RX330 Recommended fuel?

The RX, like most recent vehicles for which premium fuel is recommended, has a knock sensor and circuitry which will back off the timing if knock is detected. This will protect the engine from damage if lower octane fuel is used. There will be a loss of performance if lower than 91 octane is used, and if driven "aggressively," there will be a small decrease in gas mileage. If the vehicle is driven fairly gently most of the time, you could probably use mid-grade and not notice the difference. At least that is the case with my IS300.

JK & KK wrote:

Most 1MZ-FE engines recommend 91 Octane. On my 2002 Camry V6, I only use Premium Unleaded

Thanks for all the feeback! I think I'll take that approach (start with premium and work it down a grade and check performance...). I'm not a 'hot dog' driver either and do about 75% of my driving on highways.

-Kim :-)

Out of curiosity, what does the owner's manual say? My wife has always used

RX330- "Select Octane Rating 87.....or higher. For improved vehicle performance, the use of premium unleaded gasoline....is recommended"

Higher octane gas is a waste on older vehicles that don't recommend it.

If you're going to spend around $40K on a new RX330 why be cheap now and fill up with low octane fuel?