Hi Scotty, been watching you for a long time. Also toyota guy forever. Wondering something. Wife wanted a 2 door awd car so picked up a 2015 lexus rc 350 Thought it was basically the same as our camry 3.5 but says to use premium fuel. Do you know if you actually have to use premium. I dont see any reason they say you have to other than the L on the front. If you could let me know your thoughts it would be great. thanks Chris
Search the board, this has been discussed to death here.
yes. It's in the FAQ now too.
Out of curiosity, I googled the manual for your vehicle:
"You must only use unleaded gasoline in your vehicle. Select premium unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 91 (Research Octane Number 96) or higher required for optimum engine performance. If 91 octane cannot be obtained, you may use unleaded gasoline with an octane rating as low as 87 (Research Octane Number 91). Use of unleaded gasoline with an octane rating lower than 91 may result in engine knocking and significantly reduced performance. Persistent knocking can lead to engine damage and should be corrected by refueling with higher octane unleaded gasoline."
Based on what the manual is saying, I would only use premium. It looks like Lexus did not design the engine computer to retard the timing when a lower octane fuel is being used.
it does retard the timing, otherwise it wouldn't say " you may use unleaded gasoline with an octane rating as low as 87"