Was told to use premium 89 octane gas only this true?

The good news is that both regular and premium gas have detergents that can reduce carbon deposits to an extent. If you're buying premium, those detergents may be more powerful. Nevertheless, the key to a clean fuel system is to have your vehicle professionally serviced.

If your car is built for 87- or 89-octane gas—check the owner’s manual—upgrading to premium won’t do you any good. In fact, it could even harm both your car and the environment, since more unburned gas will get into the emissions system and interfere with its ability to prevent noxious discharge. If you’ve been using high-octane gas and your tailpipe exhaust smells of sulfur, then there’s a good chance it’s because the car wasn’t built to handle premium.

yes you can use 89 octane, but at first it may seem like the car is not running right. don't worry the car is okay it is that the 89 is thicker than the 91. just give it some time.

Thanks for using FixYa and welcome to the site. You can use 89, but you are better off using 92.

you will probably get some valve rattle if you run 89 octane (mid-grade), unless you supplement the octane with some octane boost, im pretty sure the manufacturer suggested high octane, i own a 95Z28 and i only run high octane, if i run 89 i get lots of valve rattle

This is a wide range of fuel types. Minimum Octane level to run decent is normally 87. Up in the northern areas and hilly states I've seen this a little lower. Typically your choices are 87 octane, 89 octane and 93 octane. I recommend using the 89 octane or mid grade to get the best mileage and consistent performance from the vehicle. You will get better mileage from the higher 93 octane or Premium but this is off set by the increased soot and build up over time and the mileage isn't that much better to justify the cost between the Mid and Premium grade fuels.

You should always use premium fuel on the high conmpression V8 engine. Cheaper fuel can cause a PING, and possible engine damage. 87 octane is definitely not recommended at any time, but sometimes you can get by with 89 for a small period of time.

Gas mileage and power will both be down with lower octane fuel, so do not use it all the time.

Hello, and welcome to FixYa.
Please allow me to assist you with your question.

The 1999 Camry can run on any grade of octane, 87, 89, 91, 93 or 94. However, it will run best on 89 octane. That is what I use in my Camry, and it is also recommended to our service customers in our shop. You can safely use 91, 93 or 94, but those higher grades really will get you no better results; as the engine is not designed for that octane. It will run normally, on the higher octanes, but keep in mind that it will not run any 'better'.
You may have heard in the past that people 'treat' their car to a tank of 'premium'. That really serves no good purpose. All that does is costs you more money for a tankful, so adding premium at random intervals is not recommended.

I hope that this answers your question.
Thanks for choosing FixYa for assistance.

regular 87 octane unleaded is sufficient for this car. putting premium in is a waste of money and can actually hurt performance. the only exception to this can be if you life in an extremely low altitude area (below sea level), in which case you sometimes need a higher octane to compensate for air density.

Premium gas is still unleaded. Using a higher grade gas (ie: 89 or 91 octane) isn't going to hurt anything, and it isn't going to help anything either. You should stick to regular 87 as the higher octane rating gas isn't giving you any advantages.

87 octane is ideal for your accent.

It's a little commuter car. It's designed to save you money.
Anything over 87 is just a waste of money, UNLESS your engine is knocking at 87. Then you should step up to the next highest grade.
89 is a made up octane. It's just a mix of the lowest grade and the highest grade. I used to work at a mobil gas station for a year, and the only grades i knew wer 87 and 93, but 89 was an available option. it's just a way for oil companies to benefit off of ignorance.
91 and 93 is for high performance engines, turbo-induction, superchargers, that sort of stuff.
you should be fine sticking with the 87 though, but move up to "89 octane" or 91/93 if your engine knocks a lot.
hope this helps.