Is Regular Fuel better then Premium Fuel in Winter

Does a Camry V6 require premium fuel? If not, using regular fuel would have the benefit of being less expensive.

The V6 Engine "recommends" premium fuel, so I follow the recommendation.

In the 2004 manual, it says 91 will give you "increased performance" and so it's recommended, but I've read that increased performance is about 1hp or so....

The compression ratio of your engine is 10.5:1. Anything is above 10, the high octane fuel is recommended. Even there is a knock sensor to readjust the timming to eliminate knocking but the performance and fuel economy would get lower.

In news: snipped-for-privacy@localhost.talkaboutautos.com, canoe2 being of bellicose mind posted:

Ignition timing is not the exclusive variable available to the ECM to limit detonation. There is also EGR which can be accomplished by the traditional EGR valve, Variable Valve timing that IS adjusted to increase valve overlap at lower engine speeds depending on load to contaminate the fresh A/F charge with exhaust, and mixture enrichment within program limits. There are motorcycle engines with 11.8:1 that have no EGR and no knock sensors.

Alan Shutko spake unto the masses in news: snipped-for-privacy@wesley.springies.com:

It said 91 octane, and some higher "research octane". I don't recall the exact number. It didn't say anything about AKI.

Alan Shutko spake unto the masses in news: snipped-for-privacy@wesley.springies.com:

If the manual specified 91 and then a higher number that it called "Research Octane Number" (RON), then it means 91 "pump octane".

Pump octane is also known as "Anti-Knock Index" (AKI).

I have an '88 camry, 4 cyclinder. What type of fuel would be the best for me? Do I want something with or without additives? What pump octane # would be the best? I am a novice and I am learning lots from reading the newsgroup. Your help and advice is greatly appreciated.

"gbfox" spake unto the masses in news:40159b21 snipped-for-privacy@newsfeed.slurp.net:

I hope your computer's clock is set correctly. And I hope your ISP's news server isn't totally screwed, because your posting date is set to this past Sunday.

As far as your octane requirements go, originally your car called for 87 pump octane, or Regular. In the winter you're fine with that. In the summer, listen for a light rattling noise from the engine under heavy acceleration or heavy load. If you hear this, and the noise goes away if you let off the gas, then you need to upgrade to the next higher octane level (89?) to see if that makes the noise go away.

Also, all gas has additives. You're either on the West coast or in the western mid-west (traces to you appear to stop in Cheyenne, Wyoming, after which point pings are not returned). Those living out there will be best to tell you wchich brands work best with your engine.

About the only thing premium fuels do that regular fuels do not do is allow the engine to run at a higher compression ratio. If you engine is designed to run on regular 87 octane, then use 87 octane. The ONLY benefit of using a higher octane fuel then necessary is to the oil company, in more profit per gallon, period.

mike hunt

gbfox wrote:

snipped-for-privacy@mailcity.com spake unto the masses in news: snipped-for-privacy@mailcity.com:

Well, no. Some older cars (outside of certain select areas that use MTBE) can develop combustion chamber deposits that can raise the effective compression ratio, requiring a slightly higher octane rating despite the manaul's specification, which is why I suggested to the OP that he listen for pinging.

Regular is usualy good, adding alcohol absorbes any water that may freeze in your system if you are in a very cold climate. If your car is difficult to start when real cold high octane may help. One good rule is find out when your station gets it deliveries and dont get gas around that time. If tanks are to low you get all the water and crap, When the tanker is there its all a mixed mess. a day later its all settled and good gas again. Yes its station managment. But my local station was blamed for 10 cars needing tanks cleaned once. Crap happens, thats why toyotas fuel filters make many other cars filters a total joke, toyotas are 50 times larger than many ive seen. If you think youve got bad gas throw in a couple cans of Heat . I once got a load of gas so bad it took 2- two Quarts of alcohol to get a T Bird to run ok.

Thanks for the information. I live in norwest Iowa. Now...about the computer. My clock is set with the correct time and date. Any suggestions on what to do about the news server?

Thanks again. This group is very informative and helpful.

Short personal story. My ol Prizm had been running fine. Some evil spirit made me buy a bottle of HEAT. Tossed it in and took off on errands. About 50 miles later the car was surging ... acting just like it was running low on gas. I limped home. Long and short of it, the fuel filter is hygrophobic, meaning water will not pass through it. The filter was filled with water to the point of choking off gasoline flow! The total contents in the filter was water! Good thing I was near the 'E' mark. Since this was late on a Sunday, I shook out the filter's contents, blew it out with compressed air, and reinstalled it. Problem solved.

yes, the benefit is that it'll save you money. premium (high octane) fuel is made to resist knocking so that the engine computer can advance the timing a bit and give you more power (at the expense of gas milage). but it's not a lot more power, and it's usually not worth the expense to go to high octane. in the summer, the hotter running engine sometimes make knocking a little more prevalent, so sometimes you may need to increase your octane in the summer.

mike

Philip are you saying the Heat did it , brought water to the filter or it was just bad gas, and an empty tank. If you were near empty and put in heat yes the water on the bottom could mix into the alcohol . Interesting , so never put heat in a empty tank?

In news: snipped-for-privacy@storefull-3136.bay.webtv.net, m Ransley being of bellicose mind posted:

I implied that HEAT® (methyl alcohol) and gasoline will pass thru the hydrophobic filter media but the water that latched onto the alcohol would not. When the three liquids met the filter, the water separated out there and fairly quickly choked off nearly all fuel passage. The fuel tank had only 2-3 gallons in it upon arrival home and I do not believe is relevant because alcohol picks up water irrespective of fuel tank level.

Moral of the experience is if you use such a fuel "drier", one should not be surprised to find a hydrophobic filter soon clogged up with water. Had the filter media been able to pass water, then the fuel/alcohol/water mixture would have passed out the exhaust pipe. But I should add that water is CORROSIVE to fuel injector parts, particularly the pintle shaft and sealing surfaces within the injectors.