Did a little fuel grade performance/mileage test for those that care.
09-27-10, 01:34 PM
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Did a little fuel grade performance/mileage test for those that care.
I bought my 2000 ES300 Platinum several months ago and pretty much have it exactly how I want it now. Its running in tip top shape with all new fluids, new OEM spark plugs, new Michelin tires, new timing belt etc etc with 108,000 miles.
Since I noticed in the manual that it runs on 87 octane which is what I normally use, but I was always curious about running it on premium as it says use 91 octane or greater for improved performance. So I did just that for 3 full tank fulls using 93 octane premium. Now before I get flamed im not the kinda person that thinks running higher octane is better for your motor, or will give you more horsepower, I strictly did it because the manual says it can be used for better performance so I was curious if the performance/fuel efficiency would outweigh the slightly high fuel costs.
All tests were done using the same gas station and even the same gas pump. All normal driving conditions, no harsh city driving mainly just far suburban.
I actually did notice slightly better performance from the car using 93 premium and it felt a little more "peppier" across the rpm range. Not really enough for me to want to use it all the time but overall the extra performance was nice. Still wont break any 0-100mph records lol, but you get my drift. It also seemed that the engine was slightly louder using premium. Not exhaust noise, but the engine itself seemed to just growl a little more only noticeable on acceleration. I cant imagine it being anything else but simply due to the engine "tuning" itself and changing timing due to the different fuel grade. This noise change was very minimal, but something I did note nonetheless.
The first tank using 93 octane I was able to go 411 miles when the needle was perfectly even with the E mark. At this point I didnt want to go anymore and if I remember correctly I put back in about 16 gallons and some change.
Using regular 87 I can go to about 380-390 miles before I start to get a little nervous. So basically this comes out to be an approximate different of 20 miles give or take. This difference could be related to a number of things as well, but overall I noticed about 20 more miles to a tank using the premium.
In my eyes thats not a big enough difference so the added miles per tank you get using premium does NOT outweigh the cost difference between premium and regular fuel. To sum it up I will continue only using 87 octane.
Just thought I would post that up if anyone was really curious :-)
And last but not least one of my more recent pictures of my 00 ES Plat.
James
Since I noticed in the manual that it runs on 87 octane which is what I normally use, but I was always curious about running it on premium as it says use 91 octane or greater for improved performance. So I did just that for 3 full tank fulls using 93 octane premium. Now before I get flamed im not the kinda person that thinks running higher octane is better for your motor, or will give you more horsepower, I strictly did it because the manual says it can be used for better performance so I was curious if the performance/fuel efficiency would outweigh the slightly high fuel costs.
All tests were done using the same gas station and even the same gas pump. All normal driving conditions, no harsh city driving mainly just far suburban.
I actually did notice slightly better performance from the car using 93 premium and it felt a little more "peppier" across the rpm range. Not really enough for me to want to use it all the time but overall the extra performance was nice. Still wont break any 0-100mph records lol, but you get my drift. It also seemed that the engine was slightly louder using premium. Not exhaust noise, but the engine itself seemed to just growl a little more only noticeable on acceleration. I cant imagine it being anything else but simply due to the engine "tuning" itself and changing timing due to the different fuel grade. This noise change was very minimal, but something I did note nonetheless.
The first tank using 93 octane I was able to go 411 miles when the needle was perfectly even with the E mark. At this point I didnt want to go anymore and if I remember correctly I put back in about 16 gallons and some change.
Using regular 87 I can go to about 380-390 miles before I start to get a little nervous. So basically this comes out to be an approximate different of 20 miles give or take. This difference could be related to a number of things as well, but overall I noticed about 20 more miles to a tank using the premium.
In my eyes thats not a big enough difference so the added miles per tank you get using premium does NOT outweigh the cost difference between premium and regular fuel. To sum it up I will continue only using 87 octane.
Just thought I would post that up if anyone was really curious :-)
And last but not least one of my more recent pictures of my 00 ES Plat.
James
09-27-10, 03:09 PM
#2
Nice to see someone else having done the same. Except now its in written format.
This should hopefully clear up the gasoline threads regarding the ES300 and some ridicoulous comments pertaining to Premium...
I've gotten just over 400miles on a tank a few times with 87
*highway, and a little bit of city
Othewise like you said 380-ish on a full tank is expected.
Thanks for the post.
-Mike-
This should hopefully clear up the gasoline threads regarding the ES300 and some ridicoulous comments pertaining to Premium...
I've gotten just over 400miles on a tank a few times with 87
*highway, and a little bit of cityOthewise like you said 380-ish on a full tank is expected.
Thanks for the post.
-Mike-
09-27-10, 03:31 PM
#4
I realized all the same thing you did. I usually run 89 because our gas sttions offer it, but i run 93 whenever there is a sale or every other tank in the winter. I don't know why, but i just feel like my car needs it in the winter because of the harsher conditions, i have no real logic to my acts, but it makes me feel better ha
09-28-10, 02:57 AM
#5
Good Post. There are a couple of things I would like to add here.
1. A more accurate way to check the fuel mpg would have been to fill up and keeping slowly topping of till you almost have gas comming back out the gas tank. Set your trip odometer and record you odometer reading. Then drive the car till almost empty. Then go back and fill up again slowly until you almost have gas running back out the tank. Ensuring the the tank is filled each time to max capasity. On the second fill up record how many gallons it took to fill up again. Example. Let say it took 14.5 gallons on the second fill up and you drove 396 miles. Divide 396 by 14.5 = 27.31mpg. Determining how much fuel is left when your gauge is on E and the low fuel light is on is not very accurate imo.
2. The reason why performance is better when you use 93 octane gas is because the Cars ECU is programed to manage the engine to run at a optimum performance. It reads air fuel mixture combustion and has knock sensors. It can advance or retard timming. The better the fuel the more it advances the timming, and or the less it retards the timming along with a few other things. Thus premium fuel gives better performance and better gas mileage.
3. If you have been running 87 octane gas all along. And then you go the the station and fill up with 93. Assuming that the tank is empty then it will take the ECU about 50 - 75 miles to remap its performance to the 93 octane gas fully. If your running half 87 and half equal amount of 93 then it's still not a pure 93 grade in your tank.
4. If you figure a 16 gallon tank, times a .20 difference in cost of 87 vs 93 gas that equals $3.20 difference. My feeling is to run 93 octane for the best engine performance. Be sure that you have the correct tire pressure, good clean spark plugs, clean air filter, and, add a bottle of pour in the tank fuel/combustion cleaner in the tank once every 2 months. I get 2 from a Dollar store @ 1.50 each. And if you have a check engine light on get it fixed, that hurts fuel mileage. Alot of times that makes the ECU go into a protect mode and dump extra fuel into the engine for safety. Also find the best price on gas, check out http://gasbuddy.com/ for best price around you. You can find 93 at the same price as some stations sell 87 for.
1. A more accurate way to check the fuel mpg would have been to fill up and keeping slowly topping of till you almost have gas comming back out the gas tank. Set your trip odometer and record you odometer reading. Then drive the car till almost empty. Then go back and fill up again slowly until you almost have gas running back out the tank. Ensuring the the tank is filled each time to max capasity. On the second fill up record how many gallons it took to fill up again. Example. Let say it took 14.5 gallons on the second fill up and you drove 396 miles. Divide 396 by 14.5 = 27.31mpg. Determining how much fuel is left when your gauge is on E and the low fuel light is on is not very accurate imo.
2. The reason why performance is better when you use 93 octane gas is because the Cars ECU is programed to manage the engine to run at a optimum performance. It reads air fuel mixture combustion and has knock sensors. It can advance or retard timming. The better the fuel the more it advances the timming, and or the less it retards the timming along with a few other things. Thus premium fuel gives better performance and better gas mileage.
3. If you have been running 87 octane gas all along. And then you go the the station and fill up with 93. Assuming that the tank is empty then it will take the ECU about 50 - 75 miles to remap its performance to the 93 octane gas fully. If your running half 87 and half equal amount of 93 then it's still not a pure 93 grade in your tank.
4. If you figure a 16 gallon tank, times a .20 difference in cost of 87 vs 93 gas that equals $3.20 difference. My feeling is to run 93 octane for the best engine performance. Be sure that you have the correct tire pressure, good clean spark plugs, clean air filter, and, add a bottle of pour in the tank fuel/combustion cleaner in the tank once every 2 months. I get 2 from a Dollar store @ 1.50 each. And if you have a check engine light on get it fixed, that hurts fuel mileage. Alot of times that makes the ECU go into a protect mode and dump extra fuel into the engine for safety. Also find the best price on gas, check out http://gasbuddy.com/ for best price around you. You can find 93 at the same price as some stations sell 87 for.
Last edited by jgscott; 09-28-10 at 03:00 AM.
09-28-10, 08:46 AM
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Good Post. There are a couple of things I would like to add here.
1. A more accurate way to check the fuel mpg would have been to fill up and keeping slowly topping of till you almost have gas comming back out the gas tank. Set your trip odometer and record you odometer reading. Then drive the car till almost empty. Then go back and fill up again slowly until you almost have gas running back out the tank. Ensuring the the tank is filled each time to max capasity. On the second fill up record how many gallons it took to fill up again. Example. Let say it took 14.5 gallons on the second fill up and you drove 396 miles. Divide 396 by 14.5 = 27.31mpg. Determining how much fuel is left when your gauge is on E and the low fuel light is on is not very accurate imo.
2. The reason why performance is better when you use 93 octane gas is because the Cars ECU is programed to manage the engine to run at a optimum performance. It reads air fuel mixture combustion and has knock sensors. It can advance or retard timming. The better the fuel the more it advances the timming, and or the less it retards the timming along with a few other things. Thus premium fuel gives better performance and better gas mileage.
3. If you have been running 87 octane gas all along. And then you go the the station and fill up with 93. Assuming that the tank is empty then it will take the ECU about 50 - 75 miles to remap its performance to the 93 octane gas fully. If your running half 87 and half equal amount of 93 then it's still not a pure 93 grade in your tank.
4. If you figure a 16 gallon tank, times a .20 difference in cost of 87 vs 93 gas that equals $3.20 difference. My feeling is to run 93 octane for the best engine performance. Be sure that you have the correct tire pressure, good clean spark plugs, clean air filter, and, add a bottle of pour in the tank fuel/combustion cleaner in the tank once every 2 months. I get 2 from a Dollar store @ 1.50 each. And if you have a check engine light on get it fixed, that hurts fuel mileage. Alot of times that makes the ECU go into a protect mode and dump extra fuel into the engine for safety. Also find the best price on gas, check out http://gasbuddy.com/ for best price around you. You can find 93 at the same price as some stations sell 87 for.
1. A more accurate way to check the fuel mpg would have been to fill up and keeping slowly topping of till you almost have gas comming back out the gas tank. Set your trip odometer and record you odometer reading. Then drive the car till almost empty. Then go back and fill up again slowly until you almost have gas running back out the tank. Ensuring the the tank is filled each time to max capasity. On the second fill up record how many gallons it took to fill up again. Example. Let say it took 14.5 gallons on the second fill up and you drove 396 miles. Divide 396 by 14.5 = 27.31mpg. Determining how much fuel is left when your gauge is on E and the low fuel light is on is not very accurate imo.
2. The reason why performance is better when you use 93 octane gas is because the Cars ECU is programed to manage the engine to run at a optimum performance. It reads air fuel mixture combustion and has knock sensors. It can advance or retard timming. The better the fuel the more it advances the timming, and or the less it retards the timming along with a few other things. Thus premium fuel gives better performance and better gas mileage.
3. If you have been running 87 octane gas all along. And then you go the the station and fill up with 93. Assuming that the tank is empty then it will take the ECU about 50 - 75 miles to remap its performance to the 93 octane gas fully. If your running half 87 and half equal amount of 93 then it's still not a pure 93 grade in your tank.
4. If you figure a 16 gallon tank, times a .20 difference in cost of 87 vs 93 gas that equals $3.20 difference. My feeling is to run 93 octane for the best engine performance. Be sure that you have the correct tire pressure, good clean spark plugs, clean air filter, and, add a bottle of pour in the tank fuel/combustion cleaner in the tank once every 2 months. I get 2 from a Dollar store @ 1.50 each. And if you have a check engine light on get it fixed, that hurts fuel mileage. Alot of times that makes the ECU go into a protect mode and dump extra fuel into the engine for safety. Also find the best price on gas, check out http://gasbuddy.com/ for best price around you. You can find 93 at the same price as some stations sell 87 for.
1. Well topping off your tank is not recommended as its a good way to ruin your evap canister and I dont really want to spend a few hundred dollars on some emissions part. The method I used of filling up to the first click at the same exact gas pump every time is as accurate as it gets. I also DID infact do all the calculations I just didnt want to get that in depth in my thread. I calculate my fuel economy everytime I fill up and im always right around 23-25mpg and that was using both regular 87 and 93 premium.
2. Yes we understand that and the added performance was noticeable although very minor and like I said to me wasnt worth the added costs of the premium. And as I found out the minimal extra miles were not worth it either. Your description is right on though so it is cool that our ES's can use both fuels where as most cars recommended either one or the other. Like my Z06 vette, my Acura TL-S obviously were both premo burners because thats what fuel the engine is designed to run on. Point is, a car that was designed to run on 87 will NOT benefit in any way shape or form by using premium.
3. Thats exactly why I went through 3 full tanks of premium to make sure my tests were accurate.
4. I see your reasoning to be running premium and the added performance alone might be worth it to some. For me im going to just stick with regular 87 as the extra performance does nothing for me and premium doesnt add enough miles to overcome the extra cost.
Im just finishing up another tank that I went back to 87 octane. I am currently at 361 miles one mark above E no low fuel light yet. This will easily be another 400 mile tank with ZERO highway miles. This is basically exactly the same mileage I got with the premium fuel right around 24-25mpg.
Thanks,
James
09-28-10, 08:50 AM
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09-28-10, 01:26 PM
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1. Well topping off your tank is not recommended as its a good way to ruin your evap canister and I dont really want to spend a few hundred dollars on some emissions part. The method I used of filling up to the first click at the same exact gas pump every time is as accurate as it gets. I also DID infact do all the calculations I just didnt want to get that in depth in my thread. I calculate my fuel economy everytime I fill up and im always right around 23-25mpg and that was using both regular 87 and 93 premium.
2. Yes we understand that and the added performance was noticeable although very minor and like I said to me wasnt worth the added costs of the premium. And as I found out the minimal extra miles were not worth it either. Your description is right on though so it is cool that our ES's can use both fuels where as most cars recommended either one or the other. Like my Z06 vette, my Acura TL-S obviously were both premo burners because thats what fuel the engine is designed to run on. Point is, a car that was designed to run on 87 will NOT benefit in any way shape or form by using premium.
3. Thats exactly why I went through 3 full tanks of premium to make sure my tests were accurate.
4. I see your reasoning to be running premium and the added performance alone might be worth it to some. For me im going to just stick with regular 87 as the extra performance does nothing for me and premium doesnt add enough miles to overcome the extra cost.
Im just finishing up another tank that I went back to 87 octane. I am currently at 361 miles one mark above E no low fuel light yet. This will easily be another 400 mile tank with ZERO highway miles. This is basically exactly the same mileage I got with the premium fuel right around 24-25mpg.
Thanks,
James
2. Yes we understand that and the added performance was noticeable although very minor and like I said to me wasnt worth the added costs of the premium. And as I found out the minimal extra miles were not worth it either. Your description is right on though so it is cool that our ES's can use both fuels where as most cars recommended either one or the other. Like my Z06 vette, my Acura TL-S obviously were both premo burners because thats what fuel the engine is designed to run on. Point is, a car that was designed to run on 87 will NOT benefit in any way shape or form by using premium.
3. Thats exactly why I went through 3 full tanks of premium to make sure my tests were accurate.
4. I see your reasoning to be running premium and the added performance alone might be worth it to some. For me im going to just stick with regular 87 as the extra performance does nothing for me and premium doesnt add enough miles to overcome the extra cost.
Im just finishing up another tank that I went back to 87 octane. I am currently at 361 miles one mark above E no low fuel light yet. This will easily be another 400 mile tank with ZERO highway miles. This is basically exactly the same mileage I got with the premium fuel right around 24-25mpg.
Thanks,
James
2. Totally disagree with you about the benifit on 93 vs 87 and heres why. I'm not saying that you can't run 87 or that running 87 is a problem.
My problem with your test is the accuracy of seat of the pants guessing on what is left when you are on E by the guage.
Heres why:
A- Your 1st post paragraph 3 your said quote " The first tank using 93 octane I was able to go 411 miles when the needle was perfectly even with the E mark. At this point I didnt want to go anymore and if I remember correctly I put back in about 16 gallons and some change".
"Using regular 87 I can go to about 380-390 miles before I start to get a little nervous. So basically this comes out to be an approximate different of 20 miles give or take. This difference could be related to a number of things as well, but overall I noticed about 20 more miles to a tank using the premium".
Was there 2.8 gallons left in the tank the 1st time when the needle was on E, but 1.2 gallons left the 2nd time when you "start to get a little nervous"? Was the low fuel warning light on both times ? 2.8 gallons - 1.2 gallons = 1.6 gallons more or less you could be off. That's = 1.6 gallons X $ 2.80 per gallon = $ 4.48.
B- Lets say we use your numbers 97 octane 411 miles on the first gas pump stop click. I've had times the pump clicked on fill up and was able to still put almost another gallon in without it showing or comming to the top.
You gave 380-390 as range for 87 octane so avarage it to 385.
411 - 385 = 26 miles difference by Your math. 26 miles.You stated figures of 23-25 mpg on Your Calculation right ? Ok Now do the math lets say 1 gallon of gas 87 - 93 cost average of $ 2.80 . 1 gallon takes you 23-25 miles. It's a wash. Seems like you feel better paying a lower price for 87 but, it's a wash. Well maybe you saved .60 cents per tank for lower performance, but I still think if you had a more accurate measurement Premium would be cheaper because of the better gas milage.
To sum it up again the difference in filling up with 93 premium on average VS 87 per tank is = $ 3.20. I think you are spending more on premium than 87.
Last edited by jgscott; 09-28-10 at 01:35 PM.
09-28-10, 02:20 PM
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1. You can top off the tank by letting the air bubbles go down and shaking the car up and down without over running or getting into the evap canister. I do it all the time. Read back to my post in # 1. I quote said " fill up again slowly until you almost have gas running back out the tank " I said this in line 2 and line 3 of # 1. FYI I talked to the Shop forman at a Lexus dealer that has been there from 1990. His answer was he tops off all three of his Lexus's. Including his 2001 ES300 all the time, same as I do. He's never had that problem, and neither have I. He said most likely If you went crazy at the pump and continually froced gas in it could possibly happen if you went crazy.
2. Totally disagree with you about the benifit on 93 vs 87 and heres why. I'm not saying that you can't run 87 or that running 87 is a problem.
My problem with your test is the accuracy of seat of the pants guessing on what is left when you are on E by the guage.
Heres why:
A- Your 1st post paragraph 3 your said quote " The first tank using 93 octane I was able to go 411 miles when the needle was perfectly even with the E mark. At this point I didnt want to go anymore and if I remember correctly I put back in about 16 gallons and some change".
"Using regular 87 I can go to about 380-390 miles before I start to get a little nervous. So basically this comes out to be an approximate different of 20 miles give or take. This difference could be related to a number of things as well, but overall I noticed about 20 more miles to a tank using the premium".
Was there 2.8 gallons left in the tank the 1st time when the needle was on E, but 1.2 gallons left the 2nd time when you "start to get a little nervous"? Was the low fuel warning light on both times ? 2.8 gallons - 1.2 gallons = 1.6 gallons more or less you could be off. That's = 1.6 gallons X $ 2.80 per gallon = $ 4.48.
B- Lets say we use your numbers 97 octane 411 miles on the first gas pump stop click. I've had times the pump clicked on fill up and was able to still put almost another gallon in without it showing or comming to the top.
You gave 380-390 as range for 87 octane so avarage it to 385.
411 - 385 = 26 miles difference by Your math. 26 miles.You stated figures of 23-25 mpg on Your Calculation right ? Ok Now do the math lets say 1 gallon of gas 87 - 93 cost average of $ 2.80 . 1 gallon takes you 23-25 miles. It's a wash. Seems like you feel better paying a lower price for 87 but, it's a wash. Well maybe you saved .60 cents per tank for lower performance, but I still think if you had a more accurate measurement Premium would be cheaper because of the better gas milage.
To sum it up again the difference in filling up with 93 premium on average VS 87 per tank is = $ 3.20. I think you are spending more on premium than 87.
2. Totally disagree with you about the benifit on 93 vs 87 and heres why. I'm not saying that you can't run 87 or that running 87 is a problem.
My problem with your test is the accuracy of seat of the pants guessing on what is left when you are on E by the guage.
Heres why:
A- Your 1st post paragraph 3 your said quote " The first tank using 93 octane I was able to go 411 miles when the needle was perfectly even with the E mark. At this point I didnt want to go anymore and if I remember correctly I put back in about 16 gallons and some change".
"Using regular 87 I can go to about 380-390 miles before I start to get a little nervous. So basically this comes out to be an approximate different of 20 miles give or take. This difference could be related to a number of things as well, but overall I noticed about 20 more miles to a tank using the premium".
Was there 2.8 gallons left in the tank the 1st time when the needle was on E, but 1.2 gallons left the 2nd time when you "start to get a little nervous"? Was the low fuel warning light on both times ? 2.8 gallons - 1.2 gallons = 1.6 gallons more or less you could be off. That's = 1.6 gallons X $ 2.80 per gallon = $ 4.48.
B- Lets say we use your numbers 97 octane 411 miles on the first gas pump stop click. I've had times the pump clicked on fill up and was able to still put almost another gallon in without it showing or comming to the top.
You gave 380-390 as range for 87 octane so avarage it to 385.
411 - 385 = 26 miles difference by Your math. 26 miles.You stated figures of 23-25 mpg on Your Calculation right ? Ok Now do the math lets say 1 gallon of gas 87 - 93 cost average of $ 2.80 . 1 gallon takes you 23-25 miles. It's a wash. Seems like you feel better paying a lower price for 87 but, it's a wash. Well maybe you saved .60 cents per tank for lower performance, but I still think if you had a more accurate measurement Premium would be cheaper because of the better gas milage.
To sum it up again the difference in filling up with 93 premium on average VS 87 per tank is = $ 3.20. I think you are spending more on premium than 87.
My test was done accurately using calculations and filling up exactly the same at the same gas pump every time!! I simply didnt add those numbers in my original thread to keep it simple and easy. You dont need to top off your tank thats not required regardless if it damages anything or not. Using the same pump like I did would be more accurate then topping off the tank at different gas stations due to variations in pumps and stations.
I once again filled up just today I went 372 miles and put in 15 gallons exactly. Thats 24.8mpg using 87 octane! The absolute best mpg I got out of the 3 tanks of 93 octane was 25.5mpg with a little highway mileage mixed in there. Thats an extra whopping 10 miles to the tank. Hardly beneficial!! However in the end the difference in cost between the two fuels is usually less than $5.00 so to some it might not matter, but to others it may.
B. To be honest yes I actually do feel better about putting 87 octane in my daily driver ES300. For once in my life I now own a car that can run on the "cheap stuff". Every other car I have owned was a premium burner and sometimes it does really add up. Not long ago when gas prices were in the 4 dollar range here near Chicago I owned one of the most thirsty vehicles you can buy a 2008 Grand Cherokee SRT8. Fast as ****, but used up that premium like none other. My current other car, a 2006 Corvette Z06, is obviously a premo burner, but it also does very well on fuel considering it has 505hp. Infact, that car can get me 31mpg strictly hwy, pretty impressive!
I will stick with the cheap stuff since it doesnt get me any significant extra mileage, and I can careless about performance in this car. It drives perfectly fine using the recommended 87 octane and I will go ahead and keep that $4.00 I saved today and get myself a #6 at Wendy's tonight
09-28-10, 03:20 PM
#10
My test was done accurately using calculations and filling up exactly the same at the same gas pump every time!! I simply didnt add those numbers in my original thread to keep it simple and easy. You dont need to top off your tank thats not required regardless if it damages anything or not. Using the same pump like I did would be more accurate then topping off the tank at different gas stations due to variations in pumps and stations.
I once again filled up just today I went 372 miles and put in 15 gallons exactly. Thats 24.8mpg using 87 octane! The absolute best mpg I got out of the 3 tanks of 93 octane was 25.5mpg with a little highway mileage mixed in there. Thats an extra whopping 10 miles to the tank. Hardly beneficial!! However in the end the difference in cost between the two fuels is usually less than $5.00 so to some it might not matter, but to others it may.
B. To be honest yes I actually do feel better about putting 87 octane in my daily driver ES300. For once in my life I now own a car that can run on the "cheap stuff". Every other car I have owned was a premium burner and sometimes it does really add up. Not long ago when gas prices were in the 4 dollar range here near Chicago I owned one of the most thirsty vehicles you can buy a 2008 Grand Cherokee SRT8. Fast as ****, but used up that premium like none other. My current other car, a 2006 Corvette Z06, is obviously a premo burner, but it also does very well on fuel considering it has 505hp. Infact, that car can get me 31mpg strictly hwy, pretty impressive!
I will stick with the cheap stuff since it doesnt get me any significant extra mileage, and I can careless about performance in this car. It drives perfectly fine using the recommended 87 octane and I will go ahead and keep that $4.00 I saved today and get myself a #6 at Wendy's tonight
I once again filled up just today I went 372 miles and put in 15 gallons exactly. Thats 24.8mpg using 87 octane! The absolute best mpg I got out of the 3 tanks of 93 octane was 25.5mpg with a little highway mileage mixed in there. Thats an extra whopping 10 miles to the tank. Hardly beneficial!! However in the end the difference in cost between the two fuels is usually less than $5.00 so to some it might not matter, but to others it may.
B. To be honest yes I actually do feel better about putting 87 octane in my daily driver ES300. For once in my life I now own a car that can run on the "cheap stuff". Every other car I have owned was a premium burner and sometimes it does really add up. Not long ago when gas prices were in the 4 dollar range here near Chicago I owned one of the most thirsty vehicles you can buy a 2008 Grand Cherokee SRT8. Fast as ****, but used up that premium like none other. My current other car, a 2006 Corvette Z06, is obviously a premo burner, but it also does very well on fuel considering it has 505hp. Infact, that car can get me 31mpg strictly hwy, pretty impressive!
I will stick with the cheap stuff since it doesnt get me any significant extra mileage, and I can careless about performance in this car. It drives perfectly fine using the recommended 87 octane and I will go ahead and keep that $4.00 I saved today and get myself a #6 at Wendy's tonight
How do you whats left in your tank when you calculate ??? Not what you put back in. But...... when you say ok I went 372, is there still 3.5 left or .8 left ?? It's your reading that your taken of How Many Miles you have driven that is inaccurate because you don't even close to consistantly know if you have 2.5 gallons left that would take you another 63 or so miles vs the next time only .8 gallons left that would take you 21 miles more. Nor is it consistant on fill up because you or not topping it off. That's all I'm saying. But... I think it's a mental feeling, and that 87 is costing you more than 93. 
09-29-10, 08:22 AM
#12
Lexus Test Driver
Octane
Good to know... from what Im hearing its seems running on a higher octane is not incredibily important but if you can get it at a cheap price why not. Good post. I live the calculations and such but the only accurate calculation of mpg is adding the exact same gallons of gas and driving the exact same roads, ie a race track in a dome with no or at least the same amount of wind. Using brand new tires with each octane. Needless to say its pretty intensive to get accurate results but we can conclude that results are acceptable in both cases of calculations.
09-29-10, 08:55 AM
#13
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I too have done my own tests on 87 vs 91 (91 is the highest grade of fuel I can get here) on my 97 ES300. All the gas here contains 10% ethanol. My results were similiar to yours. I noticed very little difference between the two mileage wise, however I didn't notice any difference performance wise. I will continue to run 87 octane. Thanks for posting your results, even though some people still disagree with you. Whatever. It's your car, run 87 if you wan't to. Run 91/93 if you wan't to. I don't care what other people say, I myself do not believe there to be enough advantages in 91 octane fuel to pay the extra for it (unless spending more money at the pump is an advantage to you). Not to mention that the manual states that you can run 87 or higher octane fuel, and who would know better than the manufacturer of the car?
09-29-10, 10:33 AM
#14
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The good news is that on one tank, I was able to drive 511 miles (yes, 511 miles) before I got so nervous about running out that I had to get more gas. I also got 30 mpg.
The bad news is that I later had to pay $731 to have my evaporation control canister and the associated valve replaced. By topping off the gas tank, I had gotten gasoline inside the evap syatem and ruined it. The evap system is designed to handle gasses only, not liquid gasoline.
09-29-10, 11:20 AM
#15
Lexus Test Driver
I too have done my own tests on 87 vs 91 (91 is the highest grade of fuel I can get here) on my 97 ES300. All the gas here contains 10% ethanol. My results were similiar to yours. I noticed very little difference between the two mileage wise, however I didn't notice any difference performance wise. I will continue to run 87 octane. Thanks for posting your results, even though some people still disagree with you. Whatever. It's your car, run 87 if you wan't to. Run 91/93 if you wan't to. I don't care what other people say, I myself do not believe there to be enough advantages in 91 octane fuel to pay the extra for it (unless spending more money at the pump is an advantage to you). Not to mention that the manual states that you can run 87 or higher octane fuel, and who would know better than the manufacturer of the car?
I had also done my own test. I am sticking with 87 oct since I don't accelerate hard anyways.