Recommended Fuel

[Pie]

I'm soon to take delivery on my RX330. In the spec sheets I've noticed it recommends 91 octane fuel. Is this really necessary, or will it be happy with the 89 octane?

Thanks! :D

[stanq]

<_< The manual says 87 octane is good enough. That's what we have been using in our 330 for the first few thousand miles, and the vehicle has not complained. A recent blurb in the Wall Street Journal advised that you might as well use the lowest octane that the manufacturer recommends. Higher octane might get you better gas mileage; whether it is worth it depends on the price spread. You might also want to use higher octane if it is really hot outside, in order to prevent knocking (I hope I don't have that backwards).

[SW03ES]

You do, higher octane in the cold would be advisable.

Also, thats a change in the recent manuals, all the 02 and prior cars the manual specified premium.

Mine sais it requires regular, but use premium for better performance. I use premium.

[gslx4s]

I'm soon to take delivery on my RX330. In the spec sheets I've noticed it recommends 91 octane fuel. Is this really necessary, or will it be happy with the 89 octane?

Thanks! :D

http://www.howstuffworks.com/question90.htm/printable

You may want to go to the link above and read about fules. I think this will calm you worries so to speak....

[JRB]

When we took delivery our dealer recommended using the mid-grade octane, which in our area is either 90 or 01, depending on which brand/station you go with. You will not harm the vehicle by using 87, as the engine management system will automatically adjust the timing to prevent pinging. In return, you will experience some loss of performance. But on flat roads and with mild acceleration, you would probably not ever notice the difference.

I personally plan to follow the recommendation in the owner's manual and use mid-grade (90 or 91) fuel. Although admittedly in these days of very high gasoline prices it is tempting to buy whatever is cheapest, over the long run the cost differential isn't significant. And I figure that when it comes to maintenance it's best to follow the manufacturer's recommendations. In these days of sky-high fuel prices, being able to advertise that only regular grade fuel is required is considered to be an advantage, and Lexus would probably be touting this if the engine had in fact been engineered to run efficiently on 87.

Just my 2 cents - your mileage may vary.

[samuel]

I drive a lexus 2003 rx300, my  MPG is lousy, not even 13 mpg.