Regular Or Premium Gas?

[GS996TTCayS]

which do you use? can you even use regular gas on a 06 GS300 AWD?

[GS996TTCayS]

i looked through the posts and found a lot of information...still a bit confused...but i'm going to try regular for a while...good stuff in this forum!

[The G Man]

Do you use regular on your 911 Turbo? If you dont, then why would you want to use it on the GS?

[GS996TTCayS]

it's funny....i use premium but drive it only about 3k miles per year...but i can't argue with your logic....my gas bill is now approaching $1k/mo...seriously thinking about getting rid of the cayenne for another lexus...then maybe i'd just go with premium? just feeling crappy about high gas prices...

Do you use regular on your 911 Turbo? If you dont, then why would you want to use it on the GS?

[joeb427]

It's a Lexus.

Lexus recommends using Premium.

Use premium or buy a Accord or Camry. :D

[steviej]

which do you use? can you even use regular gas on a 06 GS300 AWD?

I do and it works fine.

I know the diffence between a tank full of regular and a tank full of premium (figured on 15.5 gallons) is less than $5.00. So I have one less Grande double expresso mocha latte frappachino this week.

On the other hand, I just hate giving the ever so "boasting a profit" oil companies any more money than I have to.

steviej

PS. the owners manual does NOT say you CANNOT use regular.

[GS430AZ]

which do you use? can you even use regular gas on a 06 GS300 AWD?

I do and it works fine.

I know the diffence between a tank full of regular and a tank full of premium (figured on 15.5 gallons) is less than $5.00. So I have one less Grande double expresso mocha latte frappachino this week.

On the other hand, I just hate giving the ever so "boasting a profit" oil companies any more money than I have to.

steviej

PS. the owners manual does NOT say you CANNOT use regular.

I Use premiumjust because my step dad who has worked on carrs hs whole life swares it is a scam and there is such minimal differences off the two. Yet i still pump my 06GS430 with CostCO 91 grade.........Better fliters at Costco

[GS996TTCayS]

I Use premiumjust because my step dad who has worked on carrs hs whole life swares it is a scam and there is such minimal differences off the two. Yet i still pump my 06GS430 with CostCO 91 grade.........Better fliters at Costco

Costco gas is definitely cheaper. I go there too. Didn't know about the filters...we're trying the regular this week...difference is about $6.20...i fill up every week so that's about $25/month...not much i guess... <_< <_<

[Para]

which do you use? can you even use regular gas on a 06 GS300 AWD?

Lexus service manager told me regular gas is ok to use. The reason premium is recommended is to get sufficient horsepower on the government dynamometer to meet performance standards (read marketing) for horsepower parity with its' competition.

[madyash]

I switched to regular as well about a month ago. Did a lot of reading on the topic. Finally concluded that it doesn't really make any difference in terms of engine longevity. There is likely a performance diffference but in the one month I've been using regular I haven't noticed anything at all. Now if you're on a track timing things, the difference may show up there.

It's not a huge saving over premium, but a penny saved is a penny earned. Plus, like others mentioned, it's frustrating giving money to the oil companies for no appreciable reason.

P.S. I was also in the "if you can buy a Lexus, put the premium in. Otherwise get a Camry" camp for a while. I then realized that it's a form of ego more than anything else. Somewhere I felt "bad" putting regular in - I eventually realized it was more of a nervousness caused by putting what I perceived as a "lower grade" into my nice, expensive car and I love so dearly... :) $4.40/gal gave me a rude awakening!

[joeb427]

I switched to regular as well about a month ago. Did a lot of reading on the topic. Finally concluded that it doesn't really make any difference in terms of engine longevity. There is likely a performance diffference but in the one month I've been using regular I haven't noticed anything at all. Now if you're on a track timing things, the difference may show up there.

It's not a huge saving over premium, but a penny saved is a penny earned. Plus, like others mentioned, it's frustrating giving money to the oil companies for no appreciable reason.

P.S. I was also in the "if you can buy a Lexus, put the premium in. Otherwise get a Camry" camp for a while. I then realized that it's a form of ego more than anything else. Somewhere I felt "bad" putting regular in - I eventually realized it was more of a nervousness caused by putting what I perceived as a "lower grade" into my nice, expensive car and I love so dearly... :) $4.40/gal gave me a rude awakening!

It has nothing to do with 'ego'.

Premium is recommended by Lexus to have the vehicle run at it's optimum performance and MPG level because of the engine's high compression.

You do get less MPGs and performance using regular.

You can try to deflect by calling it 'ego' or whatever.

Bottom line is you're talking yourself into the car feels the same BS because you want to save a few dollars.

Yes,if spending a few dollars is bothering you,why spend $50k for a vehicle?

[The G Man]

Sure you can save a few bucks by not using premium gas, but you can also save money by not using Lexus recommanded oil, while you are at it, use cheaper transmission fluid, cheap anti freeze and buy the walmart spark plugs, oil filter and air filter. If you dont plan to keep your car for long or if it is a lease then it really doesnt matter.

When you read articles in magazines talking about how people are wasting their money using premium gas, they are talking about putting premium gas into cars that requires 87 octane or cars that merely recommands using 87 for improved performance. As far as I know, the GS350 and GS460 is not one of those cars, it clearly states on the manual and on the gas door USE PREMIUM FUEL ONLY. There is a big difference between premium fuel recommand and required. With the price of gas these days, if the Lexus can get away with using regular gas, that would be a big selling point. The fact that they still require premium gas should be telling you guys something. Good rule of thumb is anytime your engine has a compression ratio of 12 to 1 or more, use premium gas.

[madyash]

It has nothing to do with 'ego'.

Premium is recommended by Lexus to have the vehicle run at it's optimum performance and MPG level because of the engine's high compression.

You do get less MPGs and performance using regular.

You can try to deflect by calling it 'ego' or whatever.

Bottom line is you're talking yourself into the car feels the same BS because you want to save a few dollars.

Yes,if spending a few dollars is bothering you,why spend $50k for a vehicle?

Yeah, "ego" probably wasn't the right word... :)

Agree that premium lets the vehicle run at optimum. Agree that premium gives you better performance (though, as I noted, I haven't noticed. I'm sure if I took it to a track, I would). Premium also probably gives better gas milage (though I haven't seen a notable difference - maybe it's because I only switched to regular a month ago).

Disagree that I'm talking myself into the car feels the same. I can certainly judge very well what I feel and what I don't. Switching to regular has not made any difference in the feel of the car to me. Like I said, I'm sure there is a performance difference that I would probably notice on a track, but I don't feel it in my every day driving. Other drivers may - to each his own.

The decision is not hinged on saving a few dollars only. If I had conclusive evidence that putting regular harmed the vehicle, then I wouldn't really give a darn about the savings. But given that no such evidence exists, why not save a few dollars. If saving a few dollars for a negligible difference belittles owners of 50K cars, doesn't negotiating on those same cars belittle the owners? How come I never see people saying "if you can afford a 50K car, you shouldn't be negotiating a lower price"?

[madyash]

Sure you can save a few bucks by not using premium gas, but you can also save money by not using Lexus recommanded oil, while you are at it, use cheaper transmission fluid, cheap anti freeze and buy the walmart spark plugs, oil filter and air filter. If you dont plan to keep your car for long or if it is a lease then it really doesnt matter.

When you read articles in magazines talking about how people are wasting their money using premium gas, they are talking about putting premium gas into cars that requires 87 octane or cars that merely recommands using 87 for improved performance. As far as I know, the GS350 and GS460 is not one of those cars, it clearly states on the manual and on the gas door USE PREMIUM FUEL ONLY. There is a big difference between premium fuel recommand and required. With the price of gas these days, if the Lexus can get away with using regular gas, that would be a big selling point. The fact that they still require premium gas should be telling you guys something. Good rule of thumb is anytime your engine has a compression ratio of 12 to 1 or more, use premium gas.

Not sure I agree with you. I read that the Lexus recommended oil and transmission fluid are better than other stuff (part of the reason they only ask for oil changes every 5K miles). There is conclusive evidence of the fact that going with cheaper oils will damage the car and so I would never do that. There is NOT conclusive evidence that regular gas will damage the car, so it's not the same.

I certainly agree that some articles talk about people putting premium in cars that require regular and how that has no benefit. However the articles I'm talking about specfically refer to cars that "require" premium but work just fine on regular. Note, not ALL cars that require premium will do fine with regular - there are always exceptions. As confirmed by Lexus techs, the computers in the GS (and most new cars) will adjust for a lower grade gas so as to not damage the vehicle due to pinging or knocking. You're certainly right about higher compression engines needed higher octanes to burn properly, but the computer will adjust for the combination of high compression and lower octane. Though "premium" is required for the performance to match the specs, regular will not cause any harm - a marginal lack in performance, yes, but no harm.

I disagree that Lexus would advertise the fact that the car runs just fine on regular. This is for two reasons: 1) doing so would require it to drop down the performance numbers a bit since they can't be achieved with regular, and 2) it would be damaging to consumer pride. Folks can deny all they want, but psychology is certainly involved. Generally, drivers who buy 50K cars expect their high end cars to take high end fuel. I'm sure the rising gas prices are changing that psychology, which is part of the reason this thread exists. Would we have been debating this when gas was $1.50/gallon?

[steviej]

I disagree that Lexus would advertise the fact that the car runs just fine on regular.

I disagree, because I have seen it happen. Maybe not Lexus "corporate" but Lexus "salespeople" will tell customers that they can use regular unleaded to make the sale. Most people buying cars don't frequent these types of forums so they are not privy to these types of conversations. Many consumers don't go into the physics of octane rating, they just know that if the book says you got to use premium and premium gas is 20¢ to 40¢ more expensive per gallon, then they may tend towards a high end vehicle that does not "recommend" premium. Now, if the salesman says, "you can use regular if you have to, the engine will compensate" then the sale is most always made.

As for "Lexus recommended brand oil"..........DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON THIS TOPIC AS IT IS A BEATEN HORSE. use the search function and look for a member named "monarch". DON"T GO THERE!!!!

Tranny fluid is a different story, I agree there, use Toyota T-IV or WS if it calls for it.

steviej

[GS996TTCayS]

I have a feeling gas prices will decline fairly soon as speculation in commodities markets decline...due to legislation or people realizing supply remains steady...remember, there has only been the THREAT of lower supply so far....the threat (and $ decline) is what drove the prices up

[madyash]

I have a feeling gas prices will decline fairly soon as speculation in commodities markets decline...due to legislation or people realizing supply remains steady...remember, there has only been the THREAT of lower supply so far....the threat (and $ decline) is what drove the prices up

I don't really have a view on oil prices - it seems as if they should come down, but then look at today - over $140/barrel! However, I am somewhat confident that even if oil comes down a bit (say back near 130 or even lower), I'm not sure it'll make a huge impact on gas prices. Keep in mind that oil is the single biggest component of gas prices and retail gas prices haven't gone up nearly as much as oil has. So, even though oil may go down, gas prices still have to catch up to oil price increases so they're not likely to fall as much.

[The G Man]

If Lexus think advertising a line of cars which uses 91 ocatne is going to raise consumer pride and ego, then they might as well require 100 octane racing fuel lol. In fact, I think its the opposite, if they can advertise a Lexus which use regular gas, consumers would have more interest in the car, because it lowers the operating cost. There are certain Lexus out there that are questionable as far as requiring 91 octane, such as the GX, ES and the RX. They share similar engines from the Toyota line and have a lower compression ratio engine. The GS and the LS does not share similar engine with any Toyota and compression ratio is higher than those other engine.

We have to remember how a knock sensor works. The knock sensor only dials back timing when it senses knocks, its basically a microphone. Once your engine stop knocking, the computer will slowly advance timing slowly until it knocks again and it dials back again. That means your engine will go constantly go thru this knocking cycle and it will have long term affect. Thats why Lexus is saying that its ok to use 87 octane if cannot find 91, but dont use the low octane gas all the time.

[GS996TTCayS]

If Lexus think advertising a line of cars which uses 91 ocatne is going to raise consumer pride and ego, then they might as well require 100 octane racing fuel lol. In fact, I think its the opposite, if they can advertise a Lexus which use regular gas, consumers would have more interest in the car, because it lowers the operating cost. There are certain Lexus out there that are questionable as far as requiring 91 octane, such as the GX, ES and the RX. They share similar engines from the Toyota line and have a lower compression ratio engine. The GS and the LS does not share similar engine with any Toyota and compression ratio is higher than those other engine.

We have to remember how a knock sensor works. The knock sensor only dials back timing when it senses knocks, its basically a microphone. Once your engine stop knocking, the computer will slowly advance timing slowly until it knocks again and it dials back again. That means your engine will go constantly go thru this knocking cycle and it will have long term affect. Thats why Lexus is saying that its ok to use 87 octane if cannot find 91, but dont use the low octane gas all the time.

I take it this is a process that goes on that we can't detect/sense while driving? My 2000 RX300 took regular unleaded...

[joeb427]

. There are certain Lexus out there that are questionable as far as requiring 91 octane, such as the GX, ES and the RX. They share similar engines from the Toyota line and have a lower compression ratio engine. The GS and the LS does not share similar engine with any Toyota and compression ratio is higher than those other engine.

.

Excellent points!!!

[The G Man]

Thats correct GS996TTCayS, the average driver cannot sense or feel minor pre-detonation.

[GS996TTCayS]

well, the difference between premium and regular is now only 20 cents...so for an extra $3.50, i'll buy the peace of mind insurance...

[Captainbly100]

I ran a 2001 GS300 on regular gas from the day I bought it. I ran it over 90,000 miles without a single problem. Probably the best car I ever owned. Maybe some loss in performance but it never bothered me and I never heard a knock. A relative who is a Toyota master mechanic told me that today all cars have knock sensors and unless you're pounding on the gas you can run them on regular. On my SC 430 I have usually run it on middle grade without any problem. On rare occasions I have run it on regular and saw no difference in average fuel economy. If I was racing it I wouldn't do this but for ordinary round town and highway driving I don't think Premium is required.

[joeb427]

"You need to use premium to achieve the rated power and the maximum miles per gallon"

http://www.myride.com/lifestyle/feature_th...4120-page1.html

[06GSAWD]

Dude I have worked at Lexus Dealership for 2 and a hald years. We use Valvoline Oil. Although I don reccomend using regular unleaded, It will not hurt your vehicle or it's longevity. It will affect the vehicles optimal performance for you street light drag racers, and believe it or not you will get worst fuel economy and you really are not saving any money.