Premium Fuel or not?

PACruiser said:
Is the reason the US has low octane mixes because we support Ethanol? I believe many countries don't have it so it is not an option.
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We don't have low octane mixes.

Other counties don't use octane as their scale, which confuses people.

95 RON (european scale) is the same knock resistance as 91 octane (US spec).

To your question, ethanol raises octane. That said, it still sucks and should be removed from the fuel. Fuck off, corn lobby.
 
Ahh, thanks for the clarification. So the Octane rating value is different not because of the fuel mix but because they use a different formula for the calculation. RON vs MON vs AKI.

No wonder there is so much confusion. They are responsible for a lot of dead horses.
 
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cvx5832LC said:
From Costco Gasoline's FAQ, and I imagine everyone else does it this way, since Costco does not manufacture gasoline. Aka this thread is a discussion on octane.


View attachment 28422
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This may be the case of Costco, but many other brands use different amount of additives depending on the grade.
Circle K
1740610877608.png


BP / Amoco

1740611102166.png
 
Obioban said:
Sure, but the fact that they specifically call out that their premium fuel contains more additives inherently implies that isn't part of the definition of premium fuel.
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But it means that it's better for your engine.
And because most gasoline retailers don't indicate clearly on their pumps if their Premium gas has more additives than Regular (Circle K and Shell do, BP/Amoco and Exxon don't, for example), the only sure way to know that you are getting a full additive package is by using Premium. Or cross your fingers, refuel with Regular and hope that they are like Costco (most are not). I prefer to rely on facts than hopes.
 
katekebo said:
But it means that it's better for your engine.
And because most gasoline retailers don't indicate clearly on their pumps if their Premium gas has more additives than Regular (Circle K and Shell do, BP/Amoco and Exxon don't, for example), the only sure way to know that you are getting a full additive package is by using Premium. Or cross your fingers, refuel with Regular and hope that they are like Costco (most are not). I prefer to rely on facts than hopes.
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No, you jumped to an incorrect conclusion-- just because it's premium does not mean it has a good additive package.

There are occasional (rare) cases where the premium fuel has a better additive package, but it is far from the norm and not a guarantee of anything.

... also, hopefully none of this really matters with a Toyota product. As in, my daily drive is a 12:1 compression ratio, 8400rpm V10 BMW M5. That is an engine that needs TLC. A Toyota truck engine? If it does, my Land Cruiser enthusiasm is completely unfounded :p. Endless reliability with minimal effort is what brought me to this party in the first place.
 
I have seen first hand and asked the guy filling the underground tanks how they deliver mid-grade fuel. His answer....... we don't, we mix the 93 with 87 at a certain ratio to get mid-grade. I watched him switch from the front tank (93) on his truck to the rear tank (87) without taking the nozzle out of the hole...... so I believed him.
 
katekebo said:
This may be the case of Costco, but many other brands use different amount of additives depending on the grade.
Circle K
View attachment 28597

BP / Amoco

View attachment 28598
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Circle K may say they have twice the additives, but they still don’t qualify to be a top-tier gasoline. If you look in the land cruiser manual not only do they specify a minimum required octane, but they recommend utilizing a top-tier gas. Circle K used to be Shell gasoline, and it was a top-tier gasoline, but then they switched to their own brand and they are no longer top-tier. Costco and Amoco are, it is listed on the top-tier website and on their pumps.
 
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the fact that there is such consistent, contentious debate on this topic with no clear answer would indicate that it matters far less than any of us think.
 
Captain Trips said:
Circle K may say they have twice the additives, but they still don’t qualify to be a top-tier gasoline. If you look in the land cruiser manual not only do they specify a minimum required octane, but they recommend utilizing a top-tier gas. Circle K used to be Shell gasoline, and it was a top-tier gasoline, but then they switched to their own brand and they are no longer top-tier. Costco and Amoco are, it is listed on the top-tier website and on their pumps.
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That is correct, but my point is that when you refuel at any random gas station, you likely get a better additive package with Premium than with Regular, regardless if it is Top Tier or not. For some gasoline brands there is no difference between Premium and Regular, but for most there is, including Top Tier brands like Shell or Amoco. So if you want you engine to last, using Premium is a safer choice. Premium Circle K is better than Regular Circle K. BP/Amoco Premium is better than BP/Amoco Regular. Shell Premium is better than Shell Regular. BP/Amoco Regular (Top Tier) may have more additives than Circle K Premium (non Top Tier), but BP/Amoco Premium is still the best of the three. Sometimes you have choice of what brand to buy, frequently you don't and have to refuel at a random gas station in the middle of nowhere.
 
katekebo said:
That is correct, but my point is that when you refuel at any random gas station, you likely get a better additive package with Premium than with Regular, regardless if it is Top Tier or not. For some gasoline brands there is no difference between Premium and Regular, but for most there is, including Top Tier brands like Shell or Amoco. So if you want you engine to last, using Premium is a safer choice. Premium Circle K is better than Regular Circle K. BP/Amoco Premium is better than BP/Amoco Regular. Shell Premium is better than Shell Regular. BP/Amoco Regular (Top Tier) may have more additives than Circle K Premium (non Top Tier), but BP/Amoco Premium is still the best of the three. Sometimes you have choice of what brand to buy, frequently you don't and have to refuel at a random gas station in the middle of nowhere.
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I've never seen someone so relentlessly pursue a non point.
 
This topic will never end. I love it. I think the fact that Toyota lead engineer Sheldon Brown said that regular gas will not hurt your engine or longevity in any way kind of settles it for me.

Also, as stated above, there are so many inconsistencies with US gasoline. Winter grade to summer grade to ethanol mixes to non ethanol mixes to low tier gas to high tier gas to additives and non additives... just shows you that these engines are obviously built to handle gasoline differences.
 
Did this thread get my beating a dead horse meme yet? Never mind I don’t want to offend anyone.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
 
Mookie242 said:
This topic will never end. I love it. I think the fact that Toyota lead engineer Sheldon Brown said that regular gas will not hurt your engine or longevity in any way kind of settles it for me.

Also, as stated above, there are so many inconsistencies with US gasoline. Winter grade to summer grade to ethanol mixes to non ethanol mixes to low tier gas to high tier gas to additives and non additives... just shows you that these engines are obviously built to handle gasoline differences.
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As long as you remove the sticker on the fuel door .....it'll add years to the longevity of the engine.
 
Anyone know where I can find a thread on the largest tire size I can fit without a lift? Asking for a friend.
 
EOD Guy said:
I have seen first hand and asked the guy filling the underground tanks how they deliver mid-grade fuel. His answer....... we don't, we mix the 93 with 87 at a certain ratio to get mid-grade. I watched him switch from the front tank (93) on his truck to the rear tank (87) without taking the nozzle out of the hole...... so I believed him.
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I used to work in fuel retaining. I dont believe midgrade has been tanked as a seperate product for many years.

Almost all modern pumps are "mixer" pumps. The blend between premium and regular, to make midgrade, is done by the pump itself.

Of course with all the additive talk, etc. It's also true that most of our gasoline is delivered at regional pipeline terminals and almost all brands use these same terminals.

Additives are added at the time trucks are filled. But most "Top Tier" labeled gas shares exactly the same additive package across brands.

Octane is one thing for discussion, but additive packages, which are certainly important, are almost all marketing BS. Look for "Top Tier" as it is a specific additive requirement, that most every name brand station meets, but within these brands, they are all virtually the same. Costco is Top Tier, Shell, ExxonMobil, Sinclair, and most all other main brands.
 
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