Grade Of Gaz

[grognon]

Hi i want to know wich grade of gaz are you using?

(Regular 87 octane, medium 89 octane, or premium 91 octane)

Does anyone know if i run on regular if it can affect the car in any way?

[cduluk]

You "can" run 87, but the manual recommends premium (91-93).

I use 91 or 93 (highest depending on the brand). I do believe i get a little better performance with the higher octane.

[lemon]

I use midgrade in the colder months (less chance of engine knock with the colder air) and switch to 91 octane in the warmer months.

As of late, I started using the Shell 'Nitrogen' enriched gas in 91 octane. I don't know if it's the gas or the warmer weather or if I just have been driving gentler (really, the weather hasn't changed that much, nor my driving) but my mileage went from 8.2 to 7.8 litres/100km in highway driving.

[RX400h]

I use regular or midgrade during the colder months and midgrade during Summer - unless I venture to Las Vegas or Arizona where temps can get up over 100F. At those temps, premium is a must.

[aus_rx400h]

Over in Australia, Lexus recommends a minimum 95 octane on our RX400h. I have always use 95 or 98.

[HankJ]

Any comments on Ethanol?

[maseace]

Any comments on Ethanol?

From the manual:

Oxygenates in gasoline

Lexus allows the use of oxygenate blended gasoline

where the oxygenate content is up to 10% ethanol or 15%

MTBE. If you use gasohol in your Lexus, be sure that it has

an octane rating no lower than 87.

Lexus does not recommend the use of gasoline containing

methanol.

[HankJ]

Any comments on Ethanol?

From the manual:

Oxygenates in gasoline

Lexus allows the use of oxygenate blended gasoline

where the oxygenate content is up to 10% ethanol or 15%

MTBE. If you use gasohol in your Lexus, be sure that it has

an octane rating no lower than 87.

Lexus does not recommend the use of gasoline containing

methanol.

Thank you for quoting the manual,

Now what I was asking for is real life experiences wrt milage, cost and performance.

Best,

[Angus]

[quote name='HankJ

Now what I was asking for is real life experiences wrt milage, cost and performance.

Speaking for me, it's hard to have a basis of comparison because 99.9% of petrol stations use 10% ethanol mix locally. I know that some aficionados believe strongly that ethanol hurts performance, though, as above, Lexus has tested ethanol up to 10% concentration. If you want to find a local station that is ethanol free, you may wish to look here: http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp

[katzjamr]

premium, you get more power, the engine was built for it even though you can use regular, and i get better gas mileage with premium so the extra cost is a wash. some people like midgrade, and feel it gives the results of premium

[LexRexBlue]

I've been using Shell regular, but with the extreme heat the air conditioner is working hard and I can hear the engine, so I'm going to start springing for the Premium. My IS needs the premium, at least that's what they recommend

[LexRexBlue]

Experimenting with going back to Premium. MPG went up from 21 to 25.6 The experiment continues.

[lemon]

I've recently switched to Shell V Power (91 octane) and have noticed an improvement in gas mileage. However, I notice a sticker on the pump that says regular has upt to 10% ethanol, mid grade has up to 5% ethanol and V power has 0% ethanol. I wonder if the mileage improvement is because there is no ethanol in the V Power?

[pauljcl]

I've recently switched to Shell V Power (91 octane) and have noticed an improvement in gas mileage. However, I notice a sticker on the pump that says regular has upt to 10% ethanol, mid grade has up to 5% ethanol and V power has 0% ethanol. I wonder if the mileage improvement is because there is no ethanol in the V Power?

Very likely.

[Lil4cyl]

premium, you get more power, the engine was built for it even though you can use regular, and i get better gas mileage with premium so the extra cost is a wash. some people like midgrade, and feel it gives the results of premium

premium in itself does not give you more power. Octane is nothing more than a fuels resistance to pre-ignition, or knocking/pinging.. whatever term you want to use.

When this happens, the car is equipped with knock sensors that detect the knock, and the computer backs timing down from where it should be, which is where the perception of power loss comes from.

If you use 87 octane, and are not experiencing any pre-ignition or knocking, then premium will make absolutly no difference other than what comes out of your wallet when you fill up.

[katzjamr]

premium, you get more power, the engine was built for it even though you can use regular, and i get better gas mileage with premium so the extra cost is a wash. some people like midgrade, and feel it gives the results of premium

premium in itself does not give you more power. Octane is nothing more than a fuels resistance to pre-ignition, or knocking/pinging.. whatever term you want to use.

When this happens, the car is equipped with knock sensors that detect the knock, and the computer backs timing down from where it should be, which is where the perception of power loss comes from.

If you use 87 octane, and are not experiencing any pre-ignition or knocking, then premium will make absolutly no difference other than what comes out of your wallet when you fill up.

"perception of power loss" or the car is actually less responsive with 87 fuel? to me that is less power. there is also a benefit in my vehicle of more mpg that negates the extra cost, when i use premium. others also report better mpg with premium gas and the 'perception of more power'. we have been commenting on this gas question since the first 400h. the first manuel did not specify premium gas so we all experimented with regular and premium. later 400h manuels suggested premium.

Of course you are welcome to use whatever you like, however i am getting the 'perception of more power' and better gas mileage with premium, with no penalty in final cost.

[Lil4cyl]

premium, you get more power, the engine was built for it even though you can use regular, and i get better gas mileage with premium so the extra cost is a wash. some people like midgrade, and feel it gives the results of premium

premium in itself does not give you more power. Octane is nothing more than a fuels resistance to pre-ignition, or knocking/pinging.. whatever term you want to use.

When this happens, the car is equipped with knock sensors that detect the knock, and the computer backs timing down from where it should be, which is where the perception of power loss comes from.

If you use 87 octane, and are not experiencing any pre-ignition or knocking, then premium will make absolutly no difference other than what comes out of your wallet when you fill up.

"perception of power loss" or the car is actually less responsive with 87 fuel? to me that is less power. there is also a benefit in my vehicle of more mpg that negates the extra cost, when i use premium. others also report better mpg with premium gas and the 'perception of more power'. we have been commenting on this gas question since the first 400h. the first manuel did not specify premium gas so we all experimented with regular and premium. later 400h manuels suggested premium.

Of course you are welcome to use whatever you like, however i am getting the 'perception of more power' and better gas mileage with premium, with no penalty in final cost.

Well, I was just stating the reasoning behind the octane ratings. If the Lexus Hybrids are tuned to perform better on premium fuel, that is the reason for the improved mpg. Just because you dont feel detonation does not mean its not happening. Which would stand to reason why the lower mpg with 87. If the ECU is pulling timing from detonation, it will reduce mpg because the combustion is not as efficient.

[Lil4cyl]

premium, you get more power, the engine was built for it even though you can use regular, and i get better gas mileage with premium so the extra cost is a wash. some people like midgrade, and feel it gives the results of premium

premium in itself does not give you more power. Octane is nothing more than a fuels resistance to pre-ignition, or knocking/pinging.. whatever term you want to use.

When this happens, the car is equipped with knock sensors that detect the knock, and the computer backs timing down from where it should be, which is where the perception of power loss comes from.

If you use 87 octane, and are not experiencing any pre-ignition or knocking, then premium will make absolutly no difference other than what comes out of your wallet when you fill up.

"perception of power loss" or the car is actually less responsive with 87 fuel? to me that is less power. there is also a benefit in my vehicle of more mpg that negates the extra cost, when i use premium. others also report better mpg with premium gas and the 'perception of more power'. we have been commenting on this gas question since the first 400h. the first manuel did not specify premium gas so we all experimented with regular and premium. later 400h manuels suggested premium.

Of course you are welcome to use whatever you like, however i am getting the 'perception of more power' and better gas mileage with premium, with no penalty in final cost.

Just a side note.. I will be using premium in my '10 450 AWD when I take delivery. Was supposed to arrive at port in Florida today, so maybe another 7-10 days until the dealer receives it.

[LexRexBlue]

I've recently switched to Shell V Power (91 octane) and have noticed an improvement in gas mileage. However, I notice a sticker on the pump that says regular has upt to 10% ethanol, mid grade has up to 5% ethanol and V power has 0% ethanol. I wonder if the mileage improvement is because there is no ethanol in the V Power?

Very likely.

Good point. My sudden increase in mpg is using Shell. I had no idea that the Regular had so much ethanol. I wonder if it's just Shell?

[katzjamr]

premium, you get more power, the engine was built for it even though you can use regular, and i get better gas mileage with premium so the extra cost is a wash. some people like midgrade, and feel it gives the results of premium

premium in itself does not give you more power. Octane is nothing more than a fuels resistance to pre-ignition, or knocking/pinging.. whatever term you want to use.

When this happens, the car is equipped with knock sensors that detect the knock, and the computer backs timing down from where it should be, which is where the perception of power loss comes from.

If you use 87 octane, and are not experiencing any pre-ignition or knocking, then premium will make absolutly no difference other than what comes out of your wallet when you fill up.

"perception of power loss" or the car is actually less responsive with 87 fuel? to me that is less power. there is also a benefit in my vehicle of more mpg that negates the extra cost, when i use premium. others also report better mpg with premium gas and the 'perception of more power'. we have been commenting on this gas question since the first 400h. the first manuel did not specify premium gas so we all experimented with regular and premium. later 400h manuels suggested premium.

Of course you are welcome to use whatever you like, however i am getting the 'perception of more power' and better gas mileage with premium, with no penalty in final cost.

Just a side note.. I will be using premium in my '10 450 AWD when I take delivery. Was supposed to arrive at port in Florida today, so maybe another 7-10 days until the dealer receives it.

Welcome to our group, and i know you will enjoy your 450h. Since your 450h has an atkinsons cycle engine, i dont know if that will be an additional factor in what grade of gas to use, however know the premium will serve you well, tell us what it says in the manual regarding octane. I had a loaner 2010 non hybrid 4wd for a couple of days and i can tell you the seats are better, as was the handling with the new suspension. The position of the gps is more easily readable, and most of all i hated to part with the xm radio. We will know when your vehicle is delivered when you add the 450h to the bottom of your bio, what color did you get.

[Lil4cyl]

premium, you get more power, the engine was built for it even though you can use regular, and i get better gas mileage with premium so the extra cost is a wash. some people like midgrade, and feel it gives the results of premium

premium in itself does not give you more power. Octane is nothing more than a fuels resistance to pre-ignition, or knocking/pinging.. whatever term you want to use.

When this happens, the car is equipped with knock sensors that detect the knock, and the computer backs timing down from where it should be, which is where the perception of power loss comes from.

If you use 87 octane, and are not experiencing any pre-ignition or knocking, then premium will make absolutly no difference other than what comes out of your wallet when you fill up.

"perception of power loss" or the car is actually less responsive with 87 fuel? to me that is less power. there is also a benefit in my vehicle of more mpg that negates the extra cost, when i use premium. others also report better mpg with premium gas and the 'perception of more power'. we have been commenting on this gas question since the first 400h. the first manuel did not specify premium gas so we all experimented with regular and premium. later 400h manuels suggested premium.

Of course you are welcome to use whatever you like, however i am getting the 'perception of more power' and better gas mileage with premium, with no penalty in final cost.

Just a side note.. I will be using premium in my '10 450 AWD when I take delivery. Was supposed to arrive at port in Florida today, so maybe another 7-10 days until the dealer receives it.

Welcome to our group, and i know you will enjoy your 450h. Since your 450h has an atkinsons cycle engine, i dont know if that will be an additional factor in what grade of gas to use, however know the premium will serve you well, tell us what it says in the manual regarding octane. I had a loaner 2010 non hybrid 4wd for a couple of days and i can tell you the seats are better, as was the handling with the new suspension. The position of the gps is more easily readable, and most of all i hated to part with the xm radio. We will know when your vehicle is delivered when you add the 450h to the bottom of your bio, what color did you get.

Thanks. I just went to the Lexus Drivers site and checked my online manual. I don't have my actual print manual yet until I take delivery. It states 91 octane is recommended, which would be mid grade in this area. 93 is premium. I test drove a 450 2wd at the dealership, and loved it. So many nice features in it. When I take delivery, I'll post some pictures.

It is Starfire Pearl White, with AWD, nav, hud, 12 speakers audios system, park assist, LED adaptive headlamps, Luxury package, comfort package, tow prep pkg, remote engine start, glass breakage sensors.

I am also have them put full 3m clearmask on the front and side mirrors when they receive it to protect the paint from chips.

Hope to get it by the end of the week, but most likely will be first to middle of the following week. Yes, I am like a kid in the candy store.. Anticipation builds each day.

[J wes]

Hi i want to know wich grade of gaz are you using?

(Regular 87 octane, medium 89 octane, or premium 91 octane)

Does anyone know if i run on regular if it can affect the car in any way?

[J wes]

I have a 2006 RX400H, I bought it new. I have run ARCO reg. since I bought it with no problem. About two years ago I decided mid grade did not cost much more so I switched. After about 5 tank fulls , I did not notice any difference and believe it or not, I was getting less miles per gallon, so I went back to regular. I now have 40,000 miles on it with no problems. On trips I average 25 mpg at 75 mph, and 23 mpg in town.

[boatguy]

I have the same car with 93K. I use midrange 89 octane, but only because it has no ethanol. I get 26.5 on the highway and 30 around town. My last fill up today with 300 miles on the on board computer says I averaged 28.6 MPG. I'm real happy with that.