Someone just told me that the new Tacoma can only use premium gas. Is this true?

 

Completely false. The V6 in the Taco is the same in my 4Runner and the manual states, 87 Gas. For "Best Results" use a higher octane.

Only Toyota models I know that require premium are the Matrix/Celica GTS models with the 2ZZGE engines. If you've boosted your engine, then you'll need to run premium gas but from the factory you should be ok with regular gas...

 

The dude says you are full of sheet!!! The manual that he read stated it "suggested" using premium.

 

This is one of those topics that will never die. As with the 4th gen 4runner, many people say that the suggested fuel is Premium, but it is not REQUIRED. You do NOT need premium with the new Taco. Thousands of 4runner v-6 owners just like me run regular and it runs like a champ.

On edmunds.com's new car forums, this is the most asked question, and the answer is always: Run regular, but if you want to waste money, run premium!

 

i posted this in another forum that i frequent, but thought some of you may find some value in this since your owner's manuals suggest 93, but say that it can run on 87.

Lesson in Octane

they will burn the same. no assertainable difference in carbon buildup within the same brands. however, compare shell or chevron to an off brand and you can and will have more buildup w/ the off brand b/c they tend to have less detergents and poorer quality detergents in them.

now as far as power goes, you probably won't feel the difference. if the engine was meant to run at it's optimum on 93 octane and you put 87 in it, then it will simply retard the timing enough to prevent detonation. in doing so, you loose some power, but typically less than 3 or 4%. that's about 6-8hp and for the everyday driver, you'll never feel the difference. however, you will more than likely have a decrease in your efficiency (MPG's) if you drop from a recommended 93 down to 87 due to the engine retarding the timing. this is more noticeable on automatics than on manual transmission equipped vehicles due to the downshifting at cruising speeds from the loss of the top end power.

for fun, let's walk through a quick & dirty calculation with some assumptions:

15 gallon use of fuel. 93 octane is $2.50 and 87 is $2.30 per gallon. you normally get 17MPG with 93, but only 16MPG with 87. which grade is more economical to use?

for 93 octane:
15 gallons * 17 MPG = 255 miles, 15 gallons * $2.50 = $37.50 to fill up
255 miles / $37.50 = 6.8 miles per dollar -OR- 14.71 cents per mile

now for 87 octane:
15 gallons * 16 MPG = 240 miles, 15 gallons * $2.30 = $34.50 to fill up
240 miles / $34.50 = 6.96 miles per dollar -OR- 14.38 cents per mile

add that up for somebody who drives 20k miles per year, and the difference is an whopping $66 per YEAR...


the reason that they require 93 is due to the high compression ratio of the engine. higher ratios means that during the compression cycle, the piston moves in the upward direction so far that the air inside is compressed. compression causes heat, and that heat can cause premature detonation of the fuel without the spark plug ever firing. this is detonation. the engine has a knock sensor and will detect pre-detonation conditions and will adjust engine timing accordingly to compensate.

also, if you have an older engine, you're more likely to get pinging (detonation). why is that? it's because older engines typically have some carbon buildup on the valves and on the piston head. those carbon deposits can get heated to very high temperatures while the engine is running and will actually glow (think of charcoal in a grill). those glowing embers will then ignite the fuel and cause detonation. using something like BG44K or Seafoam on a regular basis will remove the carbon deposits and therefore will reduce your chances of pinging.

why does 93 not ping when 87 octane will? it's in the octane rating. 93 is "harder to ignite" than 87. it doesn't burn any cleaner, or have more energy than 87 octane does. however, it requires more energy to initiate combustion, and therefore is less prone to detonation during the compression cycle or due to hot embers in the combustion chamber. also, like metioned before, 93 octane allows the engine to run at peak performance by allowing the timing to be as far advanced as possible.

on the contrary, for an engine designed to run on 87 and then you put 93 in it, you are simply wasting your money. the engine will still run the same and you won't notice a bit of difference in power or performance. absolutely ZERO difference. as long as it is well maintained w/ low amounts of carbon deposits that would normally cause detonation and lead to a retarted timing, then using 93 octane won't do anything but make you poorer.

as far as Mid-Grades go. it's really a waste. most older stations only have two tanks anyway - used to be for leaded and unleaded and now for low and high octane. when you buy mid, you are getting 89 octane, but that's also what you get when you pump the low-grade gas. look at the rating - it's a MINIMUM octane rating system. the two in-ground tanks are for 89 and 93. this is also very typical for lots of newer stations as well.

ok class. back to work...

 

bamachem, thanks for the well worded reply. i always try to say the same thing when this topic comes up, but i've never been able to say it as well as you.

 

Ditto.
Thanks for getting that all down Andy

 

Thanks for the post, it was helpful.

The only part I don't necessarily agree with is notion that higher octane will give you better gas mileage. I've done several tests, in both my 4runner and acura, to see if there is ever a difference in gas mileage for higher octane, and I've never found any benefit. In fact, I always seem to get worse mileage with Premium fuel.

It is a very hard thing to test though. I basically drive the same way to and from work at the exact same times a day (so I get the same traffic), so I do that one week on regular, one week on premium. Repeat that a few times and average the results. Regular won with both my small car and the 4runner. So I stick to regular.

 

i also get worse milage when i put premium in my subaru. i think it's because i get a little extra power because of the timing advance and then i step in the throttle alot more because it's more fun.

my brother also gets significantly worse milage in his turbo GTI with premium, but that's because the computer gives him more boost with the premium and he generates much more power (and burns much more fuel).

 

My understanding is that if you don't have pinging then you should have better fuel mileage with the lower octane rating because there's less stuff in it to dilute the fuel. I don't know if it makes that big of a difference though.

 

very well said,but the only thing i disagree with is concerning plus (aka mid-grade). most stations do indeed have only 2 tanks,but that is for regular and premium with a blend pump being used for plus. infact, most loading terminals have blend pumps instead of separate products(cuts down on the storage issue). the only place i can load plus without blending is hunt refinery here in t-town. i know it's splitting hairs,but i've been in the industry almost 8 years now and i bleed high sulfur diesel fuel!! later andy!!


Ernie

 

edit...never mind

 

kewl. the reason i said that is that i know two older stations on the coast who only have 2 tanks and they don't have a blend pump. they just sell 87 as 89.

you gonna make SE4RJ3 in may at tellico?

 

i had really hoped to,but alison informed me yesterday that is mother's day weekend,,,so unless you have an empty room for me to live in,i'm out! later

Ernie