isnt worth the risk.
Id say it isnt worth the risk.
03-08-12, 10:17 PM
#218
I'm not loyal to any brand, just whatever is near when the "low gas" light comes on. I've done Sunoco, Shell, Citgo, Costco... all premium level and notice no difference on either. Could also be I'm not doing any particular brand for say give consecutive tanks so really not getting any variance.
Just for reference sake, on my RX which has 150K already, I've gone to regular and mpg has fallen about 2 mpg on average the last year. Can't really tell if the gas did it, or the mileage and engine is just less efficient now. I might go back to premium for a while to see if it picks up again. I'm saving $4.50/tank by doing regular over premium, but then the lost mileage and fuel to make up the mileage is costing me $7.10 in regular fuel.
Just for reference sake, on my RX which has 150K already, I've gone to regular and mpg has fallen about 2 mpg on average the last year. Can't really tell if the gas did it, or the mileage and engine is just less efficient now. I might go back to premium for a while to see if it picks up again. I'm saving $4.50/tank by doing regular over premium, but then the lost mileage and fuel to make up the mileage is costing me $7.10 in regular fuel.
03-09-12, 03:59 AM
#219
Moderator
The different local Gas brands is a classic example of 100% marketing selling an almost completely identical generic product.
In a local area, all local brands buy their gas from one local wholesale distributor. The distributor will typically stock 2 or sometimes 3 types of gas depending on the size of the area being served - types of gas are low, mid and high octane.
The only difference in the gas is this - each local brand can optionally buy some variation of the wholesaler's additive package when filling their refill trucks - that is added to the gas as it is pumped from the bulk tanks. The additive package can vary deposit control as the gas burns in the engine. See attached link for facts on additive packages.
Tier one brands are supposed to always add the better quality additive package at the wholesaler, non tier 1 brands may use a lesser quality additive package but I am sure that varies by brand, location, and local gas station owner.
In terms of what octane gas to use: All modern cars like the LS have sophisticated real time ECMs that automatically retard or advance ignition and air-fluel mixture characteristics in real time to work just fine with low, mid, or high octane gas being used.
In an engine designed to be run on high octane gas (like the relatively high compression LS 430 motor) running lower octane results in the ECM adjusting the ignition timing to slightly retarded (under certain operating parameters/conditions) to insure there is no pre-detonation during normal engine operation. The result is that with a high compression engine you will experience lower gas mileage when using lower octane gas.
So in general any perceived economy buying lower octane gas for a modern high compression motor is usually a wash - you can save 10% buying lower octane and get about 10% less mpg (and slightly lower performance due to running with retarded ignition timing during some circumstances).
However using mid or high octane gas in a low compression engine has no affect at all, does not give you more power or more mpg - but it will cost you more money.
http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html
In a local area, all local brands buy their gas from one local wholesale distributor. The distributor will typically stock 2 or sometimes 3 types of gas depending on the size of the area being served - types of gas are low, mid and high octane.
The only difference in the gas is this - each local brand can optionally buy some variation of the wholesaler's additive package when filling their refill trucks - that is added to the gas as it is pumped from the bulk tanks. The additive package can vary deposit control as the gas burns in the engine. See attached link for facts on additive packages.
Tier one brands are supposed to always add the better quality additive package at the wholesaler, non tier 1 brands may use a lesser quality additive package but I am sure that varies by brand, location, and local gas station owner.
In terms of what octane gas to use: All modern cars like the LS have sophisticated real time ECMs that automatically retard or advance ignition and air-fluel mixture characteristics in real time to work just fine with low, mid, or high octane gas being used.
In an engine designed to be run on high octane gas (like the relatively high compression LS 430 motor) running lower octane results in the ECM adjusting the ignition timing to slightly retarded (under certain operating parameters/conditions) to insure there is no pre-detonation during normal engine operation. The result is that with a high compression engine you will experience lower gas mileage when using lower octane gas.
So in general any perceived economy buying lower octane gas for a modern high compression motor is usually a wash - you can save 10% buying lower octane and get about 10% less mpg (and slightly lower performance due to running with retarded ignition timing during some circumstances).
However using mid or high octane gas in a low compression engine has no affect at all, does not give you more power or more mpg - but it will cost you more money.
http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html
Last edited by Jabberwock; 03-09-12 at 04:02 AM.
03-09-12, 05:54 AM
#220
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Yes. IT will likely result in more horsepower than your rear axles can handle as the engine wasnt designed for plus, and you could have the whole rear end of the car fall completely out from underneath you. You also risk your seat heaters getting too warm, from which someone could actually get 3rd degree burns.
Id say it isnt worth the risk.
Id say it isnt worth the risk.
03-09-12, 06:05 AM
#221
Yes. IT will likely result in more horsepower than your rear axles can handle as the engine wasnt designed for plus, and you could have the whole rear end of the car fall completely out from underneath you. You also risk your seat heaters getting too warm, from which someone could actually get 3rd degree burns.
Id say it isnt worth the risk.
Id say it isnt worth the risk.
03-09-12, 06:29 AM
#223
Bottom line is Toyota recommends 91 octane or higher in our cars. IF you go lower, youre really not going to mess anything up as the computer will recognize this, slightly retard ignition to alleviate any pinging and prevent any detonation. If you go higher than 91, you really do not benefit much either and it is kind of like throwing a little extra $$ down the gas pipe.
Now, as for the seat heaters burning your bum if you use "plus", thats just a scientific fact. I thought everyone knew that.
Last edited by Muti007; 03-09-12 at 06:33 AM.
03-09-12, 06:51 AM
#224
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03-12-12, 12:42 PM
#225
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