Any car or truck owner has wondered at some point if using cheap, low-grade fuel is ok or if you need to spring for the higher octane swill. Ask one person, and it makes no difference, ask another and putting 93 octane in their ride makes a world of difference. Who’s right?
Car & Driver set out to figure out if the octane in the fuel really matters today. It took four popular cars and tested them on a dyno, including the Ford F-150 truck. The Ford F-150 that the publication tested was fitted with the high-output 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine rated at 450 horsepower and 510 pound-foot of torque, the same engine the Raptor uses. This is an impressive engine on the performance side of things making 128.7 horsepower per liter.
On 93 octane fuel, the truck can run from naught to 60 mph in 5.3 seconds, which is fast considering the truck weighs 5594-pounds. When Car & Driver went from 93 octane premium to the 87 octane cheap stuff, the Ford F-150 lost 20 horsepower going from 380 horsepower on 93 to 360 horsepower on 87.
The drop in power made a substantial difference according to the testers and could be felt at the test track. Felt or not, the drop in power didn’t make a huge difference in performance with the Ford F-150 0-60 mph time dropping only a few tenths to 5.9-seconds to 60 mph. The quarter-mile time on 87 octane dropped by half a second to 14.5 seconds, and the trap speed dropped four mph.
The use of 87 octane fuel saw a decline in boost for the EcoBoost engine by 1.9 psi. Those that tend to cruise their EcoBoost F-150 on the highway at 75 mph will note that fuel economy was better on 93 octane with the truck turning in 17.6 mpg compared to 17 mpg even on 87 octane. Premium fuel isn’t cheaper to run in the Ford F-150 with half a mpg difference between high and low grades, but you certainly get better performance on the Ford F-150 if you run premium. Ford is offering a $6,500 rebate on F-150 trucks in August.
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Source: Car & Driver
Comments
ATTN EDITORS…..WHICH TURBO V6? I KNOW WHICH ONE IT IS BASED ON THE HP, BUT THE READERS MAY NOT KNOW THAT FORD F-150 HAS TWO DIFFERENT ECOBOOST V6 ENGINES…..DID THE MAGAZINE ARTICLE NOT SPECIFY THIS? HAVE A DOUBLE ESPRESSO, ON ME, TO WAKE YOU GUYS UP……LOL
The engine type wasn’t in the narrative but was in a chart at the bottom of the source. I’m more a Dr. Pepper guy, but I’ll have one on you… or a nap.
Any explanation as to why? My understanding is that octane is a measure of resistance to pre-detonation. The high compression of turbo engines are more prone to pre-detonation (aka “knock”). When you put lower grade fuel in, the knock sensor retards the timing slightly and you lose power.
Is that what’s happening here or is there another explaination?
Most modern engines have a means to adjust engine timing slightly to compensate for low octane gas and keep detonation under control. A by product of this timing adjustment is that the engine produces slightly less power.
Stated in second paragraph third sentence. 3.5l.
Also the bigh three and bmw mercedes are trying to get the US govt to make 95 octane the only fuel sold. Their findings show that they could push compression To around 15:1. And the turbo/supercharhed engines could go to about 14.5:1. That ecoboost with that fuel and compression may get closer to 600HP, and over 20mpg
That is not true at all and must be from two years of forum members somewhere twisting the original truth. Manufacturers wanted the government make 95 RON the only fuel sold. 95 RON is just premium fuel which is 91 AKI as displayed on pumps in the US and Canada. Other countries display the RON number. It would not allow them to do anything differently with their current higher compression engines. What it WOULD do is just allow them to make their power and efficiency numbers easier and cheaper to hit than employing all the tricks they need now to get them to be able to run on regular (85-87 AKI) gasoline….i.e. it would save THEM money. The current trend is to make a higher performance engine able to run on a minimum octane while hiding in the small print that its advertised efficiency, emissions, and power numbers are made with premium fuel. I can guarantee that you might not want that to happen because what would surely follow is that the refineries and government would just allow an increase ethanol content to raise octane. They don’t give a flip about how long your engine will last.
Premium fuel will always make a big difference in a boosted engine. In a non turbo/supercharged engine that’s operating properly there should be only minimal, like 1-2 hp deference. Factory tunes are based on regular 87 octane, until a few years ago every vehicle with factory boost had posted on the dash and/or on the inside of the fuel door PREMIUM UNLEDED ONLY
The Ford F-150 that the publication tested was fitted with the high-output 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine rated at 450 horsepower and 510 pound-foot of torque, the same engine the Raptor uses.
My understanding is that engine requires premium fuel, I’d like to know what would the 2.7 eco do with premium fuel?
I’m here to tell you that premium fuel in a 2.7 engine in a 2017 Ford F-150 crew cab get you two to three more MPG and I’ve proven it also it feels more responsive.
This is true, on regular fuel my 2020 – 2.7L turbo F150 cannot get the EPA rating of 10.2L/100kms. It is consistently 10.5L. With premium it burns 9.6L/100kms. As long as the difference in cost between the two grades of fuel is 10% or less then premium is no more expensive and you have the added gain of performance at no additional cost.
The EPA test for the 2.7L Ecoboost DID use regular fuel. You can view fueleconomy.gov and you’ll see the rated EPA mileage was with regular 87 octane fuel.
The question always is, does the model and purpose of the vehicle make it viable for a premium gasoline? Selling a Mustang with a higher octane tune makes sense, selling a F150 tuned for higher octane doesn’t. You can always go aftermarket if you really want a performance tune on many engines. Just remember to keep in mind that increased power means wear on all power train parts. Last Summer I took a trip out West and it was hot and speeds out there were pretty fast. So I ran premium as a precaution. Did not expect so much a improved performance curve as I had peace of mind the engine would run a bit cooler and smoother.
Yes it is designed to “be able to run on 87” but…..Read your manual: “For best overall vehicle and engine performance, premium fuel with an octane rating of 91 or higher is recommended.”
The quarter mile numbers posted in this article point to drop of roughly 50hp when using 87 octane. Peak power doesn’t mean a whole lot….this engine starts dramatically pulling timing above 3500 RPM on regular fuel. I have a printout of baseline 87 and 93 octane dyno charts on the second gen 3.5L from a well known tuning company showing a loss of 40-70 lb ft of torque across the RPM range above 3500 RPM.
I tow and it gets hot down here, and personally I didn’t buy a $50k+ vehicle thinking I couldn’t afford the best fuel for it. Save the cheap oil and cheap gas for the lease vehicles.
The Ecoboost used in this article was the High Output Ecoboost which always required premium. The Regular output Ecoboost will not see as much of a drop with using regular gas.
The full statement in the owners manual is.
“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.”
Turbo engines push air and if you push more air you have to add more fuel. It’s a simply cause and effect and the only way to produce better MPG’s is to keep boost down. Unfortunately this is difficult when your powering a large pickup and want good acceleration and drivability. It’s hard to keep that right foot in check.
I bought in 2005 a new Ranger with a 4.0 V6 engine it’s now 2021 and I have never had any problems at all using 87 octane gas . With over 150,000 miles the body is getting a little ratty but the engine still runs great .( knock on wood)
My 19 Platinum F-150 4×4 3.5L Eco says 87 fuel but I also burn 93. Yes you can tell a difference!
Reading about octane levels on the F150 high output eco boost engine I’m curious because the limited edition tells you on the dash how many miles you can travel after filling up. I notice it’ll say approximately 635 miles when I put in 87 octane and approximately 738 miles when I use 89 octane. How does the truck know what kind of fuel I’ve put in?
Not dis-similar experiences with the 2.3L Ecoboost 4 in my 2019 Ranger Lariat. First, I make it a point to use ‘ethanol free’ gasolines. When not available, I use an ‘ethanol fixer’ like Sta Bil 360, Bell Ethanol Defense or Lucas Ethanol Safeguard Fuel Conditioner.
My previous 2006 4.0L Ranger reportedly made around 180 RWHP on regular – premium made no difference and just flat ran better on 87. My 2019 Lariat reportedly makes around 240 RWHP on 87 and around 255 RWHP on 93. Lariat just flat runs better and gets better fuel mileage on 93.
The icing on the cake: The Livernois sourced Ford Performance Tune for the new Ranger. Ford states a 45 RWHP and 65 RWT improvement, but dyno tests are coming back with 50 more RWHP and 100 RWT! Seriously underrated apparently. I serious mid range boost when entering highways/freeways – standing start acceleration is a real hoot too.
While this is fine in the Ranger, I’d still rather have my Mustang with a Coyote motor.