Does it hurt to put in 87 octane in our cars? JW

 

Do you mean is there any damage done to the engine or exhaust system if you run an inexpensive fuel?

Not really ...

Performance wil be affected. Fuel mileage will be affected. At times there have been reports of O2 sensor problems. Knock sensors may also be a problem..

 

why risk it to save a few dollars.

This subject has been covered many times and not only in this forum but many others too.

If you pay 10-15 cents less than premium, it sure does add up but our cars are VERY expensive to fix. IMO, its not worth to save 150$$ in a lifetime of your cars ownership and having a risk of something going wrong which will end up costing you 4 times more than you'll save.''

Lexus Engeneers have an obvious reason for having us put premium in your gas tank, therefore, I will not argue with their decision and be a loyal Lexus Owner

 

My friends at the Lexus dealership told me over 8 years ago that lexus designs its USA distributed cars to run on 87 Octane with no adverse effects. I have both a GS300 and IS300 have been running 87 Octane for years no problems, no knocks, never a fuel injection problem. I will add fuel injection cleaner to the tank about once a year.

Higher Octane will give better performance if you are pushing the car to the limits, other than that the enhancement will only be noticed psychologically. 87 Octane is not cheap gas it is the federal standard.

 

Why do you put 87 in a Lexus? Saving a couple bucks at the pump?

87 is the cheapest gas that can meet the federal standard. They create 87 octane so less-efficient cars that can't burn 89 and 91 octane completely, which will result in richness. On the other hand, our engines will burn 87 too fast and result in lean. It's not about making your fuel injectors dirty.

My friend's 1999 4-Cyl Camry's engine was in a very bad condition because she fills her car up with 91 octane gas when the requirement was only 89 octane. 5 years later her engine is hard to start when cold, RPM stays lower than usual, and took Toyota technicians more than 3 months of testing to find out that the problem was the gas quality. If GOOD gas can ruin engines, imagine CHEAP gas.

In many parts of the world 92 octane is the minimum, with 95 and 98 octanes being the equivalent of what we US drivers are used to get as 89 and 91(92).

 

Yeah but we are in America. That's why i said that the Lexus vehicles distributed in the US are engineered to run on 87 in case someone decides to ignore the "Premium Only" sticker. It is only logical that the dealer would advocate you use the best products the market has to offer. However, when weighing cost vs benefit 87 octane is the way to go. I am not new to Lexus so the name doesn't fascinate me. I have owned a V12 Jaguar XJS, Mercedes, Corvette, among other things including the GS and IS. But with the 1st Gen GS and IS 87 Octane is okay. I put over 200K on my GS using 87 Octane with no problems and not one engine knock or injector problem. I didn't switch to 87 for economic reasons, I did this long before gas was at the price it was. If there was a difference I would have switched back.

True. Some cars aren't made to run on Premium. My work car 2003 Mercury Sable states in the owners manual to use 87 Octane and that running premium could cause the engine to knock or hesistate on cold starts.

But to each his own.

 

i wouldnt but if u do..... just dont do it all the time i guess..... maybe once in a blue do it but not everytime u pump gas.....

 

007 is right, unless you are manually advancing your timing or something silly like that (unless you're running something far beyond stock). These cars and most others like them have knock sensors that automatically retard timing if knocks are detected (and no, you won't hear them on these types of cars). If on the other hand you have forcefed your ride and are pushing the limit, well then you need all the protection you can get and probably need to consider adding other things to your gas to beef up the octane, especially in hot weather.

 

The Mechs at Palm Beach Lexus say it is ok to run 87 on the 1st gens. it just takes a little off of top end performance. and fuel economy. even though he says its ok, i still run 93.

 

That's right. 87 fuel burns faster if the engine has recommended higher octane level. So you save alittle bit of money, but it burns up faster and hurts performance. It's not really feasible.

 

I'm not changing! I must treat my car like a woman, If I change my habits now she will think I am cheating! LOL

 

i agree with nyARISTO... i never think about putting anything but 93 in my car but if it came to it once in a blue MAYBE 89 but thats wild everytime you pump you put 87... i kinda feel bad for the car... ;-)