sea44 Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 What is the recommended octane rating for a 2006 ES330? Thinking about buying one and I get conflicting info. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexus411 Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 you can run it on 87 octane. Will get much better performance and better mileage from 89 and above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsquared Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 you can run it on 87 octane. Will get much better performance and better mileage from 89 and above. ← Different results: Ran 87 for first 5K miles - 21.3 mpg. Ran 89 for next 2k - 20.9 mpg. Ran 92 octane for next 1.5k - 21.5 Pulled battery cable between each test to let CPU relearn driving habits. Didn't notice any performance difference. All of the driving was city miles. 87 Octane is recomended by Lexus. The rule of thumb for octane is to run the lowest octane that does not cause pinging under acceleration. For longer stroke engines it is better for higher octane because of the slower burn rates. For short stoke engines (most Japanese brands) that have not had extensive performance modifications increased octane will hurt performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 The ES330 owners manual says 87 octane is the minimum acceptable octane and for better performance use 91 octane. The FAQ on Lexus's website further explains that the electronic engine control computer will !Removed! the ignition timing when using 87 octane to control pinging. Retarded timing = less lively acceleration and decreased fuel economy. Some owners cannot detect the difference whereas other owners can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunman Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 i did a similar test on my car, 97ES300 with 140,000 miles. Tried 91 octane for 1500 miles and got a average of 21.5 city driving. Then reset ECU and tried 87 octane for 1500 miles. City driving again. Got a average of 21.0 I did get some pinging under acceleration when using the 87 grade. I switched to 89 and it runs fine now and that is what I use as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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