What Octane Gasoline For sc430? Premium fuel required? (Merged threads)
04-10-09, 03:13 PM
#76
Lexus Test Driver
I only put premium gas and synthetic on mine from day one.
It does make a difference, not a major difference but just enough if you know how your car performs if you drive everyday like I do.
I figure if I maintain this car w/ the best fluids and accessories that the market has to offer, then I know it will last me a very long time in the long run.
I don't have to doubt myself or regret anything when I sleep at night.
I fire up that baby the next day and she's ready to go.
It does make a difference, not a major difference but just enough if you know how your car performs if you drive everyday like I do.
I figure if I maintain this car w/ the best fluids and accessories that the market has to offer, then I know it will last me a very long time in the long run.
I don't have to doubt myself or regret anything when I sleep at night.
I fire up that baby the next day and she's ready to go.
04-11-09, 11:13 AM
#77
I stick with premium but ahve often thought of using the Sunoco next lowest rating, I think it is 91 octane. For all you users of "premium," do you think that would be a problem? I think it is a little cheaper than other premium brands.
04-11-09, 11:47 PM
#79
My manual says a "premium" octane rating of 91 or higher should be used, and that an octane rating as low as 87 can be used if 91 or higher cannot be obtained. So the minimum recommended is 91.
07-12-10, 06:43 PM
#81
The owner's manual says to only use high octane. Some members use mid-grade or even low octane. Personally, I'd rather pay the extra $2 / tank than sacrifice performance and risk fuel related problems.
07-13-10, 05:56 AM
#82
Pole Position
I am a comparatively new SC owner also - less than 6 months. As part of the get-acquainted process I asked a Lexus tech about the fuel requirements. If I understood the explanation correctly, the engine electronics is capable of compensating to a degree for lower octane fuel - i.e. it can adjust ignition timing to avoid predetonation for example. However, the party line is to use premium fuel (as with many Toyota engines). As a practical matter since my SC isn't a daily driver I don't find the additional cost per tank to be excessive over time so I buy premium fuel. The only two other SC owners I've chatted with here do the same but I know from reading the forums that there are different thoughts about fuel.
07-13-10, 11:22 AM
#83
The owner's manual states that you can use regular fuel "in an emergency". However, nowhere does it define an "emergency".
Is it...
A) - "I'm almost out of the gas and the only gas station within 20 miles of my location is out of Premium"
- or -
B) "Dang! Premium is over $6.00 a gallon!"
Is it...
A) - "I'm almost out of the gas and the only gas station within 20 miles of my location is out of Premium"
- or -
B) "Dang! Premium is over $6.00 a gallon!"
07-13-10, 02:43 PM
#84
Lead Lap
I have a '02 that I've put over 30kmiles on using regular fuel. I asked the Lexus service guys and some other owners and was told not to worry about using premium. In reality, if your car isn't knocking or detonating, then the regular fuel is fine. There might be some minor performance differences, so if you like to race or rocket off the line, then stick with premium. I've had no problems with it running on regular and get about the average gas mileage to boot.
Bottom line: the manual says to use premium, the service guys don't see the need. It sounds to me like it is up to you.
Bottom line: the manual says to use premium, the service guys don't see the need. It sounds to me like it is up to you.
07-13-10, 03:08 PM
#85
I guess it's just a matter of who you talk to about this. If you ask someone at Lexus about it, most will tell you to follow what the manual says. Others say it makes no difference. All I know is....I had a 1992 SC 400 one time that I decided to put regular unleaded into (against what the manual said).
It was fine for awhile, but then began to sputter and cut out....like it was missing or had bad spark plugs. I went back to the premium fuel but it didn't help the problem.
I thought I had ruined my engine. I took it into my favorite mechanic and he blew out the carbon somehow. I'm not sure what he did exactly, but whatever it was, it fixed the problem.
I haven't used regular unleaded since. I learned my lesson. I'm going to with what the manual recommends.
Just the fact that some car manuals specify that the fuel requirements are 87 octane, or higher, shows that car manufacturers aren't just making octane requirements up when they make a car. Some require 87, some require 91 (like ours). They put those octane requirements in for a reason. They aren't all automatically set at 91 octane. It's not like the car manufacturers are guilty of gouging.
In my area, the difference between regular and premium unleaded is about 30 cents a gallon. Sometimes, I'll even see it at 40 cents higher. If you're completely empty, that would be an additional $6 to fill up our 20 gallon tanks. Fortunately, I don't drive that much so it's not a big deal to me.
But if someone does drive a lot, I can see how an additional $5 or $6 dollars (or more) over 6 or 7 fill ups each month would add up.
To me, if someone doesn't like the premium fuel requirements, they shouldn't have bought the car.
It was fine for awhile, but then began to sputter and cut out....like it was missing or had bad spark plugs. I went back to the premium fuel but it didn't help the problem.
I thought I had ruined my engine. I took it into my favorite mechanic and he blew out the carbon somehow. I'm not sure what he did exactly, but whatever it was, it fixed the problem.
I haven't used regular unleaded since. I learned my lesson. I'm going to with what the manual recommends.
Just the fact that some car manuals specify that the fuel requirements are 87 octane, or higher, shows that car manufacturers aren't just making octane requirements up when they make a car. Some require 87, some require 91 (like ours). They put those octane requirements in for a reason. They aren't all automatically set at 91 octane. It's not like the car manufacturers are guilty of gouging.
In my area, the difference between regular and premium unleaded is about 30 cents a gallon. Sometimes, I'll even see it at 40 cents higher. If you're completely empty, that would be an additional $6 to fill up our 20 gallon tanks. Fortunately, I don't drive that much so it's not a big deal to me.
But if someone does drive a lot, I can see how an additional $5 or $6 dollars (or more) over 6 or 7 fill ups each month would add up.
To me, if someone doesn't like the premium fuel requirements, they shouldn't have bought the car.
07-20-10, 06:54 PM
#86
Rookie
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: texas
Posts: 64
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
unless you want to change out spark plugs all the time as well as run a risk of damage to the valves...carbon blow outs do not always work that well to fix such....
the injectors can use a once a month treatment of sea foam or another excellent injector cleaner, and so if that were the only consideration, you might get by on regular, but premimum produces a different temperature in the ignition of the gas in the cyclinder....the item that will be damaged first is probably the plugs, then on a long term basis, the valves
With regular, the car will start to run rough, and then the cleaner will not cure it, and you will need new plugs... and so on
and it has a lot to do with higher compression engines ciuoled with fuel injection coupled (probably the biggest problem) emiision equipment and timing to ease the emissions as much as possible...new catalytic converts are not cheap when they pop due to regualr gas.....
An engine with a high compression ratio has some advantages. It squeezes more power of the same-size engine. But, it requires you to spend more for every tank of gas, to get that extra power. In other words, instead of manufacturing a car with a larger, but lower-compression-ratio engine, manufacturers are using high compression engines, and foisting the additional cost back to you — by forcing you to buy premium gas to get that extra performance. If you use lower octane fuel, you may get some very slight pinging or knocking from gas popping too early
See for more detail:
http://www.epinions.com/content_2346164356
the injectors can use a once a month treatment of sea foam or another excellent injector cleaner, and so if that were the only consideration, you might get by on regular, but premimum produces a different temperature in the ignition of the gas in the cyclinder....the item that will be damaged first is probably the plugs, then on a long term basis, the valves
With regular, the car will start to run rough, and then the cleaner will not cure it, and you will need new plugs... and so on
and it has a lot to do with higher compression engines ciuoled with fuel injection coupled (probably the biggest problem) emiision equipment and timing to ease the emissions as much as possible...new catalytic converts are not cheap when they pop due to regualr gas.....
An engine with a high compression ratio has some advantages. It squeezes more power of the same-size engine. But, it requires you to spend more for every tank of gas, to get that extra power. In other words, instead of manufacturing a car with a larger, but lower-compression-ratio engine, manufacturers are using high compression engines, and foisting the additional cost back to you — by forcing you to buy premium gas to get that extra performance. If you use lower octane fuel, you may get some very slight pinging or knocking from gas popping too early
See for more detail:
http://www.epinions.com/content_2346164356
Last edited by HVisone; 07-20-10 at 07:02 PM.
11-10-10, 07:53 PM
#87
Rookie
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: nj
Posts: 72
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Premium gas , 10% ethanol is that ok?
Hello everyone, today I noticed while filling up my tank that Hess gas stations are using 10% ethanol. Until this point I thought only BP uses ethanol . Do you think is safe to use this kind of gas in our cars or should I avoid it in the future? Just curious....
11-10-10, 08:58 PM
#88
Moderator
Here's the link to a previous thread: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-430/524995-e85.html
and a story in the NY Times about the newest E15 "gas" approved recently. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/14/bu...14ethanol.html
Bottom line, E10 "gas" won't hurt your car.
and a story in the NY Times about the newest E15 "gas" approved recently. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/14/bu...14ethanol.html
Bottom line, E10 "gas" won't hurt your car.
11-10-10, 09:05 PM
#89
E10 is not going to hurt the average car or truck. Only thing you'll probably notice is a slight drop in mileage, around 2 miles per gallon. Some places are offering up to E20. I think anything above 20 would be a concern for vehicles not intended to run on it.
11-11-10, 08:00 AM
#90
Lead Lap
If you live in an area with EPA restrictions (like most major metropolitan areas), E10 is all that is available. E0 is not available at all. (There is no access to E0 in the Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio areas, for instance.) There is actually a website that lists the stations that have E0 and you will notice that they are very limited in number.