I use Costco 93.

 

Costco 91 here in Cali. Cheap, top tier, and I get 4% back on Costco Citi card.

 

it's funny, I keep seeing Costco. That's one place I've always been told to stay away from.....aside from the no name places. Lol

 

I get Costco 91 95% of the time. I tracked my KCLV pretty closely for a couple of months and found no noticeable change between Shell/Chevron/Costco.

 

Maybe 20 years ago, as the guy said above times have changed. I've even testing shell/chevron for a week vs Costco. Same ****. Shell/Chevron just burns my wallet more at 30 cents a gallon compared to Costco. Costco also maintains their stations very well. Always attendants cleaning (before covid, now it's even more) and they constantly check for skimming devices.

 

Another thing good about Costco is those pumps are constantly running. Eliminates any chance of stail/old gas.

 

you people are on crack. I run regular because it's my car and I do whatever the F i want. Respect it for the next owner? Are you actually serious? Maybe I should wear white gloves when I drive and put plastic wrap on the seats too.

 

When i had the IS, I would normally get QuikTrip or Valero, 91-octane of course. QuikTrip also has ethanol-free 91 at some stations including one near my place, which is nice, though I couldn't really tell any difference in performance or gas mileage when using it. As long as it's Top Tier and at least 91 I don't really see an issue with it. I also used to get Costco gas pretty frequently when I was a member and had no issues with it.

In the GTI I've been running the same gas and also have been experimenting with 93 from a local BP that happens to have 93. So far haven't noticed a difference in performance, but it's more of insurance in the hot summer with a turbo car.

 

I don't think your comment is really necessary. Buying used cars is often scary because it's hard to know what type of fuel/oil/parts were used on the car with its previous owner. Owners that "do whatever the F (they) want" ruin it for used car buyers. But I guess buyers who care about that stuff should just make more money and buy their own new cars? Recognize your privilege and show some appreciation. After all, you might be the one buying the used car some day.

 

I buy used cars all the time. My IS was bought used. I don't really care what oil or what fuel the last owner used at all. I have never seen a fuel or oil related failure on a car before ever, can you point me to a single example of someone with a ruined toyota/lexus V6 because they used 87 octane or dino oil?

Also for those of you in Canada like the OP, you do realize that most of the fuel comes out of the same refinery (here in Edmonton) and then gets blended with different additive packages from Shell, Petro, Esso, etc.

 

I don't want to turn this thread into a flame war, but you do realize that saying "I don't really care" is projecting, right? Maybe other people have different priorities than you do.

I'm just saying, you bought a Lexus, with a relatively aggressive high compression ratio engine, whose owner's manual specifically states engine damage may occur if you use 87 for an extended period. Cars are expensive. Why you would want to risk engine damage is beyond me - better yet, how you could be a car guy and be on this forum and not want to take the best care of your car is also a mystery to me. And, I would not buy a used car if I knew you owned it, seeing that you don't follow the almost universally agreed-upon recommendation to use 91 in this car.

Also, you do realize "Do whatever the F I want" also makes me think of things like "Hmm, Blackstone Labs said I could run my oil for 18,700 miles, so I think I'll run it for 20.000." "My suspension is making a noise, but it drives fine. No need to fix it." "Car is up to temp, so I can beat on it all I want till I turn it off." If you don't run the recommended fuel, why should anyone trust that the other aspects of car care are being done?

 

because I am an engineer, and I know how when we design something it goes to a manager or lawyer who has no technical knowledge and completely changes or overrides our recommendation and writes something idiotic instead. No modern engine should be damaged by running 87 octane. We have to design for the worst case scenario IE the owner has to fill up at a remote location without premium or gets a tank of bad fuel. That is done with a low octane map in the ECU. When it gets switched on, it detects you refill with premium. It doesn't "half ***" work for about 30 minutes and then switch to high timing and let the engine knock and wreck itself.

And to answer your question, I don't take the best care of my vehicles that I can because I have 3 cars and 3 motorcycles in my garage. They are all just objects that get replaced with other objects when I've had my fill. I don't waste my time doing dumb unnecessary things like changing synthetic oil in all of them at 5000 mile intervals because at some point I would be a slave doing fleet maintenance in my spare time.

 

The knock sensor will protect the car fine with 87. I put 91 because I wanted the full horsepower of the car because the difference in price between 87 and 91 is pretty insignificant. It also made an already kinda slow car even slower. We all have our reasons.

 

Yeah, I am aware the engine isn't going to grenade itself as well. But still, I don't want to give anything or anyone a reason to give me a hard time lol. Call it paranoia, but it is what it is. I like taking care of my car, even the simple things that perhaps don't matter in the long run. In the GTI, I could also run 87 octane, and unlike the Lexus, the owner's manual and gas cap specifically say "91 recommended, 87 minimum". It does not mention the possibility of engine damage. So, that says something to me about the difference between this engine and the one in the Lexus. However, I am still running at least 91, even 93 if available, because I know it'll get the best power and fuel economy on that octane.

 

I'm also an engineer with too many cars/bikes, and I am in complete agreement. Too many people on these forums get geeked up about doing more maintenance than is necessary then think they are better than everyone else for doing so. Complete waste of time and money.

If Toyota says change the oil every 10k, it means you can probably change it every 15-20k and never have any issues.

Same with transmission fluid. Its lifetime. Leave it the **** alone.

The fuel thing is also a bit absurd. As if the car will just stop working one day running 87... come on! Toyota is way smarter than that. You could fill the tank with hog **** and it would still tank down the road forever. I've probably owned 50+ old high mileage Toyotas over the years (some rough used ones with 300k+ in many cases) I have NEVER had an issue with any type of fuel or oil. Studies show that even if carbon buildup is a concern with cheap fuel, running a "top tier" fuel through a couple tanks will clean it up back to normal anyway.