 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Car Forum / Toyota / Toyota Cars / February 2008Which octane gas for 04 Corolla?
I just bought a 04 Corolla 5-spd. The seller drove it 44 miles commute distance every weekday. I have only a 10 mile round trip distance to work, and most other trips woud be only a few miles...almost all short-trip city driving. He says that he was using "PLUS" (89 octane) rather than regular/87. He said that this not only gave better performance, but it also gave better gas mileage, and enough to offset the higher price. Was just wondering if anyone elses' experience with this car bears that out? > I just bought a 04 Corolla 5-spd. The seller drove it 44 miles > commute distance every weekday. I have only a 10 mile round trip [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > enough to offset the higher price. Was just wondering if anyone elses' > experience with this car bears that out? Plus doesn't contain any more energy that regular gasoline. And it takes more energy to make, which is why it cost more. If you're driving it hard enough to feel a difference on a regular basis, you're abusing the car. Chances are that the car performed better on the higher gasoline only in his mind. You can try and measure the mileage difference on your own. But your best bet is to use regular (87 octane) fuel and drive conservatively. You'll save money and save energy. Jeff > I just bought a 04 Corolla 5-spd. The seller drove it 44 miles > commute distance every weekday. I have only a 10 mile round trip [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > enough to offset the higher price. Was just wondering if anyone elses' > experience with this car bears that out? The brand of gas means more than the octane level. Just run several tanks of whatever you like and see for yourself. It's not hard. In that car, what I'd do is run three to four tanks of Shell 93 with V-Power. This will clean out the intake and combustion chambers. Check your mileage per tank. Then after that continue to run Shell 87 octane. 87 octane is all you need, but not all gasoline is made the same. My experience with a 94 Lexus, currently at 174K miles, is that Shell 87 in a clean system costs less to run per mile than anything else--even though per gallon it costs more. >> I just bought a 04 Corolla 5-spd. The seller drove it 44 miles >> commute distance every weekday. I have only a 10 mile round trip [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > a clean system costs less to run per mile than anything else--even > though per gallon it costs more. Do you have any scientific studies that back your claim? Gasoline is gasoline. The only thing that changes is the additives. And there are only certain additives that they can add to make the winter formulation. Jeff >>> I just bought a 04 Corolla 5-spd. The seller drove it 44 miles >>> commute distance every weekday. I have only a 10 mile round trip [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > Jeff A bottle of Techron would be much cheaper than the extra cost of 3 tanks of premium gasoline. >>>> I just bought a 04 Corolla 5-spd. The seller drove it 44 miles >>>> commute distance every weekday. I have only a 10 mile round trip [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > A bottle of Techron would be much cheaper than the extra cost of 3 tanks of > premium gasoline. And using regular gasoline just as effective and much cheaper still. Jeff >>>>> I just bought a 04 Corolla 5-spd. The seller drove it 44 miles >>>>> commute distance every weekday. I have only a 10 mile round trip [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > > Jeff Related subject - refresh my memory: With a modern vehicle like the ones we're talking about, what causes knocking? The advice used to be "User higher octane gas", but my mechanic said "No - it could mean your {missing idea} has/is a problem". What's the idea I'm forgetting? Anyway, he said moving to premium gas would stop the knocking, but it just masks a problem that should be fixed. Solution: Drive twice a month with the radio off, passengers bound and gagged, and listen to your car. <...> > Related subject - refresh my memory: With a modern vehicle like the ones > we're talking about, what causes knocking? The advice used to be "User > higher octane gas", but my mechanic said "No - it could mean your {missing > idea} has/is a problem". What's the idea I'm forgetting? Gee, you left yourself way too open. I won't even try. ;-) Did the mechanic say the knock-sensor or EGR valves? The knock sensor senses knocking and retards timing. > Anyway, he said moving to premium gas would stop the knocking, but it just > masks a problem that should be fixed. Solution: Drive twice a month with > the radio off, passengers bound and gagged, and listen to your car. And if the passengers are in-laws, make it at least once a week. Jeff > <...> > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > Did the mechanic say the knock-sensor or EGR valves? The knock sensor > senses knocking and retards timing. Yeah...probably one of those. >> Anyway, he said moving to premium gas would stop the knocking, but it >> just masks a problem that should be fixed. Solution: Drive twice a month [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Jeff Don't remind me. My mother in law took only 30 seconds to get carsick, sitting in the front seat. It reached the point where I had to learn a whole new way of driving, by visualing a full wine glass on the hood. Can't spill the wine or make the glass slide or tip. What a pain in the a.s, trying to switch from Mario Andretti mode to old fart mode. > I just bought a 04 Corolla 5-spd. The seller drove it 44 miles > commute distance every weekday. I have only a 10 mile round trip [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > enough to offset the higher price. Was just wondering if anyone elses' > experience with this car bears that out? I have an '04 Corolla & have had Corollas since '84. Have never put anything except "regular" into their tanks. OTOH, I've never experimented with a slightly higher octane to see if it made any difference re: MPG, but then something tells me it wouldn't... Cathy No, it is a crock. Use 87, it is all the motor needs, and the octane that comes with 89 is wasted. Do not waste your money on added octane. > I just bought a 04 Corolla 5-spd. The seller drove it 44 miles > commute distance every weekday. I have only a 10 mile round trip [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > enough to offset the higher price. Was just wondering if anyone elses' > experience with this car bears that out? > I just bought a 04 Corolla 5-spd. The seller drove it 44 miles commute > distance every weekday. I have only a 10 mile round trip distance to [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > higher price. Was just wondering if anyone elses' experience with this car > bears that out? 1995 Tercel. Bought it with 99,990 miles on it. Owner had used 87 Octane. I NEVER use 87 Ocatane. Filled it with 89 and reset the trip meter. After a few tanks of 89 Octane, did the calculations and came up with 36-38 MPG combined driving. Now, I usualyy don't use 89 Octane either. So the next few tanks were 93 Octane. After a few tanks came up with 44-46 MPG. Figuring when I owned the car gas was ~$1.65/gallon for 87 and $1.75 for 93, I figure over the time I owned the car I SAVED $220 by using 93. Your mileage may vary. The only car I ever had that has bucked this trend is an '89 Mazda 626 I currently have as a winter beater, and it gets better MPG with 89... > I just bought a 04 Corolla 5-spd. The seller drove it 44 miles > commute distance every weekday. I have only a 10 mile round trip [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > enough to offset the higher price. Was just wondering if anyone elses' > experience with this car bears that out? Vehicles with electronically controlled spark advance can benefit from higher octane, but the benefit does not always outweigh the costs of the higher octane fuel. I recommend that you try 3 or 4 tanks of premium, then 3 or 4 tanks of mid-grade, and then 3 or 4 tanks of regular. Monitor your fuel economy and see if you can measure the difference. If you cannot tell, then use the 87 octane.  SignatureRay O (correct punctuation to reply) > I recommend that you try 3 or 4 tanks of premium, then > 3 or 4 tanks of mid-grade, and then 3 or 4 tanks of regular. Monitor your > fuel economy and see if you can measure the difference. Don't measure fuel economy; use a good gas, and measure your fuel cost per mile. If you'd like, then use grocery store gas and measure your fuel cost per mile. I think you'd be surprised. "Yeah, but the grocery store gas is cheaper!"--but only the purchase price, not the per-mile price. >> I recommend that you try 3 or 4 tanks of premium, then >> 3 or 4 tanks of mid-grade, and then 3 or 4 tanks of regular. Monitor your [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > I think you'd be surprised. "Yeah, but the grocery store gas is > cheaper!"--but only the purchase price, not the per-mile price. Do you have any real evidence that the name-brand gas gets better mileage? >>> I recommend that you try 3 or 4 tanks of premium, then 3 or 4 tanks of >>> mid-grade, and then 3 or 4 tanks of regular. Monitor your fuel economy [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Do you have any real evidence that the name-brand gas gets better mileage? Yeah... >> I recommend that you try 3 or 4 tanks of premium, then >> 3 or 4 tanks of mid-grade, and then 3 or 4 tanks of regular. Monitor [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > I think you'd be surprised. "Yeah, but the grocery store gas is > cheaper!"--but only the purchase price, not the per-mile price. Good point, it's fuel cost per mile that is relevant. SignatureRay O (correct punctuation to reply) |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.