What octane gas do you use for your Tundra?

87 plus some Sea Foam every now and then.

 

So essentially the “government” it saying that the 85 in Colorado should only be run in carbed engines? Every station in Colorado has 85 as it’s first choice but maybe 5 percent of the vehicles in the state still have carbs. I’m calling BS on some of that article @ColoradoTJ

 

Like most of the crap they put out.

 

87

 

I will. Thanks. And if this is the case then we are taking it directly in the ass here because the 85 price is usually in the line with the first choice around the country which normally is 87. Then we usually have two more choices which obviously go up accordingly just like the rest of the country. Odd that the leaders of our state would allow this platform. The lady’s Highlander has 100,000 on it running nothing but 85 and runs like a champ and that is what the dealers said to run in both my Tundra and Highlander.

Edit...I don’t trust many dealers so strike the last part..

 

Top Tier, 87 octane.

I usually fill up at Costco since it's right around the corner but QT (QuikTrip) is also top tier. I try to find top tier gas on road trips as well but I won't go too far out of the way to make it happen. Top tier fuel has to meet higher detergent requirements than the federal standards and has been proven to be effective at keeping engines cleaner over time.

Octane may help improve mileage and power under specific situations (outside of vehicles that require it); however, in most cases your engine may put out worse emissions, can actually reduce power, or (at minimum) not have the returns in mpg's in ratio to the cost at the pump.

Do what you want, ymmv, yadda, yadda, yadda.

--Matt

 

Same - conveniently located Costco, so I usually fill up there. When road tripping I dont usually worry about gas quality much. I figure the top tier will clear out the gunk since that's what I usually run and we only "road trip" a few times a year. Usually hit up truck stops or gas stations just outside of metro's to save a few nickles. I mean, if there's a Costco in the area I'll fill up there, but I'm not going to go way out of my way to get to one.

 

One thing that drives me nuts is Costco closes their pumps... It's basically all automated... why wont you let me fill up after 10pm?? lol

 

87, also here in CO (it's the middle option). On our recent road trip I stuck with whatever the 'middle' option happened to be.. 87, 88, 89..

 

87 for the most part, but since it is labelled as possibly up to 10% ethanol once in a while I'll jump to 91 (or 93 depending on the station) which isn't labelled as possibly having ethanol. Like to do that when I'm 1/4 tank or less. I'm paranoid of getting any water in the fuel, I've had it happen with 30 day old 87 fuel (never had issues with 91) in my small engines before so I run the 91 with the idea to minimize water in the fuel.

 

Yea, I’ve been rethinking my gas option after reading your article and doing my own research. It’s somewhat divided but there is evidence that suggests you should run minimum 87. That pisses me off. I feel like we are getting duped out here. Our 87 mid grade is more than the rest of the country’s 87. Total scam.
Thanks. Now I’ll be running premium in this beast...

 

I'm feeling this way, too. And Costco only has 85 and 91. Should I do 1/2 and 1/2?

 

Kwik-fil in pa makes a 90 octane ethanol
Free gasoline

 

The Shell and Chevron right by my neighborhood both sell 87 Ethanol Free and I run it in everything. Even if you don't run this in your vehicle then definitely run it in your small engine equipment, 4 wheelers, boats, etc...

 

Apparently in Shitcago it is mandated to have a special summer blend with ethanol. I thought this was only done in winter, but nooo.... Even more reason to go for 89 or 93 to retard timing some.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-gas-prices-midwest-0819-biz-20150818-story.html

I just ran some 93 with 2 cans of seafoam and the truck feels great from the regular 87. With 87 the truck had more shaking, and now it feels smooth. Not to mention that the truck only has 15k on it, so it's not something from high mileage.

 

87 ethanol free is 2.61 a gallon here now.

 

87

 

This this this
Detonate or ping I think it is referred to
I’m no expert but father worked in oil refinery’for 40 years as chemist I’ve heard this many times

 

Agreed, and to an earlier person's statement:
What is 85 octane, and is it safe to use in my vehicle?
The sale of 85 octane fuel was originally allowed in high-elevation regions—where the barometric pressure is lower—because it was cheaper and because most carbureted engines tolerated it fairly well. This is not true for modern gasoline engines. So, unless you have an older vehicle with a carbureted engine, you should use the manufacturer-recommended fuel for your vehicle, even where 85 octane fuel is available.

 

Pardon my dumb questions / misunderstandings...

You are burning an air fuel mixture (air + fuel + spark = fire). Higher altitude means "thinner air" or lower density of O2, which would mean you'd need less (or lower octane rated) fuel to get the same results, right? with less 02 you'd be exhausting more un-ignited fuel.

What does octane really mean? From what I could tell is it's a rating for "engine knock resistance." 100 would mean an engine wouldn't "knock" (?) Knocking being the engine cylinder firing due to the temperature in the cylinder during the upstroke of the piston during the compression stroke instead of the spark generated by your spark plug - forcing it down prematurely which could seriously jack up your engine. So octane is more about temperature resistance than a rating directly indicating petroleum to additive mixture..?

I know the first thought assumes octane indicates burn rate, where the second states octane rating is more about to ignition temperature than burn rate... I'm certainly missing something here.

I'm an engineer, but quite obviously not any kind of automotive engineer

 

You are correct in that Octane refers to an ignition point, where higher octane ignites with increased pressure or spark. 85 octane might sound well given the lower oxygen in higher altitudes, however there has been plenty of research to show that there really are minimums safe for the modern engine. Even at a mile high, the oxygen is still not thin enough for 85 octane. I may be overly sensitive, but when I first got my 18 Tundra a few months ago I filled it up with 85. The truck felt sluggish to me. Which I thought was normal, but I kept reading how powerful the truck was and I could not understand this statement. I then read in our manual about the minimum octane, and did a crap ton of research on octane. From that point on I switched to a higher octane and can actually feel a difference. I know it is not a placebo effect because my poor a$$ would greatly prefer to spend less on gas and it still hurts to hit the 87 or 91 button at the pump.

 

I felt the same thing. There's a good chance that the ECU brings down the timing some.

 

Engines with higher compression ratings require higher octane rating to keep from prematurely ejacu-umm-igniting... wouldn’t fuel with a lower a octane rating (lower ignition point) burn more completely? With a lower ignition point I’d assume it’d be more volitile (create more of an explosion as it would burn more completely). Less coming out of the tail pipe.

I’ve always assumed a higher octane rating meant more “go power.” Dumping the same amount of a more explosive fuel into the furnace creating more power to force the piston down faster... never really looked into it before. Seems like, if that’s the case, it’d be forcing the piston down out side of what the manufacture built it for which would reduce engine life.

I realize this is all highly speculative, and I’m not arguing with your results, just trying to understand better.

EDIT:
Found this on another thread ("Octane") - Interesting information... clears up some of the definitions and misconceptions.

 

87, mostly at Costco since it's only 2 miles from the house.