Who's using premium gas and who's using basic gas?

[Doyouevenboost]

Isn't E85 like 107 octane compared to 87? If so, you could run it on the E85 and sub out a tank of 93 occasionally. Right??

That depends on if you have the 3.3/5.0 or the 2.7/3.5.
As much as turbo’s love to eat ethanol, if you’re not tuned for it, you’re gonna have a bad time.

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[Dan]

Why or why not?

Getting good mpg on reg gas so I'm not paying extra money too get same mpg.

 

[Dan]

Getting good mpg on reg gas so I'm not paying extra money too get same mpg.

Powerboost here

 

[Raicilla]

RTFM
2021 F-150 Owner's Manual

SELECTING THE CORRECT FUEL - FLEX FUEL – ETHANOL

Flex fuel vehicles have one of the following identifiers:

• Yellow fuel filler cap.
• Yellow bezel around the fuel filler inlet.
• Yellow fuel filler housing.
• Yellow E85 label on the fuel tank filler door.

Your vehicle operates on regular unleaded gasoline with a minimum pump (R+M)/2 octane rating of 87 or regular unleaded gasoline blended with a maximum of 85% ethanol (E85).
Some fuel stations, particularly those in high altitude areas, offer fuels posted as regular unleaded gasoline with an octane rating below 87. The use of these fuels could result in engine damage that will not be covered by the vehicle Warranty.
For best overall vehicle and engine performance, premium fuel with an octane rating of 91 or higher is recommended. The performance gained by using premium fuel is most noticeable in hot weather as well as other conditions, for example when towing a trailer. See Towing a Trailer.
Do not be concerned if the engine sometimes knocks lightly. However, if the engine knocks heavily while using fuel with the recommended octane rating, contact an authorized dealer to prevent any engine damage.
We recommend Top Tier detergent gasolines, where available to help minimize engine deposits and maintain optimal vehicle and engine performance.
For additional information, visit www.toptiergas.com.
Note: Use of any fuel for which the vehicle was not designed can impair the emission control system, cause loss of vehicle performance, and cause damage to the engine which may not be covered by the vehicle Warranty.
Do not use:

• Diesel fuel.
• Fuels containing kerosene or paraffin.
• Fuels containing more than 85% ethanol or E100 fuel.
• Fuels containing methanol.
• Fuels containing metallic-based additives, including manganese-based compounds.
• Fuels containing the octane booster additive, methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT).
• Leaded fuel, using leaded fuel is prohibited by law.

The use of fuels with metallic compounds such as methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl, which is a manganese-based fuel additive, will impair engine performance and affect the emission control system.

 

[Merccat]

My understanding is that Ford does recommend high octane fuel for these engines (I’m guessing above post is from the manual). But it can run on lower.

The recommendation is probably from our engines being higher compression (especially those which have turbos). The higher the octane the more resistant the fuel is from combustion under pressure alone (aka premature combination or knocking which can stress an engine and reduce performance).

Even though the engines are higher compression because they have sensors to detect knocking it can still run on lower grade. However, when the computer detects a knock it will compensate by detuning your engine slightly thereby reducing performance slightly and possibly also reducing fuel economy.

I will probably run premium through the summer and alternate in the winter.

 

[NoSnow]

Regular all the time. Tried premium in previous vehicles and only noticed it was more expensive without any noticeable benefit.

 

[BLoflin]

Isn't E85 like 107 octane compared to 87? If so, you could run it on the E85 and sub out a tank of 93 occasionally. Right??

First, not all the F150 engines are rated for E85.

Second, though E85 has higher octane rating it has much worse mpg, as Ethanol contains less energy the gasoline.

So, if you can find E85 (not widely available in many areas), it does usually costs less than Regular Gas, but will get 4 to 6 mpg worse. The 5.0 V8 on Reg is rated 20mpg combined (city and highway) on E85 it's 14mpg!

 

[Blue Spruce]

Do you know if the 93 had the same % of ethanol as the 83 or was it possibly a higher % of gas?

im not sure to be honest. Most everything around here has 15% ethanol Unless I’m buying Rec Gas that has no ethanol.

 

[Lippy]

The trucks computer takes a while to start to get the benifits from 93. I’ve heard a couple tank fills before it starts adapting to it according to other threads with this same topic.

Not true. It takes advantage instantly. There are knock sensors and the ignition advances until there is a small amount of knock and that is the ideal level of advance. This happens continuously.

BTW, my ‘48 Indian Chief has ignition advance on the right hand grip (the left is throttle) so I do this manually when I ride.

 

[GolfR]

I’m running regular so far. I’m about 1600 miles in and getting 17ish MPG as long as I don’t get on it really hard.

as soon as 5 star or another reputable tuner comes out with a tune, I will be adding that and switching to 93. The lure of slightly better gas mileage and 100 ish more HP will certainly justify the extra expense. Of course you don’t get the gas mileage boost if you use the extra HP!

 

[UGADawg96]

Most places around here only offer these with current prices. The $ jump from 87 to 93 is huge and 91 isn't available. Would consider 89, but not sure there'd be a payoff.

E10 (87) $2.75
E10 (89) $3.05
E10 (93) $3.40
E0 (89) $3.39
E85 $2.55
Diesel $2.91

 

[Rich1982]

Most places around here only offer these with current prices. The $ jump from 87 to 93 is huge and 91 isn't available. Would consider 89, but not sure there'd be a payoff.

E10 (87) $2.75
E10 (89) $3.05
E10 (93) $3.40
E0 (89) $3.39
E85 $2.55
Diesel $2.91

I would suggest trying the E0(89) as the less ethanol should(?) provide better mpg - now would it be enough to make up for the $0.63/gal increased cost? report back with results if you decided to do this!

 

[Lippy]

We are $4.59 for premium. Welcome to CA, land of the rip off for *everything*

 

[jcaspar]

Yes! For us California residents, please don’t post gas prices without a trigger warning!

 

[BLoflin]

Ohh, I wanna play.... Texas (Austin specifically), Costco (or Sam's Club) always cheapest and its a TopTier rated gas.

Premium (believe it's 93) is $2.58/gal today.

Reg (87) is $2.29/gal today.

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