Fuel and towing

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Is there any benefit in adding extra octane while towing? I use 87 now but im courious if adding 89 or even 91 will be any benefit since ill be driving in 3rd gear all the way from Cali to Texas.
 
Unless you are pinging or lugging(which you shouldn't be in 3rd gear).. no. It's gonna cost you enough for fuel as it is. Why are you making the trip?
 
if you are pulling any heavy grades going on that trip than You might want to try a higher grade of gas. I know in my 2005 Dodge Ram owners manual it says to use premium while towing to prevent activation of the knock sensors which would cause a retard of timing and which would result in a loss of power. Since High load and poor octane even when the engine is designed for that octane,Can cause knocking under normal conditions its just "Ammplified" when towing becuase of the load.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Bryanccfshr:
Unless you are pinging or lugging(which you shouldn't be in 3rd gear).. no. It's gonna cost you enough for fuel as it is. Why are you making the trip?

I got a job at DFW airport as a mechanic.
 
Cool. Congrats on the job. You will be pulling about 3k and more rpms at highway speed.. you shouldn't get any low rpm high load ping at that point in the powerband That's why Toyota recomends driving with the OD off when towing .. Plus the tranny is way to busy without it off.
You have an auxillery tranny cooler set up, right? Right?
 
quote:

Originally posted by Bryanccfshr:
Cool. Congrats on the job. You will be pulling about 3k and more rpms at highway speed.. you shouldn't get any low rpm high load ping at that point in the powerband That's why Toyota recomends driving with the OD off when towing .. Plus the tranny is way to busy without it off.
You have an auxillery tranny cooler set up, right? Right?


Ive got the trd cooler inline of the stock cooler, redline D4 atf and yesterday i installed the green fan clutch that comes with the tow option. Between the cooling system im pretty much ready to go. I hoping between the trailer and my junk it should be about 3K lbs and alittle change.
 
If the truck is relatively new (2000+), I wouldn't worry about it.

I'd make darn sure I had new oil in it, tho. I'd prolly dump in Mobil 1 and change it after about 3-4,000 miles. Running 1500 miles in 3rd gear is gonna be some harsh treatment, but with synthetic, I wouldn't worry.
 
quote:

Originally posted by thooks:
If the truck is relatively new (2000+), I wouldn't worry about it.

I'd make darn sure I had new oil in it, tho. I'd prolly dump in Mobil 1 and change it after about 3-4,000 miles. Running 1500 miles in 3rd gear is gonna be some harsh treatment, but with synthetic, I wouldn't worry.


Im on my second change with amsoil series 3k.
 
Definetly go with a higher octane. When I
purchased my 1992 Club Wagon to use as a tow
vehicle one of the exhaust manifolds was cracked
and the dealer had to replace it. The crack was
where the manifold connected to the Y Pipe.
Afterwords I read an article in a motor home
magazine talking about this happening due to
heavy loads and running 87 octane fuel. I use
89 or 92 in it and have never had a problem
 
If the engine is made for 87 octane gas, you're just wasting money buying higher octane fuel. If the engine was made to perform better with higher octane, then it might make sense.

With your 'yota, stick with 87. You won't notice any performance or economy improvements with higher octane.


Ken
 
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