BajaNomad

Gas Grades

Marinero - 3-3-2006 at 03:49 PM

I have recently bought a Toyota 4.71l SUV. Has anyone tried to run one on any of the lower octane grades with any success, or am I stuck with using the premium grade?

Bill:?:

David K - 3-3-2006 at 03:58 PM

What does the owners manuel say? It should give the octane requirement...

My '05 Tacoma with the 4.0 V-6 runs great on 87 octane regular here and Magna in Mexico... no pinging (pre-ignition/ dieseling) which (if happens) is the reason for using a higher octane/ premium fuel.

bajajudy - 3-3-2006 at 08:18 PM

Magna, because who knows, and why pay more.

magna vs premium

Barry A. - 3-3-2006 at 09:12 PM

My Ford 460 V8 loves regular 87 Octane in the states-----hates Magnum in Mexico----ditto for my Isuzu Trooper 2.6 liter 4-banger. I always burn premium in Mex. if I can get it. If not, I add octane booster, and that takes care of it.

I once burned a hole in a piston of my Ford 240 cc 6 cyl. while coming home from BOLA on Magnum-----that was not a fun experience. That was about 25 years ago, tho. Things may have improved by now.

Bruce R Leech - 3-3-2006 at 09:15 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Barry A.
My Ford 460 V8 loves regular 87 Octane in the states-----hates Magnum in Mexico----ditto for my Isuzu Trooper 2.6 liter 4-banger. I always burn premium in Mex. if I can get it. If not, I add octane booster, and that takes care of it.

I once burned a hole in a piston of my Ford 240 cc 6 cyl. while coming home from BOLA on Magnum-----that was not a fun experience. That was about 25 years ago, tho. Things may have improved by now.


Magnum?

where can I buy that?

Ooops! I'm speachless--------------

Barry A. - 3-3-2006 at 09:21 PM

:lol::lol:

Bruce R Leech - 3-3-2006 at 09:24 PM

we are not as old as we think Barry A.

good night

bill erhardt - 3-4-2006 at 07:58 AM

I have a 2005 Tundra TRD with the 4.7 motor. I bought it for a tow vehicle and just returned to Loreto a couple of weeks ago from Florida with a new boat in tow. A 9,200 mile roundtrip. I burned regular in the States and Magna in Mexico. The 4.7 runs great on 87 octane Magna and did fine on the 86 octane regular some places on US-10.

bill erhardt - 3-4-2006 at 08:00 AM

Almost home.

David K - 3-4-2006 at 08:43 AM

Barry... 25 years ago may have been NOVA (remember that stuff?)... ?? That tested to about 79 octane and even my Subaru would ping on IT! Octane booster or retarding the timing was needed.

Nova was dropped and Magna became the 'regular unleaded'... Previously it was the highest octane in Mexico. Now, there is Pemex Premium...

Bob and Susan - 3-4-2006 at 08:47 AM

gas is gas...
marketing and urban myths make one gas better than another.

newer cars and trucks use computers to monitor gas usage and flow.

there is no need for higher grade gas unless you are operating an older car (pre 1980) or a high performance engine that specificly is made for higher octane.

putting gas boosters in your tank is like burning dollar bills:lol:

if your car is pinging with regular you have a mechanical or electrical problem and should fix it.

bajarich - 3-4-2006 at 10:14 AM

New vehicles with computers will retard the spark automatically so they will run on less octane without pinging. It may effect gas milage and performance but won't damage the engine. I've never experienced any problems running Magna in my V-8 Dakota other than there have been times when I wasn't able to buy it or I got cheated on the price (Santa Rosalia).

Why is it then---------

Barry A. - 3-4-2006 at 10:26 AM

-----that both my 1994 Ford w/ a 460 V8, and my 1989 Isuzu Trooper with a 2.6 -4 cyl., both run fine on 87 oct. in the states, but ping horribly on Mexican Magna??? and when I switch to Mex. premium, they both run just fine? Both vehicles are kept fine-tuned------- and folks, the Octane booster works just like advertised, with Magna----i.e. the "ping" disappears.

David K.------you are very right about my truck self-destructing on NOVA, 25 years ago------NOVA left something to be desired. But that experience did leave me very sensitive to "gas pinging" problems, and I do not want that to ever happen again. My old truck was in the Ford Garage in Ensenada for 7 weeks getting repaired (by the way, that Mexican-repaired engine is still running with no problems, in the same truck, today-----a 1969 Ford)

thats the reason

eetdrt88 - 3-4-2006 at 10:30 PM

I like my diesel truck,always runs the same no matter where I get my gas

bajajudy - 3-4-2006 at 10:32 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by bajajudy
Magna, because who knows, and why pay more.

Judy-----

Barry A. - 3-5-2006 at 08:39 AM

Normally, you get what you pay for, IMHO. :yes:

bajalou - 3-5-2006 at 09:28 AM

Years ago in the old country, I ran several test of mileage between the the "Regular" and "Premium" fuels available. While the Premium sometimes gave a slight increase in miles to the gallon, it NEVER got as many miles to the dollar as the Regular.

I now use mostly diesel and prefer the Mexican diesel even though it's about $.90 a gallon less than in the US.

:saint:

Your right, Lue--------

Barry A. - 3-5-2006 at 09:34 AM

-------my response to Judy is a little misleading, and was intended only as a rebuttal to her limited comment.

I would NEVER burn premium if I thought that my engines would run safely on regular, and I NEVER burn premium in the USA.

My only point, and maybe my engines have some problem, is that "pinging" will eventually destroy an engine, and should be avoided.

I have run diesels, also, and I love them, even tho presently I do not have one.

bajajudy - 3-5-2006 at 09:46 AM

Since most Pemex stations cannot even be trusted to give you the liters that the pump reads, all I was saying was, what makes you think that there is any difference in the octane. IMHO;D

Wow, Judy------I see your point-------

Barry A. - 3-5-2006 at 09:51 AM

-------I had not thought of it that way---and that brings in a whole different aspect.

Baja Cactus may have some comments about that------?

bajajudy - 3-6-2006 at 07:21 AM

Barry, just saw this timely article on line

http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/miami/17266.html

wornout - 3-6-2006 at 09:07 AM

I burned only Premium in my 1997 Dodge V10, from both the old country and Baja, for the first 50,000 miles. For the next 80,000 miles I have burned only regular, again from both the old country and Baja.

I burned a hole in piston #9 at 13,000. The mechanic said the V10 will either grenade or run for hundreds of thousands miles. I don't think running regular has harmed the engine at all. From what I read above, I think I owe that to the onboard electronics making the whole fuel/octane/mixture right. It is a fuel injected engine.

Judy-------

Barry A. - 3-6-2006 at 01:45 PM

-----many thanks for the link to the article on gas station "stings"-------that is so disconcerting, but I guess I am not "that" surprised-------ohhhhh, boyyyyyyy!!! Hope they do this in Baja, soon.

This makes my arguments seem somewhat superficial. :lol:

bajajudy - 3-6-2006 at 01:57 PM

Barry, there was a Nomad who actually did a study on which Pemex pumps were accurate. By now probably useless information but he did mention Cerro Colorado near me and I started using it. If I remember correctly, he took a 5 liter can and had them fill it. Or maybe took a 5 gallon can and knew the liter amount.

Marinero - 3-6-2006 at 02:52 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by David K
What does the owners manuel say? It should give the octane requirement...

My '05 Tacoma with the 4.0 V-6 runs great on 87 octane regular here and Magna in Mexico... no pinging (pre-ignition/ dieseling) which (if happens) is the reason for using a higher octane/ premium fuel.


The owner's manual says 87 (91 research). I just have never known exactly what the pump numbers are. and 87 and 91 generally appear. I do know that non-pinging is the major if not only reason for higher octane.

Thanks.

bill

David K - 3-6-2006 at 07:40 PM

87 octane is Magna in Mexico and Regular Unleaded in San Diego County.

91 octane is 'Premium' in both places.

Not sure if I understand all of your post/ question. The 'pinging' is the gas detonating BEFORE the spark plug fires because LOW octane fuel detonates (ignites, explodes) EASIER or at a lower temperature than HIGH octane....

So, as the piston is coming back up and compressing the air/fuel mixture, the lower octane gas ignites from the heat and that pinging is the piston shaking because the stroke is still pushing it up to meet the spark plug after the 'pre-ignition' has occured... Also, very hot weather, high compression engines or a carbon particle (glowing, like a diesel glow plug) can also cause pre-ignition/ pinging.

The purpose of HIGHER octane gas is to prevent the pinging... IF your gasoline powered vehicle doesn't ping (or 'diesel' ie. keep running after you turn off thr ignition) on REGULAR GAS ... then there is no reason to buy more expensive PREMIUM (that I am aware of).

I am not a fuel chemist, but have mechanical training and certification and that is what I remember from those college days!