Octane Rating
 

We've talked about it repeatedly...I'm a "Regular" guy. ;)

I'll be a "regular" guy:D very soon

I've always found it interesting that some people prefer lower octane fuels when the difference in price is usually less than $1.50 a tank fillup. And I also find it interesting that a good percentage of these people smoke cigarettes and are willing to throw $2.50 or more away a day on cigs that go up in smoke!

I can understand if moneys tight, every little bit helps....but I'd be willing to bet that the vast majority of people who put regular fuel in their vehicles do not take it slow off of stop lights with gradual increase in speed to conserve fuel, never drive over 55mph and never let their vehicles idle for more than 3 minutes.

Hey, this is just my opinion, it's neither right or wrong, good or bad. Just somethings that I have observed over the years. If you wish to comment on or rebute what I said, that's fine. State your opinion, but you don't have to add chopping my opinion up into to little pieces to make your point. That way your opinion can be respected also.:cool:

The Lexus RX 300 owner's manual states:

Select Octane Rating 87 or higher. For improved vehicle performance, the use of premium unleaded gasoline with an Octane Rating of 91 or higher is recommended.

Uh huh!
 

additude,
I agree. Don't smoke. Fill your RX up with premium. Words to live by my man, words to live by.;)

attitude, I will say this... your moniker is accurate! :D

Anyway, I put the best fuel I can buy because as you said a couple dollars per fillup is not going to break me. I'm sure I wont even miss the extra $75-$100/yr.

And I enjoy a nice tasty cigar as much as the next guy... haha!... I'm thinking about getting baby seal skin hubcaps, eating some raw beef right off the cow and driving really slow in the ultra fast lane.. I'm an a-hole--eoeo...

:rolleyes: :D :rolleyes: :D

Yeah, okay. Truth be known, I also enjoy the occasional puff... But if it meant lowering the fuel quality I put in my RX to be able to afford it, the puffin' would be the first thing to go.
I agree about not missin the extra $75-$100 annually that it takes to run your RX on premium - it's like being the owner/manager of a prize fighter and feeding him fast food all day long - yeah, it might be the cheaper alternative, but wouldn't you get more bang for the buck if you spent a little more and fed him a proper diet?
Alright, that was lame. Just fill it with premium already.
(oh yeah, Premium also cleans carbon deposits off your fuel injectors, so even if you dont' regularly use premium, it'd be a good idea to at least use it every 4th tank or so)

Prove it. :D

I use the best there is for my RX. It's called 87 octane. Any thing more is throwing your money away.

In the words of Daddy-O, Prove it. :D

CK,

You ask for proof when you choose to provide none?

That every 4th tank line is straight from an Amoco TV commercial. An oil company that wants people to spend more money has you quoting their advertisement. Madison Avenue succeeds again.

See the blurb about Amoco below.

87 Octane is the recommended fuel for the RX. It's not the fast food of gasolines. It's not the cheaper alternative. It's recommended by Lexus.

Higher octane gasoline did reduce engine knock in older engines that used carburetors to regulate the air/gas mix. The older engines could not regulate the air/fuel mix going into the engine as efficiently as a computerized fuel injector. A carburetor in need of adjustment could cause too much fuel to be mixed with the air, which meant the gasoline would not burn completely. The excess gas soaked into carbon deposits and caused a premature ignition of the gasoline from the heat of the engine cylinder. The premature ignition made a sound that came to be known as 'engine knock.' When this happened, people would change to the higher octane/slower burning gasoline to resist the premature burn, thus minimizing the knock. Upping the octane was beneficial then, but engines and gasoline formulations changed.

Over the last 20 years, engines use fuel injectors with computers to accurately control the air/fuel mix over all temperature and environment ranges. The accuracy of the fuel injectors and computers is based on using the recommended gasoline for that engine. Most cars are designed to burn regular unleaded gas with an octane rating of 87. The recommended gasoline for most cars, including the RX 300, is regular 87 octane.

One common misconception is that higher octane gasoline contains more cleaning additives than lower octane gas.

Please note this fact: All octane grades of all brands of gasoline, by law, contain engine cleaning detergent additives to protect against engine/valve/injector deposit build-up.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/autos/octane.htm

http://theserviceadvisor.com/octane.htm

http://www.auto123.com/en/info/colum....spy?artid=590

Six years ago, Amoco Oil has agreed not to make any performance or environmental benefit claim for any of its gasolines without first having scientific evidence to back it up.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1996/9602/amoco.htm

Wow Daddy - you laid the smack down on me.
I was just playing, not looking to get lectured.

My "proof" is straight from a post you made in this very thread:

"The Lexus RX 300 owner's manual states:

Select Octane Rating 87 or higher. For improved vehicle performance, the use of premium unleaded gasoline with an Octane Rating of 91 or higher is recommended."

I call your attention to the part about 'improved engine performance when using an OR of 91 or higher.'

I'm not a victim of television advertising - I don't remember EVER seeing that commercial. I got that straight from one of the techs at Lexus that it would be a good idea and guideline to follow. So while he may be a victim of marketing, he also knows his stuff.

As further proof, one of my neighbors is a gas tanker driver - very educated about the differences between different grades of gas. He's a firm believer in the type difference in the type of detergents used in Premium versus Regular, as in his words they are 'more effective at removing carbon deposit build up than Regular gasoline.' He's a personal friend and has no vested interest in the type of gasoline I buy.

The info above may or may not be concrete enough to satisfy you, but for the extra $2 it costs me at the pump to fill up with Premium, I'm going to continue to do and it not spend another second researching this topic - at some point the law of dimishing returns comes into play with regard to spending too much time researching something like this. If I was really that concerned about gasoline price and fuel economy, I would've bought a hybrid and wouldn't have spent as much on my ride to begin with.

I don't mean to be rude - I'm just starting to find this topic a little silly and trivial. You say pohtateoh, I say patahtoe.

;)

Daddy-O. Thanks for providing the "proof" for my quote above. You said it a lot better than I could have.

Here is a link to a Car and Driver article on Octane.

Car and Driver Octane Evaluation

C&D: "Our tests confirm that for most cars there is no compelling reason to buy more expensive fuel than the factory recommends, as any performance gain realized will surely be far less than the percentage hike in price. "