POLL : 2010 TO 2016 WHAT OCTANE ARE YOU RUNNING AND WHY

[2011TAURUSSEL]

I saw something on All Girls Garage....yes I know but apparently they work on cars too...... They had a can of race fuel allegedly commercially available that you can mix with 93 to improve performance.....is this Snake Oil? Or does it work? I can't remember the brand but adding a small amount of race fuel in general does it work for daily driver use and will it increase HP and MPG?

 

[Ben R]

Are you sure it's unleaded? The only holiday 110 by me is leaded.

Sent from my XT1096 using Tapatalk

You are correct it is leaded. Probably shouldn't use that anymore. Thanks for clarifying that. Glad it was on 2 gallons.

 

[krewat]

Some weird stuff in this thread...

If you check ford.com, the engine output specs have this caveat:
Horsepower (SAE net@ rpm) 365 @ 5500 (achieved with premium fuel)

Torque (lb.-ft. @ rpm) 350 @ 1500-5000 (achieved with premium fuel)

It said that for my '13, and I'm sure it said that in all other specs I read up on from 2011 and up as I planned my '13 lease

Completely stock, you won't come near these numbers running anything less than 93 octane. Without going into territory I don't know much about, it seems these Ecoboosts will advance the timing (and play with cam timing?) until it pings and then back off to a safe level. Unlike Flex Fuel vehicles that adjust based on the amount of ethanol in the fuel, there's no sensor to measure octane except the knock sensor

2013 w/pp, I ran 93 octane, except once or twice I tried 87 - definite loss of power, and same thing for 89 octane, just not as bad. Couldn't stand the loss of performance.

2016 w/pp, only got through the one dealer-provided tank of gas so far, but it was definitely 87 by the feel of it. As soon as I put 93 in it, it woke right the F up even though I am really not pushing it too much (yet).

Beyond the SHO and it's Ecoboost: If anything, running a HIGHER octane than the engine requires will carbon up the valves more than a lower octane. The higher octane will not run as hot with the lower compression/******** spark, and will make it run like crap too - if I put 93 octane in any one of three 87-octane only vehicles, they ran like crap. That's a '96 t-bird 4.6L, a '97 Cougar 4.6l, and an '01 F250 V10 when I wasn't running a tune in it. As soon as I chipped the t-bird it required 93 octane and ran great. The V10 as well, same thing, if I put 93 octane in it with a 93-octane tune, it ran great. Without the tunes, both the t-bird and the v10 ran like they were cold. Throttle response was just not as crisp, bordering on hesitation.

Caveat: Here in New York, we have 10% ethanol (E10).

 

[brucelinc]

A Ford engineer on another site posted that 87 octane would reduce HP and torque by 5% and would reduce fuel mileage by about the same percentage. That may not sound like a high percentage but it would absolutely be noticeable. I understand the desire to save at the pump but in my most humble opinion, I don't know why anyone who could afford a SHO or MKS ecoboost would give up the power and efficiency for a few cents per gallon.

 

[2011TAURUSSEL]

Bruce it is more than a few cents per gallon from 87 to 93........40 cents minimum difference here in the DFW area so roughly $7.60 per tank well maybe not quite that since I will give the benefit of the doubt of not running the tank totally dry lets say $6.00 (15 gallons) but you get the idea.


What I can back up for Krewat is the statement that he is correct no where close to the 365HP with 87 octane. My Stock tune DYNO with 87 Octane was 266 HP/320 Lb. Ft. With the LMS Tune and 93 Octane I went to 322/392. The test conditions were identical as in time of day weather, temperature and roughly same amount of fuel in tank. Also factor in the tune was more than the tuner itself it included new plugs, 3 bar MAP sensor, Windstorm CAI kit and thermostat lowered from 180F to 160F. Yes I wanted more but 56HP and 72 Lb. Ft. is nothing to scoff at.

 

[brucelinc]

I get it....the difference varies by region. Every grade up here in Minneapolis contains ethanol except a few locations that sell non-oxygenated fuel for lawn mowers and such. At my BP station, the difference between 87 and 93 is relatively little. Also, I don't drive as much as many others so the difference doesn't impact me as much.