XeroK00L

The myth has been dubunked long ago. Please take a short read for yourself.
http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/webtemp3.cfm?dept=3&id=2049
http://www.bargaineering.com/article...-gas-myth.html

If using premium makes you feel more like you bought something superior to the Camry and thus happier, then sure, by all means pay that extra $$. For those who can care less about that extra 4hp, the regular unleaded fuel is just as safe and no worse than the premium in terms of mileage and longetivity for this 2GR-FE engine.

Rockville

and is not critically sensitive as the IS and GS engines which are more specific in fuel octane requirements. The ES350 will not have the rated horsepower with regular so don't run title for title.....I'm not convinced that the fuel efficiency will remain the same however. We need a kind soul to test this theory once and for all. I found regular at the pump for $2.99 the other day when filling up my wife's RX300 and felt that it was a bargain. A year ago I would have said WTF?

Rock

oldcajun

The basic answer is that the Camry, Avalon, and ES350 will run just fine on 87 octane gasoline. The words in the Avalon manual say something to the effect that the engine power was rated with 91 octane fuel and using lower octane will result in a loss of power below the rating. The engine computer retards the timing to prevent pinging and thus reduces horsepower from the ideal advance curve. This results in reduced engine thermal effeciency, so it is likely that mileage will be reduced somewhat. On a new car with no carbon build-up in the combustion chamber will need little timing retard. On older cars this will be more significant. This could also be a problem under heavy load such as towing, climbing a steep hill, or passing on two lane roads.

I ran a test for 1200 miles on my G35 coupe to evaluate the difference between premium and mid-grade. I could not find any mileage difference and really could not feel any difference in acceleration. From premium to regular is twice as big a step in octane difference, so the results might be different.

STeve

S L I C K

I'm still going to use Premium because the car manual says to and I could care less about saving $0.20 per gallon.

Ingram4868

This is a good discussion, but what is missing is some real world trials. We had the same discussion at toyotanation.com when the 2005 Avalon came out (same engine). The 05 Avalon was government tested and rated at 280 HP. To get that HP the owners manual stated to use 91 octane fuel. For many months a number of us tested the various grades and we found that performance nor MPG were impacted by using something less than 91 octane.

Our ES350 should be delivered within the next 2 weeks and I'll start the testing as we did in the Avalon. I plan to use the 91 octane for several weeks and then drop to the mid grade for a couple of weeks then to 87 for the final test. It takes a little time, but I find it enjoyable.

bagwell

I just hate those type of responses...."who cares about money, you drive a Lexus!"
did you even read her question?!?! price isn't the issue its the availability she's concerned with...

OK, off rant now.

Ingram4868

1SICKLEX pointed this out already, but I just wanted to confirm that the owners manual is clear that 91is recommended for peak performance but that 87 is also ok

qliu34

where do you see that in the manual? I can't find it. Thanks.

dotbowels

"its the availability she's concerned with" YES that was the real concern I had.


Thank you for recognizing it and defending me I tried unsuccessfully , but grandma's don't always communicate the most effectively


The service manager at Lexus said 87 will be fine but would probably affect miles per gallon negatively, so it isn't a savings issue.

Ingram4868

Page 394 at the top in the shaded area.

amf1932

Thank you, I found it. Since it's written in the owners handbook I'll definitely give it a try.

CyclopStan

Well I've had my car for over 2 weeks and I have now gone thru 3 tanks of gas, the 1st 2 were premium 92 octane & the last was the mid-grade 89. And while this 'test' is far from conclusive, I got 24.5 on the 1st tank, 24.9 on the 2nd & after approx. 9 gallons on my 3rd tank I'm getting 22.5. The driving conditions have been pretty much equal too. I defineately don't feel any differance in power or acceleration and so far the results maybe a fluke ( & 1/4 of the tank was premium when I filled-up w/ the 89) so these results are very far from scientific. What are your guys results so far?

xfirechief

Is that what the ES 350 gets in MPG?

I get 23 MPG with our RX 330. I thought one would get 27-28 MPG with the ES.
Is that all city driving? We drive about 70/30 with 70% being highway.

Macklin

I'm getting about 26 on my first tank....provided by the dealer. I hope and expect that will go up as the engine gets broken in.

Ingram4868

That sounds very good compared to our 24.5 per tank on 91 octane.