Premium Fuel for LR4

Does everyone who currently has and LR4 ONLY use premium fuel? I know that is what it says they require, but I currently drive a VW Passat that I bought new in 2002 and it has 110k miles on it and I think I used premium fuel the first couple months of ownership. For the last 9 years Ive put regular unleaded and this car has literally had zero problems, besides regular maintenance. Still runs like a dream. And today as I was fueling up I noticed again the PREMIUM fuel sticker inside the gas cap. Oh well....

Of course, when I get my LR4 I want to take the very best care of it, but is premium fuel REALLY necessary?

I use the mid grade fuel in mine. Never had a problem but figure I'm losing some performance and mileage.

Rob

I had read that if you put in low grade 85 etc. that it can trigger the check engine light and the dealership will have to reset the light. As for mid-grade I don't know. I personally put in premium because I'm used to it, BMWs require it. But putting in at least mid-grade would be nice as it would save a few bucks. To the OP (original poster) even if you can get by with lower grade fuel I hope you're prepared that fuel prices in general will go up a good 30- to 40% and if you're used to good gas mileage owning a LR or any other vehicle that gets low mileage results could cause quite a sticker shock for you. I'd expect even regular gas to climb as high as $5 dollars a gallon by late spring/early summer and filling a LR4 or any other large vehicle will be approximately $80.00 USD plus. And if prices rise as much as they are now in the EU you're looking at $8 plus a gallon and it would cost well over $130 USD to fill ghe tank. Yes, they are paying above $8 dollars a gallon! Just something to think about before jumping into a vehicle like this.

Thanks for the info guys. I am prob gonna play it safe and stick to premium fuel so that my LR4 has the advantages. Down here in the southeast we pay about $3.70 a gallon. I
CANNOT imagine paying $8 a gallon. I shudder at the thought of it even reaching $4. I'm hoping it drops back to $1.60 a gallon like it did in 2008 after the gas panic when everyone went out and bought those absurd smart cars. Gas guzzler here I come. The LR4 is just too freaking fabulous!

That's the spirit!

Here in San Fran I had to pay 4.25 a gallon today. It was over $70 bucks to fill my beast. Even regular is $4.01. :-(

You see, 2008 isn't going to happen anytime soon unless we have another crash. And honestly, if that happens there will be massive layoffs - and some very sad times ahead. The Fed is pumping the market and will continue to do so until late next year. With that in play gas prices will continue to rise purely on speculation, greed. You should write your Congressman/woman and ask that the fire Ben and dissolve the Fed!

Anyway... The events in the Middle East has only accelerated the price per barrel, and even if it ends tomorrow gas will continue to rise. It's a sad fact. But, I drive very little, I take mass transit during the week which helps, and honestly, I love my beast enough to deal with it. Spread over a year it's only a thousand or so more. Anyway, it is what it is and there's nothing in the world other than its end that would put me into a crap box Prius! Hehe

Before we got our LR4 I read up on the issue. The sticker on the inside of the gas flap uses the word "recommended" rather than "required," and evidently there is a substantive difference.

The bottom line is that you can use any unleaded fuel you want as long as it doesn't cause prolonged severe knocking.

From the manual:

OCTANE REQUIREMENTS
Premium unleaded gasoline with a Cost of Living Council (CLC) or Anti Knock Index (AKI) octane rating of 91 or higher should be used. . . .
Note: Mid or regular grade gasoline with a CLC or AKI rating of not lower than 87 may also be used, but performance and fuel economy will be reduced.
Using unleaded fuel with a lower than recommended octane rating, can cause a persistent, heavy engine knock (a metallic rapping noise). If severe, this can lead to engine damage.
Note: Occasional, light, engine knock experienced while accelerating or climbing hills is acceptable.
If heavy knock is detected, even when using fuel with the recommended octane rating, consult your Land Rover Retailer/Authorized Repairer to have the problem corrected. Failure to do so is misuse of the vehicle, for which Land Rover is not responsible.

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Ive never put anything less than premium...too spooked of causing some sort of problem. Dont want to give LR any reason to void a warranty!

Very good point Cypress...I too am "spooked." I want to give the LR4 every advantage to keep little issues as bay and since I work from my home office and just don't drive that much during the week, I am not going to worry about.

cypress822 said:

Ive never put anything less than premium...too spooked of causing some sort of problem. Dont want to give LR any reason to void a warranty!

Click to expand...

I doubt this would be an engine warranty issue, and more like a truth in advertising issue. Someone else will know the exact advertised hp number, but LR advertises the LR4 as having 5.0L, approx 380hp V8. My understanding is that in these higher compression ratio engines, that max hp# is only achieved by using premium. If they advertise 380, but you measure 360 (in your garage dyno, which everyone has right?), they look bad. Unless you were using regular when you did the test, in which case, you were not following manufacturers recommendation. So its a cheap way to maximize advertised hp, or the right way to achieve designed engine hp.
I personally have been flip flopping between mid-grade and premium - except when I am filling out in the boonies where I assume (cause I am an ass) that no one else around there buys premium/mid-grade and I am the sucker getting premium gas that has been sitting in a hole in the ground for months. I have no idea if Octane's evaporate, but like beer and fruit (never at the same time) I want my gas fresh.

The reason Premium is recommended is that it's needed to achieve the advertised horsepower and fuel mileage. The cars knock sensors will adjust and run just fine on almost any unleaded gasoline. The thing that hurts engine life substantially more than octane rating is ethanol content, unfortunately that's government mandated and Washington doesn't care much about the lifespan of our Land Rovers