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

[gtotco]

I'm at 2300' so 91 is what our premium fuel is here in Idaho. Historically, I find it more important to use Top Tier fuel than crap fuel and don't worry about the grade.

I'm in Denver where 85 is regular and 91 is premium. I usually end up going to Costco since its Top Tier and their 91 costs the same as 87 midgrade at most other gas stations so it ends up being the best of both worlds.

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[TBondu]

I'm in Denver where 85 is regular and 91 is premium. I usually end up going to Costco since its Top Tier and their 91 costs the same as 87 midgrade at most other gas stations so it ends up being the best of both worlds.

I do the exact same thing. Considering I use maybe a tank every two months and do occasionally tow a camper it's not terribly expensive to just run premium all the time.

 

[Vulnox]

I've been running premium most every fill up for this truck so far, and my 2019. I was about 50/50 with my 2017. I started to notice the difference with the 2017 when I was doing 50/50, and I was much happier with the truck with Premium. The difference in fuel cost over a year is not that big a deal to me, especially if it improves power and is likely better for the engine long term. I see people that buy $700+ phones, then go find the cheapest case and screen protector Amazon and by extension China can pump out, and it somehow surprises them when they drop the phone one day and every part, including the phone, breaks.

At some point I just got used to the idea that if I am going to spend a good amount of money up front for something, whether it's a house, a phone, a car, whatever, that doing the bare minimum protecting those things or maintaining them isn't a good return on investment. So if I am not ready for that commitment, then I won't do the up front sale.

Now I am not saying your trucks will die if you run regular, Ford obviously thinks it's at least fine, but since they recommend higher, that is what I prepared myself for before buying the truck.

 

[mattchops]

Does no one use mid grade much as a compromise between the two?

 

[Heavishot]

I ran 93 in my 2017 with a 5 Star Tune and it was amazing! I’ve run 87 for the first 2 tanks but may switch to 93 once the break in period is over. Premium doesn’t hurt the wallet quite as much if you go to Costco.

 

[ColemanFord]

I have about 3500 miles on my 3.5 EB and most of it has been 87 octane. But, a few weeks ago was filling up at Costco and we had a day trip planned for the next day so I filled with 93. I got about 1.5 mpg (20 mpg for the tank) better on that tank so I filled the next tank with 93 as well for my regular mixed driving. Same thing, about 1.5 mpg better. last tank I filled up with 87 and so far has been back down to about 17-18 but lots of short trips on this one. It’s impossible to really do a side by side comparison on MPG but it does seem to get about 8-10% better mpg with the 93. Around her the 93 is more than 10% increase from 87 so not really more economical. But, with 93 in sport mode it does seem to have a little more punch.

In NE Wisconsin, our 93 has no ethanol. Otherwise we have up to 10% ethanol in the other two lower grades. I think that increases fuel economy the most, having no ethanol in the fuel. More energy in gasoline than ethanol. I’m not sure what other areas have?

 

[imnuts]

Does no one use mid grade much as a compromise between the two?

My opinion is that mid-grade is useless. Some gas stations I've been to have a larger jump from 87 -> 89 than from 89 -> 91/93. Also, I'd guess that if it runs fine on 89, it'll be fine on 87, and if it isn't, you should probably run 91/93 as the tuning is probably set up for premium.

 

[jmacd]

If I’m not towing, just normal errands and motoring, I’m fine with 87, but always TopTier gasoline. When towing, I always use premium TopTier 91 fuel. Pricey, but Ford’s engineers know their their engine and I trust their guidance.

 

[PowerBoostXLT]

.
When I filled my new 2021 xlt that has the 2.7 EcoBoost it said around 900kms to empty. That doesn’t really feel good for me. So I’ll experiment with the expensive gas.

my 2018 2.7L gas showed over 1000km if I wasn’t within a fill up after towing. But even then it would be in the 900’s Fairly quickly. First fill up would typically be in the 800’s. I had the larger tank. I wasn’t militant but often compared the Google maps to destination to the Km’s left on longer drives and ended with more kms of gas left than calculated at the start of the trip. I’m not an “economical” driver either. FYI stock all weather tires, tunes playing but rarely used Ac. Winter was closer numbers but often used heater. I miss that engine driving my 5.4l 2010 but it’s bound to make the PB that much more luxurious and sporty.

 

[fmdog44]

Either one is OK for the 5.0 I run premium because I like to play Speed Racer a lot and it may be better long term for the engine. Paying with cash saves a few cents.

 

[Simoes]

In a consumer notice, the Federal Trade Commission, notes: “In most cases, using a higher-octane gasoline than your owner’s manual recommends offers absolutely no benefit. It won’t make your car perform better, go faster, get better mileage or run cleaner.”

The detergent additives in your gasoline are far more important than the octane level, as they help clean your engine and optimize performance. Each retailer offers a different blend of additives, used across all grades. For example, you can find Chevron’s Techron in both their regular and premium gas.

When it comes to additives, some hold themselves to a higher standard. BMW, General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Audi helped create the Top Tier Gasoline standard, which mandates a higher-percentage of detergent additive than EPA minimum requirements. They claim that lower concentrations of detergent additive can leave more deposits on engine components, including fuel injectors and intake valves. This, in turn, can lower engine performance and increase emissions.

Engines with a high compression ratio typically require higher octane fuel to achieve its intended level of performance, fuel efficiency and emissions. If your car requires premium gas, don’t skimp out. While you might save money on gas, your car will be less powerful and fuel-efficient. This can make a huge difference in vehicles with available turbocharged engines.

When you use a lower grade of fuel than what’s recommended or required, a modern vehicle’s ECU (Electronic Control Unit) can account for different octane levels and adjust accordingly. There’s a good chance your horsepower and MPG will go down while CO2 emissions go up. You might save money on gas, but in this situation, you get what you pay for.

 

[dweller]

For those too lazy to click, here's the pertinent part. Basically yes it makes a difference in speed/power but not much for fuel economy

At 128.7 horsepower per liter, the F-150's high-output V-6 engine is more power dense than a Porsche 911 Carrera's twin-turbo flat-six. Naturally then, the Ford hauls ass as effortlessly as it hauls a half-ton of manure. When fed 93 octane, this 5594-pound, self-propelled wheelbarrow will crash 60 mph in 5.3 seconds.

Power at the wheels dropped from 380 to 360 horsepower with the change from 93 to 87 octane. That difference seemed to grow, and we could even feel it from the driver's seat at the test track. Compared with premium fuel, regular feed sapped the F-150's urgency both leaving the line and in the meat of the tach sweep. The rush to 60 mph softened to a still-blistering 5.9 seconds, and the quarter-mile stretched from 14.0 to 14.5 seconds, with trap speed falling 4 mph. Tapped into the Ford's CAN bus, we recorded a peak boost pressure roughly 1.9 psi lower during acceleration runs on regular gas, down more than 10 percent compared with the 18.1-psi peak on premium. The high-octane gas also helped when soft-pedaling the accelerator, elevating 75-mph fuel economy from 17.0 to 17.6 mpg. That won't make a financial case for running 93 octane, but then you didn't buy the expensive engine as a rational choice. You can think of this EcoBoost engine's more aggressive high-octane tune as a sort-of sport mode that can be switched on or off with every fill of its 36.0-gallon tank.

In a consumer notice, the Federal Trade Commission, notes: “In most cases, using a higher-octane gasoline than your owner’s manual recommends offers absolutely no benefit. It won’t make your car perform better, go faster, get better mileage or run cleaner.”

The detergent additives in your gasoline are far more important than the octane level, as they help clean your engine and optimize performance. Each retailer offers a different blend of additives, used across all grades. For example, you can find Chevron’s Techron in both their regular and premium gas.

When it comes to additives, some hold themselves to a higher standard. BMW, General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Audi helped create the Top Tier Gasoline standard, which mandates a higher-percentage of detergent additive than EPA minimum requirements. They claim that lower concentrations of detergent additive can leave more deposits on engine components, including fuel injectors and intake valves. This, in turn, can lower engine performance and increase emissions.

Engines with a high compression ratio typically require higher octane fuel to achieve its intended level of performance, fuel efficiency and emissions. If your car requires premium gas, don’t skimp out. While you might save money on gas, your car will be less powerful and fuel-efficient. This can make a huge difference in vehicles with available turbocharged engines.

When you use a lower grade of fuel than what’s recommended or required, a modern vehicle’s ECU (Electronic Control Unit) can account for different octane levels and adjust accordingly. There’s a good chance your horsepower and MPG will go down while CO2 emissions go up. You might save money on gas, but in this situation, you get what you pay for.

Since I plan on towing, I was planning on filling with 93. Wasn’t really sure about it, but after reading these posts I’m sold.

Thanks for summarizing the article. That seems pretty clear cut that there’s a performance benefit to using high octane fuel. It’s not an economical benefit and I’m sure running 87 is just fine, but I’d rather get the most out of my engine.

also pretty exciting to hear how well the turbos perform. can’t wait to get my truck.

Top Tier feels like a marketing gimmick to me, but I think I’ll bite the bullet and go with top tier 93 whenever I can. Maybe I’m just a sucker, who knows. Sure wish Costco was closer to me though

 

[UGADawg96]

yeah, we mostly have Gate, Wawa, Racetrac, and truck stop locations around here. You really have to go out of your way to get Shell or Costco or other Top Tier locations. If there was that much of a difference in gas quality, most of the vehicles in North Florida would be broke down on the side of the road.

 

[Di2]

We're currently paying $5.88CAD ($4.74USD) for one US Gallon of 87 in our (small, remote) city.

 

[blind56]

We're currently paying $5.88CAD ($4.74USD) for one US Gallon of 87 in our (small, remote) city.

If it makes you feel any better, we're paying roughly $5.33 for 87 in Calgary.

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