ES - 1st to 4th Gen (1990-2006) Forum for all 1990 - 2006 ES300 and ES330 models. ES250 topics go here as well.

Premium, middle grade or regular? (merged threads)

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Old 07-11-14, 02:18 PM
  #346  
Mythotical
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Originally Posted by MrBooby
How is your intake temp so high? Did you modify your air intake piping to suck air from under the hood?
No.. just stock intake, it is a black car tho... I'm guessing all of the extra heat must have built up while sitting in traffic. I'm going to start logging data for IT and timing to see where the threshold is and compare it to the weather. But 220 deg to get it to ping is impressive! Keep in mind that I am at 3,200 ft. I can see the need to use at least 89 at sea level in the summer but up here 87 seems to be fine. My wife is going to take a trip to Vegas soon, I'll set up data logging and see how it goes.
Old 08-12-14, 01:02 PM
  #347  
kgcrimmins
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Thanks I have a new to me 02 with 97000 and I will use better gas
Old 08-12-14, 09:34 PM
  #348  
dtbaker
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Default Octane 1MZFE ES300

I am not willing to risk banging up my wrist pins and main bearings to save the cost of two soft drinks on a tank of fuel.

The last car I owned was a '94 camry with the 1MZFE, always ran 91 octane and mobil one with a wix (napa gold). I sold it to a friend with 317,000 miles and he's still driving it (327 now) The Engine never touched except timing belts and a rear seal)

In a pinch, I'll blend some lower octane in, but with all the penny wise pound foolish car drivers out there, 91 or higher is always aplenty.

By the way, never let it get below 1/4 tank - the fuel cools the fuel pump in the tank.

2 cents worth.
Old 08-13-14, 12:30 PM
  #349  
jenga
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I have been running 87 octane since I acquired my 2002 last year with no issues. (18K miles put on so far)

With knock sensors and adaptive ignition algorithms, I am not worried about pre-detonation like the old days, the computer listens to the knock sensors input and pulls more timing out of the equation to adapt if needed.

Premium fuel allows for a more aggressive timing curve for performance and slightly better fuel economy.
Old 08-13-14, 02:35 PM
  #350  
Timothyj
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I have two 04 ES cars and one 02 ES. I run 89 octane in all three. BP or Mobil. i have run 87, but the 89 seems to run better.
Old 08-13-14, 04:19 PM
  #351  
GSteg
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I run 87 in the ES330. Can't tell a difference in power or mileage. Then again, I don't live in 100+ degrees weather, and I don't floor the car either.
Old 09-11-14, 01:58 PM
  #352  
285exp
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Originally Posted by Power6
You are confusing two concepts, normal Gasoline gets better mileage than Alcohol blended Gas because Alcohol is less energy dense. Octane rating is actually resistance to combustion, a measure of stability if you will. It plays into ignition timing, if an engine control is programmed to take advantage of it. Energy density is a different concept.

There is basis that you can get better mileage through higher octane, advanced timing can be more efficient, therefore more energy to moving the car and less wasted as heat. 285exp showed us this with his informal experiment, and also he showed us the economics don't really work out when you figure the increased price of the higher octane gas. If he would have changed from a pure Gas product to an E10 say, that would not have worked out the same way.
Just for funzies, I'm doing the non-ethanol experiment now. Because the only non-ethanol fuel available around here is mid-grade (89 octane) marine gas, the effect will be a combination of no ethanol and higher octane, since my usual fuel is E10 87 octane. Just finished the first tank, going to do three more. The non-ethanol stuff is $3.79 a gallon, regular E10 is $3.19. That means I'm going to have to average around 24 mpg to break even.

Last edited by 285exp; 09-11-14 at 02:03 PM. Reason: additional info
Old 09-19-14, 11:43 PM
  #353  
AntzCro
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Default Which octane rating do you use ?

Hey guys !

Just thought I'd see what kind of Octane all of you are running in your Lexus'.

I run 98
Old 09-21-14, 01:10 AM
  #354  
Timothyj
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Are you sure its 98? I run 89 in my cars. I have 3 Lexus ES cars ,two 04 and one 02. I use BP or Mobil gas.
Old 09-21-14, 02:03 PM
  #355  
PDXLex
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I've owned two of these cars, a '97 and an '00. I always run what ever is the cheapest octane 87. Never a problem. Gas is already almost $4 a gallon for the cheap stuff where I live!
Old 09-21-14, 04:03 PM
  #356  
BDSL
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Guys, the OP is in Australia. Their fuel rating is RON and not octane....he is running 98 RON.
Old 09-21-14, 07:52 PM
  #357  
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Sorry guys, Just did the conversion..
98RON in Australia turns out to be 93 in the US for your rating system.

If I am correct, in the US a gallon is equal to 3.78 litres ( metric )
So in Australia where it costs $1.78 / litre (98RON), it costs almost $7 per gallon..
Old 09-22-14, 11:30 PM
  #358  
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Good lord that's spendy. I always put Premium 92-93 octane.
Old 09-28-14, 03:29 PM
  #359  
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Default What gas octane is recommend for 1993 Lexus ES 390

I notice my car start shaking on idle and doesn't wanna accelerate fast on the start of green at a traffic light. A friend of mines ask what kind of gas I put in my tank. I told him I always put 87 regular ever since I got this car which was two weeks ago. So I notice slight changes that my car start to get worst to the point it won't start up no more. So he told me that most older model lexus's take 91 and higher. Is it true what costing theses problems because I'm using 87 regular ?
Old 09-28-14, 06:03 PM
  #360  
LeX2K
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Your engine does not require premium in fact the 3VZ-FE will run on all but the poorest fuel and not ping/knock. Whatever is causing your performance issues are not because of regular fuel.


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