$34.99...

Wow! You really let the tank get low.

One thing about the "premium" is that it also takes more energy to make than the regular gasoline. Unless your car needs it, it is a waste of money. Some people will say they are treating the car to the "better" fuel. Cars don't care. They don't have a brain. If you want to make a treat for something, give a dog a doggie treat.

The cost difference was about 30 cents per gallon. About $3 a tank.

I put about 15 gallons in my 14.5 gallon tank. The price went up between fill-ups (I figured I might as well fill the tank after my trip, too, because it will go up again before the weekend).

Jeff

It was closer to $80 for our Lexus and Sequoia :-(

Take it from Ray... Save your money and use regular. Premium is a waste in the Echo.

$48.95 for the Supra (7 gallons 93, 6 gallons 89 for ~91 Octane)

Sorry, Ray! Said it before: using 93 Octane in my Tercel got me 6 MPG more than 89 Octane, and actually cost $225 LESS over the period I owned the car!

(Um, this doesn't work with the Mazda. 89 Octane works the best)

Tercels were not normal cars anyway ;-)

While hubby is out bustin' his hump, she's 'workin' from home (on the toyota ng) and pumpin' primium into her [i:7129f4366c]echo[/i:7129f4366c]!! LMAO I'm always glad to come on line and see these fine examples of 'merican womanhood who remind me it's better to throw my money on the courthouse steps than to get married in this country. At least that way you don' have to deal with the constant need for attention..

CP

I paid about 34 to fill mine...

Makes me wonder about the days when it would have been 17... oh well

heard smaller cars are selling like hot cakes now

I've been riding my mountain bike to the gym.

No gas use whatsoever.

Man, I miss that car! (Esp @ $3.49/gal...)

But not when the roof is off! ;)

"Ray O" ..

Thanks! What type of vehicles should use it?

Natalie

"Fla/Pa" ...

You have absolutely no idea of what you're talking about.

My husband and I *both* busted our asses when we were younger, but now he's an executive (Air Force Officer), and I gave up nursing to do medical transcription editing for a voice-activated system. I'll be turning 50 soon (so will hubby). We've *earned* a less hectic life. For the record, I work on my laptop for most of the day, then clean house the other part of the day. I pop in here only when I need a break from medical jargon.

I assure you, we both give each other only as much attention as we want. You might want to ask what someone does with their day, before making assumptions. I'm just saying.

Try not to be bitter. It makes you look pitiful.

Natalie

"witfal" <

Except when you eat burritos.

Natalie

Engines that are designed to use regular or premium will likely get better gas mileage with premium (no guarantee that it will completely offset the higher price of premium).

How can you tell if your engine is designed to use regular or premium? If the owners manual says you will get better horsepower with premium, but lists the minimum octane as regular, then it is usually designed to use either regular or premium. I believe this applies to most Toyota V6 engines, but not sure about 4 cylinder engines (never owned a Toyota 4 cylinder).

Of course, some cars are designed to use only premium, but I don't know if any Toyotas are among these (Lexus and other luxury car brands have some).

Personally, I use mid-grade in my Camry V6, unless the weather is very cold, in which case I use regular (premium burns cooler).

"Mark A" ...

Ah. Thanks

Natalie

The simple answer is if the owner's manual recommends premium, use it, otherwise, use regular.

Gasoline engines compress the air/fuel mixture, and then the spark plug ignites the mixture, forcing the piston down, which turns the crankshaft, which turns the transmission, which turns the driveshaft, which turns the wheels.

If you squeeze the air/fuel mixture enough, the heat generated by the compression will cause the mixture to ignite on its own, a condition called pinging or knocking. Premium fuel has more octane, which raises the temp at which the mixture will ignite on its own (it does not burn cooler). High performance engines have higher compression and so require premium fuel.

Diesels do not have spark plugs and rely on compression to ignite the fuel, which is why they often sound like they are knocking.

Engines that have really advanced timing also require premium fuel, but modern engines have a knock sensor to dial back the timing, which is why a lot of cars that require premium fuel can get away with regular.

Nat, don't you just love these folks (I use the term "folks" because if I didn't, I'd use a term meaning the orifice in the vicinity of the gluteous maximus) who make these ASSumptions about people they don't know? I wouldn't give this cretin the time of day, let alone tell him what your occupation is. (Or tell him that you spend your days in front of the laptop sending out Nigerian spam letters to suckers, and have made $14 million so far this year.) : - )

cheers, Mack

I'll trade ya - it's been averaging $105 for the E-250 if I let it get down to the vapors (under 1/8) before filling up. That's at Van Nuys Costco which is the cheapest good gas around, $3.73.9 yesterday.

An Echo would be wonderful - till I tried to balance a 12-foot trestle ladder (200#) 12' and 10' A-ladders and a 24' extension ladder on the roof. The ladders would stick out past the bumpers at both ends, and then there's the effect of wind resistance...

If I got really desperate, my FJ-62 is about the smallest vehicle that I could work out of and actually accomplish something.

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Not so simple. The Toyota user manuals I have seen (for the two Camrys I have owned) say that the minimum fuel required is regular (actually specified as a certain octane level), but that higher octane fuel can be used to achieve better horsepower. Such engines are designed to run on regular or premium (or obviously mid-grade).

Some engines are designed to only use regular.

Excuse me. Premium fuel results in more efficient combustion (assuming the engine is designed to use it) and thus generates less heat for a given horsepower. Heat is a byproduct of combustion, and a measure of inefficiency.

I've just paid $125 to fill mine up. UK gallons though. Wish I lived your side of the pond !

Dave G

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