What Octane Fuel are you using?

[Grandpawmoses]

New LC here.
The LC info says minimum 91 octane but my wife's Crown Platinum with basically the same engine runs fine on 87 octane.
What are you guys & girls putting in your tanks?

 

[Nuke]

That has been a HUGE and HOTLY debated issue! Do a search, and you will find many posts. My opinion, backed up by a post (which I can no longer locate) from a Toyota employee, 91 Octane was specified to meet a MPG benchmark.

 

[6-funk]

I ran 3 tanks of 87 with no problems. But honestly by the time I got into the 3rd tank it did feel less peppy. I did the math at 50 cents per gallon, it was like 180 bucks a year more for premium. I don't have a huge commute. I feel like I have better response, more power and slightly (1-2? mpg) better mpg with premium. But I was definitely in the "why pay more" camp.

 

[alkioth]

I put premium (91-93 I believe). I tend to follow manufacturer’s recommendations as a minimum.

Just because 2 power trains are the same, it doesn’t mean there isn’t a tuning difference or some other component change to justify the higher octane.

Better safe than sorry.

 

[kmershly]

I put in whatever is Premium 91 or 93, but that is my own personal choice and not based on any science.

There is not a lot of clarity as to why the LC requires a higher grade of fuel than other vehicles with the same or similar powertrain.

There is some speculation that Toyota was concerned about the LC being worldwide that they wanted a certain standard and thus went with the Premium only requirement, but that is speculation and not based on any facts.

 

[FarooqMCSE]

New LC here.
The LC info says minimum 91 octane but my wife's Crown Platinum with basically the same engine runs fine on 87 octane.
What are you guys & girls putting in your tanks?

Hi all, I have not used premium since I purchased my LC in July 2024. So I have been using 87 octane with no issues.

 

[pnwlc250]

I’ve been using Top Tier 91 & 92 octane fuel exclusively since I took delivery of the vehicle (Chevron, 76, and Conoco). I use non-ethanol approximately 50% of the time depending on where I fill up. I’m averaging approximately 21mpg.

 

[ultane]

93 octane ethanol free BP, with a bottle of Chevron Techron every 4,000-5,000 miles.

 

[icurnmedic]

Highest octane camp here. I mean it’s a 70k vehicle. Why fret over the delta in price.
As others have said, don’t know why it’s needed, but do recall the fj80 models I have had also stated premium only.

 

[Grandpawmoses]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

 

[Justaron123]

I run E15 and 93 I’ve used an OBDII scanner and watched live data. I have noticed no difference in either. Should get decent MPG if you stay out of boost. If I recall correctly oem recommended is 91.

 

[basicxj]

I recently put the first tank of fuel in our '25 LC with Chevron 94 (no ethanol). Time will tell how that impacts fuel economy. I have no idea what the selling dealer put in prior to delivery beyond telling me it was "premium."

Before the world went crazy back in 2020 and gas prices rose, I used to use the same Chevron 94 in my Jeep JK. It wasn't because the Jeep required higher octane fuel, but because with ethanol blends in the lower grades fuel economy went way down as did power felt from the engine via a highly calibrated "butt dyno." When gas prices crept up, I settled on using the cheaper mid-grade 89 octane with ethanol and simply got used to the reduced power and responsiveness, and being able to watch the fuel gauge physically creep down while stuck in traffic. My guess is the reduced performance came from the ethanol content rather than lower octane.

My JK at its best would do 17L/100km (13.8 mpg) around town with 89 ethanol blend, though I did see as low as 11.9L/100km (19.7 mpg) on a 17 1/2 hour highway run up to northern BC. I did that trip straight through at the speed limit, only stopping for fuel and coffee and was never to see fuel economy like that again in the following five years.

As you can probably guess, after having that JK for nine years the fuel economy isn't a deal breaker for me, so the Land Cruiser should be a decent improvement in that area that simply comes with the deal. I won't sweat the Land Cruiser's L/100km and will play around with which top tier fuel it will run best on, and which cleaning agent keeps things happiest. I have trusted the Techron in Chevron's fuel since the late 80's, though Shell 93 octane without ethanol can be had a few cents cheaper.

 

[D-mac]

For fun has anyone tried high altitude 85 octane or 100 octane unleaded race gas yet?

 

[jasonrounds1966]

New LC here.
The LC info says minimum 91 octane but my wife's Crown Platinum with basically the same engine runs fine on 87 octane.
What are you guys & girls putting in your tanks?

I have been running mine with Eco 88 and it runs fine.

 

[Justaron123]

For fun has anyone tried high altitude 85 octane or 100 octane unleaded race gas yet?

We have 100 octane near one of the state parks I ran a little over half a tank in it. Going up to Hawks Nest and New River Gorge. The LC250 loved it. The Toyota plant in buffalo builds the T24A-FTS. It’s a great engine.

 

[Altitude]

The fact that people would willfully ignore the octane recommendation printed on their actual car because Toyota put a different recommendation on a different car…is the most 2025 internet thing I can think of.

 

[Justaron123]

I plan to tune mine I talked to OTT last week and they plan to have their tune ready in a few weeks. So by all means I would follow my first response since it’s what the fuel cap states. As for me I purchased it to drive it and enjoy it.

 

[ultane]

I have been running mine with Eco 88 and it runs fine.

Welcome to the asylum jasonrounds1966.

 

[MADDER]

Minimum 46… cetane : P

 

[basicxj]

The Land Cruiser isn’t the first turbo equipped vehicle I have owned. Even if premium fuel wasn’t specifically called for (say I had a 4Runner with the 2.4 turbo), I would have tried premium for checking what provides best performance.

Years ago I took our Tiguan (2.0L TSi) down the Oregon Coast. It had “93 Octane” specified on the fuel door. They had introduced ethanol in their fuel in Oregon before it was a common find here at home. There was a big hit to performance when I’d used the last of my 94 octane and filled up with 91/ethanol. Sadly, while the ECU adjusts for fuel to a degree, it doesn’t mean less than optimal fuel = best performance. Considering cost of service for VW, I didn’t see any sense in using lower octane fuel to save a few dollars per tank when there was a choice.