87 Octane vs. 86 Octane

[Benheindl]

Quick question…

Recently moved from Florida to New Mexico. In Florida, standard gas is 87 octane that I’ve been running in my new Tacoma since I got it. After arriving in Santa Fe, noticed it’s either 86 or 88. I filled up with the 86 octane.

Any suggestions here? Is 86 fine to run in a Tacoma out here or is 88 a better option?

-Confused Florida guy

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[CanyonFisherSummitSeeker]

No expert by any means.
Manual says 87. I wouldn’t run it on anything less than that. I’d stick with 88.
With the turbo I’m running 91 which I believe is what Toyota tests these engines with. Again no expert. Just my two cents.

 

[TrustButVerify]

Quick question…

Recently moved from Florida to New Mexico. In Florida, standard gas is 87 octane that I’ve been running in my new Tacoma since I got it. After arriving in Santa Fe, noticed it’s either 86 or 88. I filled up with the 86 octane.

Any suggestions here? Is 86 fine to run in a Tacoma out here or is 88 a better option?

-Confused Florida guy

The engine can adjust for lower octane gas. 86 will *probably* be okay. However, there's the non zero risk it will could cause engine damage. The minimum is 87 per the manual. I would opt for the 87 or greater and use Top Tier fuel station. This is a $45,000+ vehicle after all, and in all honesty, the last place I'd try to scrimp and save is by using lower octane fuel in a brand new truck.

It's not like this is some super high compression engine. It's 11:1. That said, just use the 87 or greater. Yes it will cost more. I just looked. You pay $2.85 for the 86, 3.30 for the 88.

~2c per mile more. Roughly $250 more per year at 12k miles drive per year, or about 69c a day. Seems like a fairly minor cost in those terms.

 

[Nuke]

The octanes by stations offered is directly tied to altitude, i.e. here at 4800' "regular" fuel is all 85 octane. This begs the question, with a turbo engine does the altitude factor apply? Also, how good is the engine at adjusting/compensating for the fuel octane? A Toyota engineer has stated, off the record, that the 91 octane suggestion is to achieve a corporate performance/economy goal. Personally, going to use non-premium fuel commuting around/about town, but premium if at Interstate speeds or towing, especially in hot weather.

 

[diablo2112]

Lived in northern New Mexico for 50 years. Used the standard pump gas in every car I've bought, including BMWs that say 90 octane or above, for hundreds of thousands of miles. Zero issues.

The high altitude in northern New Mexico (Santa Fe is at 7000 feet) mitigates the chances of knock. Our atmospheric pressure is down about 3 psi compared to sea level. Hence, less knock and no need for higher octane.

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