Regular gas LS400 ?

I know my ES calls for premium, but the owner's manual says 87 octane is perfectly fine, giving you a reduction in performance.

I use 87 octane. No problems.

Toyota engineers are too good to let something like 87 octane fuel be bad for the engine of their premium vehicle.

I agree as well. I have a 2003 ES and was told by my dealer that even though the manuel reccomends to use premium not to waste the money and use regular. I have done so exclusively and have had no problems

You can use regular gas. The engine has knock sensors that will retard timing so your engine will not be damaged by pre-ignition or detonation. Hopefully.

Premium fuel costs about 20 cents more per gallon than regular. On a 20 gallon tank, that is a $4.00 difference in a fill up. I don't know about you, but $4.00 to me just is not worth worrying about.

Although regular seemed to run just fine on our RX330, I did notice a drop in MPG when using the 87 octane fuels offsetting some of the cost of the savings of 87 octane fuel. In addition, retarding the timing will cause the engine to run hotter, i.e. more wear. IOW, penny wise, dollar foolish?

Good for you.

So when someone comes up to you and asks you for $4, you'll just give it to him.

"Elmo P. Shagnasty" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@nntp3.usenetserver.com:

Calm down and take your medication in a timely fashion.

Here is the suggestion. A Accord or a Sentra is the solution. 87 is what they need. No headache.

Hey, 4 bucks is 4 bucks. If it's meaningless to him, I'd be happy to take it.

What's your point?

If you don't know by now, Mr. Nasty, we can't explain it to you

How about "don't WANT to pay the oil companies their inflated prices"?

You didn't get the sarcasm. I understand your point; my question was, do YOU understand exactly what you're saying?

It's obvious you don't.

No, you don't

Does the LS400 computer sense any ping and retard the spark and if so does fuel economy suffer or is premium justified with better mileage?

Then don't buy a Lexus. You obviously never bought a new Lexus before. You're the type to buy them used because you're a poseur and not a connoisseur. If you question the price of gas on a luxury car...and I mean any luxury car...then you should buy their cheaper alternatives such as Avalons, Camrys, and the like that require regular fuel.

As everyone else is saying here, you're too frugal of a consumer to belong in the luxury market.

Not again. You gentlemen have to refrain from these ad hominem attacks. Let us discuss Lexus automobiles.

===========BuckShot LeFunk =1998 LS 400

David Z wrote:

Actually the knock sensor senses ping and sends a signal to the engine electronic control unit (ECU). The ECU then retards spark timing until the pinging stops. Fuel economy and performance will suffer. How much and the break-even point really depends on your driving style, environmental conditions, and the price difference between grades of gas.

For example, if you drive 325 miles and get 19 miles per gallon, you will use 17.11 gallons. If you drive 325 miles and get 18 mpg, you will use 18.06 gallons. If you drive 325 miles and get 17 mpg, you will use 19.12 gallons.

Assuming the price differential is $4.00 per tankful and there is a 2 mpg difference between regular and premium, then it is cheaper to use premium. If there is a 1 mpg difference, regular is cheaper. There are so many variables, with the price of gas differing between stations and time, that my gut feeling is that the difference between premium and regular is a break-even proposition or the real fuel cost differential is a $1 or $2 per tankful at the most. To me, the actual savings from using regular is not as great as it appears to be and so I use premium.