Premium Fuel Required?

[Good Times]

None of the V8 or V6 engines for the 4runner / Tacoma / FJ require premium fuel. These engines will fun perfectly normal with the baseline fuel. If you are a performance buff then I highly recommend that you use the best possible fuel for your speeding desires.

[mastacox]

None of the V8 or V6 engines for the 4runner / Tacoma / FJ require premium fuel. These engines will fun perfectly normal with the baseline fuel. If you are a performance buff then I highly recommend that you use the best possible fuel for your speeding desires.


{SIGH} You make it so boring sounding... I know, I don't have a new 4Runner so I don't have any first-hand experience, but to make the factory spec horsepower and torque specs on the engine, you'll need to go with the premium fuel.

I found that the "Factory Specifications" are available on Toyota's website in PDF form.

Here's the spec I found and went over:

2006 4Runner (http://pressroom.toyota.com/presstxt/2006toyotakit/20064Runner_s.pdf)- both V-6 and V-8 "recommend" 91 octane...

The specifications for the 2006 4Runner says recommended gas octane is 91 for both the V-6 and V-8. Both engines also have a 10.0:1 compression ratio. The 2003 4Runner's specifications also call out 91 octane for both engines (even though the older V-8's compresison ratio is "only" 9.6:1 Linky (http://"http://pressroom.toyota.com/Releases/View?id=TYT2003082936129").

That being said, guys at TundraSolutions.com (http://"http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/4runner/34305-v6-vs-v8-gas-question/") say that both the V-6 and the V-8 run fine on regular 87 octane. My take is that try 87 to see what happens, but if you notice a significant degradation of power (evidence of heavy timing retard), or it's hot (over 100*F) you'll probably want to run premium. Also, always be on the lookout for ping. Why over 100*F? Well, the hotter the intake charge the hotter the combustion charge and the more likely your engine will have to significantly retard timing to keep up.

As it is, you're only saving about 0.20c a gallon by using regular instead of premium (23.0 gallons * 0.20c = $4.60 savings per fill up). Worth it? Well, only you can be the judge.

[effjae]

I get better power, performance, and mileage w/ Premium. The other stuff is cheaper at the pump, but when you get less mpg, you pay the same.

[T4Rfun]

First, great information thanks for the posting.

My experience and opinion, for what its worth. Go for the 91 Octane!

I have the 06 4x4 V8 Sport. I run 91 and have tried the lower octane fuels. I do notice a slight difference in performance with the higher octane giving me better power and response. I also get slightly better mileage with the higher octane since the engine can perform more efficiently with the octane boost, but that's not a real factor for me since its a negligible increase. For me, the bottom line is this. We invest a lot of time and money on these vehicles and often count on them for our off-road adventures, and occasionally call on them to save our butts. The difference in fuel cost (for me at about two tanks per week) is less then $500 per year. Yes it does add up, but give me the performance, reliability, and some good dirt to explore and I'm happy.

[MTL_4runner]

A 10:1 compression ratio should not have any issue dealing with regular (87) octane gas. You will get better performance on a computer controlled vehicle since the engine will advance the motor until the knock sensors tell it to back the timing off again but the gains will be minimal. When you start changing the compression ratio from stock (such as with decking heads or running a supercharger/turbo) is when you really need to be using the high-test stuff.

[RunnerUp]

i use 89 octane on both my 02 and 07, maybe when it gets hot out ill switch to premium, but until then, they both perform great and lets face it, they are not exactly the most high performance vehicles