Switched from Regular to Premium gas. 4Runner runs better (more power & smoother)

[xraytekca]

Dyno results are at wide open throttle. If you spend a lot of time at WOT 20 hp is a nice benefit. I doubt my 5th Gen has spent 10 minutes total at WOT in 9 years.

That’s why I use premium. I’m always wide open throttle on these California highways passing the left lane campers.

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[SC4Runner]

I do notice the difference with 93 octane. The truck has noticeably more power IMHO. It may only be 20hp, but I can feel the difference.

 

[ModernDay4Runner]

Ok so even though the engines are the same, the drive systems are different and that likely explains why Toyota recommends the higher premium on the LC. Thanks for clearing that up for me. For me, I have to buy bourbon, bitters, premium "Great Value" cherries, demurra sugar cubes and oranges on a regular basis so I am foregoing the higher octane/higher cost gasoline for the added HP. But....to each his own. I get it.

 

[brumey]

This may not be relevant but I'll throw it out there. I purchased a new Ford Escape 2.0 Ecoboost in 2014. It's the twin turbo engine and certainly quick enough for a small SUV. At the time, I spent hours on the Ford Escape forums and came away that the following understanding:

Using Premium gas will get you more MPG covering the extra cost and you get a little more horsepower too". Even though I was living in the "rip off" state of CA, meaning it cost me a lot more to run premium, I decided to run premium and did so for 9 years. A dumb ass move as I should have changed to regular sooner and tested over a few months.

In the 10th year of ownership, I came across a posting that stated the Ford Escape was meant to run on regular so I gave it ago. Always using Costco gas before and now with regular.

The result over 3000 miles, same terrain and trips as previously, I got 2 MPG BETTER with regular. No loss in noticeable power and significant cost savings.

In summary, do your own detailed testing and logging results and do not always trust what you read in forums.

 

[HVLA]

This may not be relevant but I'll throw it out there. I purchased a new Ford Escape 2.0 Ecoboost in 2014. It's the twin turbo engine and certainly quick enough for a small SUV. At the time, I spent hours on the Ford Escape forums and came away that the following understanding:

Using Premium gas will get you more MPG covering the extra cost and you get a little more horsepower too". Even though I was living in the "rip off" state of CA, meaning it cost me a lot more to run premium, I decided to run premium and did so for 9 years. A dumb ass move as I should have changed to regular sooner and tested over a few months.

In the 10th year of ownership, I came across a posting that stated the Ford Escape was meant to run on regular so I gave it ago. Always using Costco gas before and now with regular.

The result over 3000 miles, same terrain and trips as previously, I got 2 MPG BETTER with regular. No loss in noticeable power and significant cost savings.

In summary, do your own detailed testing and logging results and do not always trust what you read in forums.

Good advice. In the case of the 4runner there are multiple dynos proving the increase in power when using premium over regular so for me it is a no brainer.

If the price of fuel mattered to me then I would have purchased a Highlander or Prius.

 

[Lucky09]

Does everyone just not understand that the octane an engine uses is based on its compression ratio?
87 vs 91 vs 93 isn't based on quality, it's based on octane.
If your engine doesn't have the compression to burn 91 or 93 and burn it more efficiently, you are wasting your money.
By some of the posts, it appears people are confusing "Premium" with gasoline quality only.

You can get ethenol free 87, which is about quality and far better fuel to put into your tank.

Just research octane and engine compression ratios.

 

[MikeUtah]

Does everyone just not understand that the octane an engine uses is based on its compression ratio?
87 vs 91 vs 93 isn't based on quality, it's based on octane.
If your engine doesn't have the compression to burn 91 or 93 and burn it more efficiently, you are wasting your money.
By some of the posts, it appears people are confusing "Premium" with gasoline quality only.

You can get ethenol free 87, which is about quality and far better fuel to put into your tank.

Just research octane and engine compression ratios.

The LC is tuned for greater compression ratio, that's why it uses premium. It has nothing to do with it being fulltime AWD.
If it did, then the 4Runner Limited AWD would require premium fuel as well.

Both the LC and 4R have a 11:1 compression ratio.

I have not yet read a reasonable explanation why Toyota recommends 87 for the 4R and 91 for the LC?

 

[drNick]

Both the LC and 4R have a 11:1 compression ratio.

I have not yet read a reasonable explanation why Toyota recommends 87 for the 4R and 91 for the LC?

Same engine. Supposedly the 4R is been tuned to use regular, but as you noted the high compression ratio calls for a premium fuel. And I am experiencing the difference with a better performance running on premium gas.
IMHO this is a marketing strategy where Toyota wants to sell the 4Runner to more price conscious customers.

 

[Gumpus]

Both the LC and 4R have a 11:1 compression ratio.

I have not yet read a reasonable explanation why Toyota recommends 87 for the 4R and 91 for the LC?

We may never know. We do not know the details of the ECU calibration for either vehicle. It's possible that the LC has a more aggressive calibration for part throttle. Or everything may be identical and the LC customer can stab their throttle harder before the knock sensor tells the ECU to retard spark.

When the latest Miata came out in 2016 it had a 155 hp 4 cylinder and required 91 octane while the 155 hp 4 cylinder in the Mazda 3 required 87. Lots of speculation and long threads to read but no hard conclusion ever reached.

 

[Nodak]

I do notice the difference with 93 octane. The truck has noticeably more power IMHO. It may only be 20hp, but I can feel the difference.

its not the hp gain, its more likely less timing retard using 91/93 than 87 which equates to better response from the engine

i think from an old post somewhere else, 87 give you about -14 timing retard vs 91/93 at zero

dont quote me on the exact numbers, its a vague nugget from a long time ago

 

[drNick]

its not the hp gain, its more likely less timing retard using 91/93 than 87 which equates to better response from the engine

i think from an old post somewhere else, 87 give you about -14 timing retard vs 91/93 at zero

dont quote me on the exact numbers, its a vague nugget from a long time ago

“Equates to a Better Response from the Engine”… I like the way you’re describing it.
But isn’t it what we all want? The engines of our trucks to respond better… versus to being retarded…
I would love to spend less at the pump, but what infuriates me is that Toyota is not honest with us. They simply should state that the 4Runner can run on a regular gas but for a better performance Toyota recommends premium gas.

 

[ModernDay4Runner]

This is good a good discussion. For me and my vehicle, if Toyota recommends regular gas for my truck, I am trusting them on that. I purchased the vehicle from them and I am trusting that they knew what they were doing when the built the thing, so that works for me. I do understand that some people want and need more HP and others want and need better fuel economy. For me, my most pressing need is to understand how Walmart invented cherries for my Old-Fashioned cocktails that are both "Great Value" and "Premium." I may need to start a new thread to get more input.

 

[Nodak]

“Equates to a Better Response from the Engine”… I like the way you’re describing it.
But isn’t it what we all want? The engines of our trucks to respond better… versus to being retarded…
I would love to spend less at the pump, but what infuriates me is that Toyota is not honest with us. They simply should state that the 4Runner can run on a regular gas but for a better performance Toyota recommends premium gas.

in the grand scheme of things you get better performance vs the 2014 @ 87. now if your ocd requires you to have even better performance you go with 91/93.

for 90% of the country 87 is good enough for what you get compared to before.

for the 10% that requires sport car like specs/response, it has no bearing on the general buying public that dont care about what the 10% expects.

me i am in the 90% camp, 87 works just fine for me and i dont expect to F1 this thing, its a slug no matter how you look at it even with the new engine and specs, but compared to the 2014 v6, its night and day order of magnitude better with the i4 turbo

 

[Swiftarget]

lol and i am only at 37 miles on the 4R right now. not like i will be going WoT anytime soon to benefit that 20hp

still need to do my 1000 miles break in plan

then right after 1st oil change before 1200 miles then at 5k then every 5k

I've seen a people planning on doing oil changes every 5K instead of the Toyota recommended 10K. What the logic here? Best practice? Personal choice?

 

[Nodak]

I've seen a people planning on doing oil changes every 5K instead of the Toyota recommended 10K. What the logic here? Best practice? Personal choice?

simple AMD from CCnut recommends max 5k on oil changes based on his years of engine tear downs of people doing 10k vs 5k or 3k oil changes.


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