Premium, middle grade or regular? (merged threads)
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Joined: Feb 2002
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From: Pennsylvania
Premium, middle grade or regular? (merged threads)
I always put Sunoco Ultra 94 in my 1995 es 300. One of my friends who drives an alero said that he did the same, until a mechanic told him its bad for the engine. is this true? he said he get better gas mileage now that he switched to 89 octane. i really don't care what gas costs, i just do whatever's best for the lex. i know that the manual says "at least 87", but is it still ok to put 94 in?
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Dec 2001
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From: Detroit, Michigan
Well from what I've read on here about Octane boosters and whatever, heres the deal, if ur friend is saying that he gets better gas mileage by using 87, he is more than likely just looking at how much he's spending on gas, and of course cheaper gas gonna be cheaper but to say that Higher Octane gas is bad for the car, thats pretty stupid too, I mean it'll only give u so much performance gain, if ur cars engine is only built to go up to say 91 octane, then using 94 octane won't do anything different, it wont hurt but it's not gonna give u any more power, But higher octane gas burns cleaner and more efficent and will , and dont quote me on this, but keep ur engine cleaner inside rather then using cheap gas and getting all the clogged fuel injectors or carbon deposits, if u wanna be on the safe side use some Fuel system cleaners, use the one with TECHRON and use it probably every 3-5 thousand miles, dont use it too much though cuz I read somewhere on here that it could mess up some seals in the engine, not sure which one's but any one won't be good, lol
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Lead Lap
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 622
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From: CA - San Deigo
no 94 octane won't hurt your motor .. but it won't get you anymore hp either.
but you can use 87 if you want if won't hurt your motor either ... tons of people with Camry's do it and are good for 250k+ miles easy.
octane has to to do with detonation, the higher the number the more compression it can take before spontaneously igniting.
buying high octane is prob just a waist of money is this case.
does anyone think that Lexus would sell a luxury car that they say doesn't take premium .. I don't think so ... when people buy luxury they expect to buy premium fuel .. otherwise they might thing something is Wrong.
but you can use 87 if you want if won't hurt your motor either ... tons of people with Camry's do it and are good for 250k+ miles easy.
octane has to to do with detonation, the higher the number the more compression it can take before spontaneously igniting.
buying high octane is prob just a waist of money is this case.
does anyone think that Lexus would sell a luxury car that they say doesn't take premium .. I don't think so ... when people buy luxury they expect to buy premium fuel .. otherwise they might thing something is Wrong.
Lead Lap
Joined: May 2002
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From: North Carolina
i saw a special on Good Morning AMerica several months ago and they basically said that buying a higher octane for any car is a complete waste of money....they had all these studies taken.....i would bet that they are right.........and to me, i would by premium gas if it really does matter....but i';d rather save a little money if im not getting anything out of it
Advanced
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 575
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From: California
Originally posted by SDSC300
but you can use 87 if you want if won't hurt your motor either ... tons of people with Camry's do it and are good for 250k+ miles easy.
but you can use 87 if you want if won't hurt your motor either ... tons of people with Camry's do it and are good for 250k+ miles easy.
The V6 Camry and ES use the same engine, but the ES has VVT-i and is tuned for more power (or, you could say the Camry V6 was detuned). I'm assuming the almost 20HP more is at least partly dependant on the use of 91 octane fuel.
does anyone think that Lexus would sell a luxury car that they say doesn't take premium .. I don't think so ... when people buy luxury they expect to buy premium fuel .. otherwise they might thing something is Wrong.
Although didn't previous ES owner's manual specify 87 octane?
Pole Position
Joined: May 2002
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From: Minnesota
does using a higher octane fuel really boost your power that much? I'm thinking probably not, I mean, its gas...not a turbo.. Just buy whatever you want its probably not going to hurt much unless your engine specifies that you use a higher octane, but if you have an 87 car dont even bother putting the higher stuff in UNLESS you have a performance chip, or possibly a timing advance? (well performance chip advancing the timing) am I right?