Which Octane to run?

[bearrug]

Been running 91 ever since i bought the truck , lovin the 25 mpg.

Sponsored

 

[RedlandRanger]

I can confirm that running 91+ increases the MPG. I am on my third tank of 91+ and it has increased my MPG by about 2 MPG. I'm now averaging about 22 where I was averaging about 20. I was skeptical, but it does "feel" better with premium (the "assometer" test). The increase in MPG pretty much pays for the difference in cost, so I will be continuing to fill with premium from here on out.

 

[runner69]

I started using 91 after the Ford tune. 91 is the highest we can get here in Colorado. If I could get 93 I would

 

[07XLT]

I've run 87 for the first 3800 miles and i've gotten 25-26 mpg. I'm on my first tank of 93 so we'll see how that does.
Let's talk about that drum workshop kit you have there. Very Nice. i have a 20 year old Ludwig 5 piece kit with a couple extra cymbals

 

[KJRR]

I plan to start running 93. 1500 mile round trip towing a 1976 Starcraft 18ft, I/O, fairly light boat. I'd say no more than 2500 pounds and had maybe 100 lbs in the bed. On the way to the U.P. MI. I averaged 14.7 mpg. In the U.P. there exists the pure stuff, non-ethanol 93. I filled up with 2 tankfuls of the good stuff while I was there and by the time I arrived back in Ohio, I was up to 17.8 mpg. Also had about about 9 gallons of fuel left in the boat and probably 250 lbs in the bed. so more weight than the trip up there. Now there was about 300 miles put on the truck without the boat but when I was travelling back home, I could see the average mpg going up. Definitely non-scientific but I've noticed the difference on shorter towing trips also.
Wish we had non-ethanol nearby that wasn't marine fuel (expensive). Boat ran better (faster) on it too.
Corn is meant to make whiskey, not fuel.

 

[Dochatley]

I have run 93 and 87. I have no difference in mpg’s. Get around 20-21 mostly hwy to work and home. Don’t really notice that much of a power difference. It will get up and go with the 87 almost as well as the 93.

 

[charwest]

I have run 93 and 87. I have no difference in mpg’s. Get around 20-21 mostly hwy to work and home. Don’t really notice that much of a power difference. It will get up and go with the 87 almost as well as the 93.

i was interested in trying this out after skimming these threads the last couple months.

my wife and i have been on the road for a couple weeks. 90% highway. we set the cruise control at 70 almost all the time. i did the first four tanks with 85 and the last four tanks with 89. my average mpg was 22.6 with 85 and 22.2 on 89. go figure...

i guess we'll stick to 87 going forward. we dont tow and the performance is more than adequate for us with the cheap stuff.

side note: im jealous of the folks getting 24+, we arent heavy on the pedal, people are passing us left and right. no roof rack or lift, still on stock tires. wonder what we're doing wrong. i guess we just need to slow down

 

[Ranger1701]

I've been running 91 (or 93 if available). My performance is great and like I posted in another thread, I'm getting like 25 mpg. So that's nice.

I was always told that any turbo-charged engine should run premium.

 

[charwest]

I've been running 91 (or 93 if available). My performance is great and like I posted in another thread, I'm getting like 25 mpg. So that's nice.

I was always told that any turbo-charged engine should run premium.

i dont know squat about engines, but if the turbo is only engaged when im pushing the truck hard, maybe thats the reason higher octane doesnt help me. we rarely mash, pass, arent carrying anything particularly heavy, etc. ie: if were not engaging the turbocharger, maybe makes more sense to run 'normal gas engine' fuel.

 

[RedlandRanger]

i dont know squat about engines, but if the turbo is only engaged when im pushing the truck hard, maybe thats the reason higher octane doesnt help me. we rarely mash, pass, arent carrying anything particularly heavy, etc. ie: if were not engaging the turbocharger, maybe makes more sense to run 'normal gas engine' fuel.

I typically don't push mine too hard either - on occasion, but not a lot. I did do an experiment where I filled with premium (92 typically around here) and I've had very repeatable results that increased my MPG about 2 MPG using premium - with the same driving habits. It more or less pays for itself in higher MPG, so I'm a believer in running premium now. It ran fine on regular, but premium has proven itself to definitely give a bit higher MPG.

 

[VAMike]

I typically don't push mine too hard either - on occasion, but not a lot. I did do an experiment where I filled with premium (92 typically around here) and I've had very repeatable results that increased my MPG about 2 MPG using premium - with the same driving habits. It more or less pays for itself in higher MPG, so I'm a believer in running premium now. It ran fine on regular, but premium has proven itself to definitely give a bit higher MPG.

It all comes down to how much premium costs in your area. If you're paying upwards of 10% more for less than 10% FE improvement, it doesn't make sense financially. (You might still want to spend the money to play, but not because it in any way pays for itself.) National average right now is 15% premium for premium, and in my area it can be as much as 40%.

 

[geophb]

It all comes down to how much premium costs in your area. If you're paying upwards of 10% more for less than 10% FE improvement, it doesn't make sense financially. (You might still want to spend the money to play, but not because it in any way pays for itself.) National average right now is 15% premium for premium, and in my area it can be as much as 40%.

If premium was that close in price I wouldn't even hesitate. But yea it is about 40% more here too.

I am not convinced it increases mpg either. Too many variables. I will have to do my own testing.

 

[landiscarrier]

For the couple extra bucks a tank, run 93 if it's available in your area.

 

[geophb]

For the couple extra bucks a tank, run 93 if it's available in your area.

$12-13 is not a couple dollars

 

[slowmachine]

After 2500 miles on 93 octane, I have switched to 87 and will run that for the next 2500. My immediate impression is that there is little or no difference in MPG for my normal driving. Around here, premium Top Tier gas is a minimum of 50 cents more than regular. That difference doesn’t change much as the market price of gasoline fluctuates. At 25 MPG, that’s $300 extra for 15,000 miles of driving. There’s no way I’m going to donate $300/year to some oil company, so I’m paying close attention to drivability issues and MPG. Premium needs to at least come close to paying for itself, or I won’t buy it.

Sponsored