Anyone expermented with 89 or 91 to see if it affects mileage with the hybrid. I know it does with my Highlander but I was curious it the hybrid.

Thanks

I'm on the fourth tank and I filled it with 89 for the first time. The restarts seem easier, and the mileage looks promising so far. I'll post back with the results. Ck out greenhybrid.com for mucho mileage info in their database.

I filled up on 91 octane for just one tank and it made no difference in FE. I believe 87 octane is the way to go. Also, I've never had a tank less than 47mpg since switching to 87 octane Shell gas. Post hoc, ergo propter hoc? Try it and see if you get better gas mileage. Just stay away from ethanol. It causes the car to run too rich and kills FE.

I'm on my second non-consecutive tank using 89, and I'm not seeing an increase in mpg, although the restarts seem smoother as well as engine operation all around.

I filled up on 91 octane for just one tank and it made no difference in FE. I believe 87 octane is the way to go. Also, I've never had a tank less than 47mpg since switching to 87 octane Shell gas. Post hoc, ergo propter hoc? Try it and see if you get better gas mileage. Just stay away from ethanol. It causes the car to run too rich and kills FE.

Okay... wait.. what?!? You're getting 47mpg in a TCH?!? :eek:

I've had quite a few tanks above 50mpg and 2 tanks where I went 800 miles. The calculated numbers are always a bit lower of course. Alot of people say that all brands of gas are the same. They say it all comes from the same place and that the only difference is the label on the truck. I have enough miles on the car to know this isn't true. I'm not saying Shell has the best gas, but it does give me really consistent tank numbers. There are alot things you have to do to get 50mpg and where you buy your gas is just one of them.

I've had quite a few tanks above 50mpg and 2 tanks where I went 800 miles. The calculated numbers are always a bit lower of course. Alot of people say that all brands of gas are the same. They say it all comes from the same place and that the only difference is the label on the truck. I have enough miles on the car to know this isn't true. I'm not saying Shell has the best gas, but it does give me really consistent tank numbers. There are alot things you have to do to get 50mpg and where you buy your gas is just one of them.

In a Camry Hybrid, right? Not a Prius Hybrid? That sounds too good to be true for a TCH.

The badges say Camry Hybrid all right! I have a friend who drives a Prius and I can't help rubbing it in that I get better gas mileage than he does.

You have 5 posts so I won't bother trying to find a thread where you've explained how to attain such mpg #'s. Will you give a few pointers here to a fellow TCH owner that might help me get to your economy?

I'll post some thoughts on the 40 mpg?? Tell us how you do it !! thread

-Ed

I"ll post some thoughts on the 40mpg?? tell us how you do it thread.

-Ed

I'll post some thoughts on the 40mpg ?? tell us how you do it thread.

-Ed

Sorry for the duplicate post.

Actually, it was a triple post. :D

Trying to increase that post count, eh?

I'll look forward to your post because being able to break 40mpg for us on an entire tank of gas is quite a challenge let alone the 50mpg you're talking about.

When you fill up the tank, are you filling it 100% with the higher grade, or are you actually just mixing the higher grade with what's left?

If you are like most people, you are probably filling it with about a 75/25 mixture.
So saying the higher grade did/does nothing probably isn't very accurate.

And did you take into account that while you were experimenting with that mixture, the fact that the computer was "learning" to adjust to the higher octane?

I would think that before you make a blanket statement about the higher octane not making any difference, you ought to at least give it a fair trial period starting off at about the fourth full tankful of the higher grade.

By that time the mixture should be better than 95/5 % , and the engine computer should then be able to remap itself, to compensate for the increased timing afforded by the higher octane.

It's worth the thought.

Re 89 octane I'm 1/4 way through the third consecutive tank and not seeing m.p.g.increase.

When I fill up, the fuel warning light is always on and I've always had to add at least 16 gallons minimum, so I don't think dilution was a big factor.

I'll try Shell 87 next couple of tanks maybe.

I've had quite a few tanks above 50mpg and 2 tanks where I went 800 miles. The calculated numbers are always a bit lower of course. Alot of people say that all brands of gas are the same. They say it all comes from the same place and that the only difference is the label on the truck. I have enough miles on the car to know this isn't true. I'm not saying Shell has the best gas, but it does give me really consistent tank numbers. There are alot things you have to do to get 50mpg and where you buy your gas is just one of them.

I have an 07 TCH, I usually get about 39 mpg. I have to work hard for that, if I just drove it normal, it would probably get about 35. My traction motor rarely kicks on from start, I wonder if I need to take it in for checkup (which they would say nothing is wrong with it)???

Also my fuel eco needle usually is about 10mpg when driving on engine. Sometimes even less.

Also, my min by minute graph hanges around sub 20 quite a bit.

Also, my city mileage is probably closer to about 28 whereas my highway brings me up to average of 39.

Anyone that cares to reply to my above points on how their TCH compares would be great.

Thanks,
Steve

Sounds like some hilly terrain. Is this the case?

I've been using 91 octane still the begining, I have been getting 35 to 40 mpg (based on my actuals calculation) --> it seems to be different from whats computed out on the screen.

Should i switch down to 87 since its just a Camry anyways and thats what it says in the manual?

oh yah, i also have 26,555 miles on it now. :)

My conclusion in the TCH is running anything higher than 87 is a waste. I'm not getting mileage increase. Maybe switch to it if the engine turns into a pinger later on.

Ed T,

You give up too easily.
For starters going from 87 to 89 octane is a really small jump.
So even if there was some advantage, it would be small.

I used 93 octane, and saw a 1.6 mile per gallon gain, but a majority of my driving is around town, where the advantage of a higher octane would make the most difference.

Because around town your engine is under moderate load most of the time trying to get you back up to speed after stopping, the low to mid RPM torque, and horsepower are increased due to the more advanced spark timing.

This translates into spending less time in lower gears.
The reason the octane would not make much difference out on the big road is because the engine is not under the heavy load it normally sees around town.
So the computer can run the spark timing at a less aggressive advance to match the lower octane, and the decreased loading on the engine which causes spark knock.

Ed T,

You give up too easily.
For starters going from 87 to 89 octane is a really small jump.
So even if there was some advantage, it would be small.

I used 93 octane, and saw a 1.6 mile per gallon gain, but a majority of my driving is around town, where the advantage of a higher octane would make the most difference.

Because around town your engine is under moderate load most of the time trying to get you back up to speed after stopping, the low to mid RPM torque, and horsepower are increased due to the more advanced spark timing.

This translates into spending less time in lower gears.
The reason the octane would not make much difference out on the big road is because the engine is not under the heavy load it normally sees around town.
So the computer can run the spark timing at a less aggressive advance to match the lower octane, and the decreased loading on the engine which causes spark knock.

Alot of misinformation here...Anyone know what CVT stands for?

And... What lower gear?

Learn about your hybrid a little more.... everyone is confused enough.

Also, no need for anything higher than regular.
Just enjoy the ride.:tu:

My head is spinning from all the mumbo jumbo BS here .:td:

I'll leave this thread alone....

Sounds like some hilly terrain. Is this the case?

There are some hills here, yes, but not real bad, but it does the same just driving flat. It is hard to get the traction motor to come on and it almost never comes on when I first start to drive, the engine is 99.9 % started when I take off.

Alot of misinformation here...Anyone know what CVT stands for?

And... What lower gear?

Learn about your hybrid a little more.... everyone is confused enough.

Also, no need for anything higher than regular.
Just enjoy the ride.:tu:

My head is spinning from all the mumbo jumbo BS here .:td:

I'll leave this thread alone....

What I meant to say was; lower ratios, not lower gears.
Nitpickers...everybody's gotta be a nitpicker.
And we all know what a CVT is.
Don't you have anything to do with your time, other than to criticize minor mistakes, other people make?
Have you never misspoken even once in your life ?

oops , please excuse me, I wandered onto another Hybrid thread...I forgot to keep it SiMpLe here on this thread.

BTW, I found that using regular fuel with 87.02009 octane runs better than 86.5.9978 octane and I am achieving 27.007337 MPG as compared to 26 .6937006 MPG.:p

I'm going to try "Luk" oil Regular and see if the 87.555590 octane gives better MPG results.


I'll keep yu guys posted.:)

LT

There are some hills here, yes, but not real bad, but it does the same just driving flat. It is hard to get the traction motor to come on and it almost never comes on when I first start to drive, the engine is 99.9 % started when I take off.

Depending on the state of charge when I park the car, the eco meter is always in the sub 10mpg range when I go to work in the AM. The priority here is getting the engine temp up, not FE. This is why people in cooler climates put block heaters in their hybrids. It takes me about .8 miles to get the engine temp to about 150 deg which is where I find that I'm able to get into the EV mode. I use to drain the battery on the last few miles of any commute with the idea that the battery would charge when the car started the next time. I've recently changed my mind. Draining the battery just trashes your mpg for a longer period of time in the morning. If you have a short commute, forget about getting 45-50mpg. I now try to keep the battery charged as much as possible all the time. The car just behaves differently (better) with a full charge.
I can't comment on hilly driving but I'll give you my 2c on flat driving. Once up to speed (any speed greater than 40) back off slightly on the gas pedal. The engine rpm will drop to 1280. This seems to be the magic rpm for this car. If you can hold this, your mpg will improve. Holding 1280 rpm between 40-52 mph under a fairly constant load will give fantastic FE. A ScanGauge helps monitor all of this. Monitoring and maintaining a fairly constant rpm, rather than watching speed, on hills is a great way to improve FE. Hope this helps.

When you fill up the tank, are you filling it 100% with the higher grade, or are you actually just mixing the higher grade with what's left?

If you are like most people, you are probably filling it with about a 75/25 mixture.
So saying the higher grade did/does nothing probably isn't very accurate.

And did you take into account that while you were experimenting with that mixture, the fact that the computer was "learning" to adjust to the higher octane?

I would think that before you make a blanket statement about the higher octane not making any difference, you ought to at least give it a fair trial period starting off at about the fourth full tankful of the higher grade.

By that time the mixture should be better than 95/5 % , and the engine computer should then be able to remap itself, to compensate for the increased timing afforded by the higher octane.

It's worth the thought.

The ping /knock sensors (high tech mics) monitor octane based on combustion . This input is required so that the ECM can advance or retard timing as needed. This happens on the fly, instantaneously after a "Closed Loop" is achieved and the system is "READY".

Not much learning going on here.

Food for thought:
Advertised octane is never what yu really get.
And, gasoline loses octane over time...so depending how long it takes yu to use a full tank, there is always a variable of this majic called octane.

Premium is a waste in general on small engines , unless specified in a high compression engine.
I would be more concerned with Brand Quality than high octane grade.

Just use regular.

LT
:)

No kidding?
Gee no one but you would have thought about that.
The Hybrid engine has a 12.4 to 1 compression ratio, and even though it's an Atkinson Cycle engine, the high compression can still make use of the higher octane.
And...Mr. knows more than anyone else....Toyota even shows in the owner’s manual the fact that ANY octane can be used as long as it's at least 87.

There is no warning not to use higher octane.
And in a previous post, I clearly stated that most of my miles were put on around town, where the engine was under moderate to heavy loading most of the time, so as a result, my mileage went up because I was able to get up to speed sooner with the added horsepower afforded me through the increased engine timing.

And please, try to save up some money, so you can get a life...a real life...not this one, where everyone is always doing it wrong, just because you say so.

And why do you think anyone would take your advice anyway?
You don't even own a Hybrid.
Did the HL board throw you out?
Did they get tired of hearing you telling them how wrong they were too?

If you have something constructive to post, then fine, go ahead, but if all you’re going to do is criticize everyone for not viewing the world, according to you, then go away, and stop bothering us here.

I've been running 91 ever since I got the car and its been on 91 for over 30k miles and I have been getting 37-41 mpg (my own calculations and not whats read in the screen)
I then switched to 89 and now get 35-37 mpg with no changes in my driving patterns or conditions. I couldn't believe the difference so I have run 4 full tanks on 89(~2100 miles) . I am switching back to 91 now and I'll let you all know how things go.

If I am wrong here, please help clear up my misconceptions: My understanding is that the Octane rating has to do with the additives in the gasoline that SLOW the explosion in the cylinder, creating a 'longer' burn.

I have heard that there is the possibility that this longer burn can translate tto greater heat buildup in the engine. If the engine is designed specifically to get rid of this heat, then we're OK with using the higer Octane rating. However, if the engine is not designed to take the heat, Problems(tm) can ensue.

Since I live in Phoenix, I'm a little nervous about any situation that creates extra heat under the hood, I've seen too many "China Syndrome" incidents along the road as it is to tempt fate. ;-)

I just traded in a Mercedes E320 that required Premium, so the sticker shock at the pump was a 'motivating factor' when replacement was due.

I've had an 07 for 2 years and currently have an 09 for several months. I can average 39-41 regularly back and forth to work which is very little city (15%) and the rest is urban. My wife averages 33-35 with the same type driving. Don't know how I could get 50. I have not paid attention to the ethanol blend on the fuel I buy but think most are. Will have to look and see if I can find some with 100% gasoline and see If there is a difference. I do run 38-40lbs of pressure in my tires.

I live in the Alabama and we don't have winter blends or some of the other additives for pollution so we don't see hardly any drop in the winter.

Bob


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