Octane question: Solara V6

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needsducktape

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I have a (new to me) Toyota Solara V6 (in a very yummy 5speed MANUAL)

According to the maintenance book, I should be running premium octane. But regular *can* be used.

I was thinking with the cost of gas in my area, I could save some coin at the pump by running regular. My local parts store has a boat load of Gummout Octane booster in the $2 range.

Working out the math I would save about $3 by running regular but adding an octane booster.
no I wouldn't be saving a ton of cash but $3 a week for 52 weeks is a $156 per year.

Does Octane booster work? Or is the actual premium gas a better idea.

Factors: The V6 Solara engine is a known sludger.
 
Commercial octane booster don't boost octane by much at all.

They boost it by 'points', which are 1/10th of an octane level - so if it says it boosts octane by '7 points', it goes from 87 octane to 87.7 octane.

All you can do is trial and error - run regular, and if the engine doesn't ping, you are probably okay. If it pings, you will have to move up gas grades until it doesn't.

Now, sometimes an engine can ping because of carbon build up - you might want to do a Seafaom cleaning, water de-carb, or just run a strong FI cleaner to make sure there is no carbon in the engine.
 
Originally Posted By: needsducktape
I have a (new to me) Toyota Solara V6 (in a very yummy 5speed MANUAL)

....
Does Octane booster work? ...
Absolutely NOT. I would run a least 30% premium over the regular. In stations up here in NH, I never had any luck with "mid grade" in engines with octane intolerance. I think it (the midgrade) sits for months.
 
Regular will cause the ECM to retard the ignition timing under hard acceleration based on knock sensor input. If you don't hear any knock it is probably OK to use regular, but you will probably suffer a power and MPG loss to some extent.

Octane booster is usually a waste of money IMHO. Many of them advertise something like: "Raises octane up to 5 points..." A "point" is normally defined as a tenth of an octane number. Therefore, raising a tank of regular 87 octane fuel 5 points would result in a tank of 87.5 octane - not 92 octane. Based on this, you are better off just using a higher octane fuel if you desire a higher octane number.
 
You might get better fuel economy on premium due to the engine not pulling timing due to knock. If you do get significantly better fuel economy, it might be cheaper to run premium than regular. Pick a station, and fill up at the same pump for a few tanks, then switch to premium and repeat.

A lot of older cars that ran best on premium could run okay on 87, but fuel economy and power suffered. Not sure if yours is the same way.
 
Originally Posted By: needsducktape
I have a (new to me) Toyota Solara V6 (in a very yummy 5speed MANUAL)

Working out the math I would save about $3 by running regular but adding an octane booster.
no I wouldn't be saving a ton of cash but $3 a week for 52 weeks is a $156 per year.

Why would you even consider it for such a minimal cost savings.

You're also likely to lose more in fuel efficiency running 87 than you will make up for in the savings at the time of fueling.
 
I hear you about running premium. I hate it too.
I have owned 3 cars that took premium and that is one reason I did not buy a Civic SI when I bought my regular Civic. It adds up, and I refuse to run regular in a car that takes premium.
 
Originally Posted By: tinmanSC
What model year car is this?


Need to know what year / model it is. If its the same 1MZ V6 that's in my 98 Camry, 87 grade is perfectly fine. I do notice a bit better performance with 93 but this isn't a performance oriented engine so is it really worth the extra cash? I don't think so. Run 87 or 89 like I do and call it a day. Run the car hard and enjoy it.
 
If the manual states premium is "recommended" but regular "can" be used....I'd drive the vehicle a month or so on the regular....then drive it a couple months with the premium; noting any differences in MPG, power loss, etc...


I've heard mixed reviews of octane boosters, most of them do not work....but have heard good stuff about the "104" Octane Boost product, which is made/marketed by the same guys as HEET, Stabil, etc....but yea, that STP orange bottle is garbage.
 
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
I would run a least 30% premium over the regular. In stations up here in NH, I never had any luck with "mid grade" in engines with octane intolerance. I think it (the midgrade) sits for months.


Midgrade doesn't sit for months. Most gas stations don't even have a tank for midgrade. They "make" midgrade right there at the station by mixing regular with premium.
 
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Originally Posted By: needsducktape
I have a (new to me) Toyota Solara V6 (in a very yummy 5speed MANUAL)

....
Does Octane booster work? ...
Absolutely NOT. I would run a least 30% premium over the regular. In stations up here in NH, I never had any luck with "mid grade" in engines with octane intolerance. I think it (the midgrade) sits for months.


Here all the stations that I am aware of have only Two tanks and if you buy 89 Octane is is actually mixed by the pump with the regular and high Octane to achieve 89 Octane as you pump it.
 
How much do you really save by using regular over premium? Around here its about a .20 price difference between them. On a 16 gallon tank (just a random number) you are saving what $3.20 a fillup. Makes no sense to me.
 
In my experience, you'll see a fuel economy drop in any engine where you use regular when premium is recommended. The cost/mile ends up being about the same. I tried this with our Acura, and the cost/mile is too close to even care about. But the performance difference on premium is noticeable, so that's what I use.
 
Some stations do have midgrade tanks, and some stations have only regular and premium and midgrade is mixed at the dispenser.

The color of the underground storage tank manway lid indicates the product contained within:

White = regular
Blue = midgrade
Red = premium
Yellow = diesel
Brown = kerosene
 
Originally Posted By: ahoier
If the manual states premium is "recommended" but regular "can" be used....I'd drive the vehicle a month or so on the regular....then drive it a couple months with the premium; noting any differences in MPG, power loss, etc...

I agree. For your particular car/engine and your driving habit, you are the only person who can make a decision about which fuel grade is matched your driving condition.

I'm using regular in my '00 MB E430 that last few years, I could not tell the difference in driving around town, city or highway, and gas mileage is about the same with either regular or premium. But when I go to Vegas in summer months I had to use Premium because of the high temp, up to 125-128F, at Death Valleys and high speed (north of 90-100MPH).

The same for LS400, it had regular for more than 7-8 years without adverse effect in driving or fuel economy.

I tried one tank regular in S2000, the power lost was very pronounce I had to go back to premium.
 
What my baby wants, my baby gets
laugh.gif


Just skip a cup of starbucks once a week.
 
I am no stranger to vehicles that need premium- I've owned several (Ducati 749,750,H 600rr) Motorcycles, Audi and a 2 BMW M3s -I ONLY ran premium in those cars because it was pretty clear. That is what they required.

The Toyota owners guide seemed more vague than any of my other cars/bikes- Also, I've gotten great mpgs so far with my first full tank on regular.

My real question has been answered --> Is adding Octane booster to a regular tank of gas equal to using premium.? Nope.

Thanks much!
 
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