today i was in oakland getting some gas on the way to school, and i see a black guy in a 97+ pearl white sc300 putting 87 grade octane in his car!!!

i was like wtf!!! i wondered if that damages the car at all, or he just couldnt read the sign inside that said "PREMIUM UNLEADED GAS ONLY"

sigh

 

it wont damage the car, i ran 87 before i knew my car took higher. mileage is lower and performance is less, shouldn't hurt the car though.... its not low enough to ping

 

Wow I would never put 87 octane gas in my 93sc400, I made that mistake once and the car didn't run as smooth as when I run 91 octane. Ryan I almost thought you were talking about me, since I'm black, live in the Bay area, and have a pearl white lex.

 

Unless I'm running an autocross or other high RPM event, I only use Reg/87 Octane. You actually get better gas mileage around town (low RPM) and there is no harm to the engine. In fact, DOT requirements for any car brought into the US is that they be able to be fully functional on 87 Oct. fuel - this is why there is no car manufacturer that requires Premium Fuel as part of their warranty. Lexus only recommends it vs. requires it.

If you feel any difference at low RPM, your O2 sensor is not working properly. Save the high-buck gas for racing events!

 

I see you have never looked inside an engine that runs on 87 only. The carbon traces could plug any parts of that engine (and do) until inevitable failure. the leftovers from 87 octane destroy motors.

 

my mileage increased about 4mpg when i went from reg to premium....

 

Have any of you actually seen what makes gas a higher premium its an additave that all gas stations use if you don't believe me just watch the next time a fuel delivety truck arrives and see if his tanker has 3 seperate compartments in the semi you can achieve the same goal with any octane boost don't let the sticker on the pump make you think otherwise this is not a trade secret

But it does make the refineries a little richer on the dollar don't get me wrong I do not recommend using the lower premium by itself but you can accomplish the same goal if the higher octane is not available.

Have you ever wondered why sometimes a higher octane is the same price or lower than the lower octane this means ex amount if fuel is coming in and they have to make room for it in their tanks fuel is normally purchased in advanced and whether or not they (the gas stations) can take the full load doesn't count they still pay for it so as a consumer you think your geting a bargain and normally fill it up

Prices are normally up on thursdays and fridays but go down a little as the week goes on depending on sales FORMULA (supply and demand)

 

What's the highest rating pump gas in the US? I've heard about guys using 91RON etc etc. in their rides when I always thought that was too low for performance vehicles/cars recommended to use PULP. BTW I only use 98RON pump gas in mine.

 

I filled up on 89 octane the other day and the car runs fine. i didnt wanna try the 87... i thought it would create some knocking or pinging.

 

The woman who had my car the nine years before I got it put 87 in every day and it still runs almost perfectly. Not too long ago, however, I noticed that it wasn't running as smoothly, and the engine was still sounding rougher and louder even after an oil change. i figured I'd switch back to prmium....that seemed to solve the problem well enough.

 

re: "The carbon traces could plug any parts of that engine (and do) until inevitable failure. the leftovers from 87 octane destroy motors."

Carbon is formed from unburned fuel and from burning of the oil in the crankcase. If your O2 sensor and spark plugs are operating properly, there should be no unavoidable unburned fuel. If your rings are working properly, there should be no burning of crankcase oil.

Keep in mind that octane is an additive that REDUCES the energy in gas. To make peak power in your Lexus, you want to use the quickest burning fuel that doesn't "knock" the motor; this mean using the LOWEST usable octane fuel possible.

It was only until recently that race motors use computers to control ignition timing, ie most race motors dont use 02 sensors. Previously, race motors are built to sustain high RPM with very advanced fixed ignition timing and very high compression. This is why 100+ octane or alcohol is used (alcohol has less than 1/2 the energy of gas). So street gas would mess these motors up by burning up too fast. The Lexus motors were built just the opposite to operate in a wide range of RPM, with variable timing, and moderate compression.

Unless you run constantly in the 4K-6K RPM range, save your money and use 87. If you're always in the 4K-6K RPM range, look me up, cause I can never get SCs to go toe-to-toe with me.

 

damn now this brings up many questions

 

Ok Im confused... I think I know more than the average bear about cars and car theory... I have always ran my car on 93, well the other day by accident, I put 5 bucks worth of 87 in the car... The car tried to leave me on the side of the road... Im serious... The check engine light came on and the car was "bucking" under acceleration.. I bucked my way to the nearest store and put 5 buck wrth of 100 in it because I figured that would even the octane out... Sure enough on the way home the car slowly started smoothing out and now runs like a Lex should... Now I know from working around cars all day that from time to time things just happen... Sometimes for no reason... But this to me seemed like a direct cause of high comp/low octane.. But then again the car could have just gotten pissed at me for staring at the 350Z parked next to us...

 

Factory specs have shown that SC's are more prone to have jealous intentions when an owner looks at another fine car... Therefore, resulting in engine failure causing you to pull over until you rub it the right way...

 

ROFLMAO