Primium Fuel (advantage?)

[Bogdon]

Did a search, did not find anything to answer my question clearly so here goes.

I am doing the first long trip in my 2008 Ranger, 2.3l, 5spd. I will traveling from Toronto Ontario to Cape Canaveral Florida in the first week in January. Being a trip of over 4600km round trip the cost of fuel will add up quickly.

Question, has anyone here noticed any mileage/cost advantage in spending the extra money on running premium fuel for strictly highway driving? The thought behind this question is I used to own a older Ford Taurus, I got an extra 100km per tank if I ran premium fuel for highway driving even thou the Taurus did not require premium.

Anyone?

 

[Hibs]

by logic, you will get the best mileage from the LOWEST octane gas you can use without causing detonation. So for the majority of cars that roll off the showroom floor, that's 87 octane. You will see WORSE gas mileage with premium higher octane fuel because it is slower burning.

I used to see it in my honda civic i had. I would get 2-3mpg worse with 91 or 89 (with 10% ethanol) as opposed to regular 87.

 

[Bogdon]

by logic, you will get the best mileage from the LOWEST octane gas you can use without causing detonation. So for the majority of cars that roll off the showroom floor, that's 87 octane. You will see WORSE gas mileage with premium higher octane fuel because it is slower burning.

I used to see it in my honda civic i had. I would get 2-3mpg worse with 91 or 89 (with 10% ethanol) as opposed to regular 87.

Interesting thought that makes sense, thanks for the comment.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

most production vehicles have no way of sensing the fuels octane content, and thus timing cannot be adjusted to take advantage of the higher octane fuel and you'll just be wasting your money.

you shouldnt get worse economy on higher octane fuel, i have a feeling that was the ethanol content that was effecting your milage (ethanol has fewer BTU's per unit than gasoline).

i run 98 octane in my '93. ive got my base timing set to 23 degrees. i went from 20-23 to 23-24. my break even point was only about 1.5MPG improvement so im saving money.

 

[doorgunner]

try different brands of gas on the trip--be sure to use most of the gas in the tank before re-fueling & write down the mileage you get from each brand. Some brands will give you 3 to 4 mpg more/some will give you 3 to 4 mpg less. AND much as I hate to drive slow, anything above 60mph starts dropping the gas mileage

 

[bmxryder]

i dont think you will notice a difference if there is one, because low grade and premium arent a HUGE octane difference apart. if they are like 20 octane different then you might see something, but it would be interesting to know for sure. i dont notice an mpg change between the 2 when i drive in the city, and i dont notice a power difference either.

sometimes i wonder if its all the same gas.

 

[wremote]

I have found using ESSO (EXXON in the states) on long trips gives me the better mileage. Discount gas is a real risk especially in the states.

 

[Bogdon]

I have found using ESSO (EXXON in the states) on long trips gives me the better mileage. Discount gas is a real risk especially in the states.

Great tip thanks, I leave in 12 hours, sunshine here I come.

 

[Uncle Stumps]

I run 93 octane in mine only because I have a performance tune. I know a "performance" tune is probably an oxymoron with repect to a 4-banger, but I feel it needs all the help it can get.

 

[mongo]

i agree

and a higher octain fuel is more refined
thus less bad stuff

in my 94 i actouly notice the higer grade fuel and its only like $3 more a fill up here

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

agree with what?

if you "notice" higher octane fuel in your truck its because you want to believe its making a difference. your truck is tuned for 87 octane and it has no idea if your running a higher rating.

 

[mongo]

you again


i think the 2.3 needs all the help it can get

and if 87 if fine

then why do people run 101 racing fuel and why do they get much better performance out of it on a stock engine

i think that the higher the octain the higher the oxigen level is in the fuel and a higher burn level

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

wow...you have absolutely no idea what your talking about.

racing fuel is run in engines with high compression or high levels of forced induction. not on a naturally asperated 9:1 engines.

octane has nothing to do with oxygen. a higher octane fuel is more resistant to combustion, which is why its used in applications where lower octanes would detonate violently, destroying the engine. if your engine is not TUNED to run on a high octane fuel, you will get no advangae from a fuel that is more resistant to combustion. since your stock computer has absolutely no way of knowing what octane is in the tank, it has no way of taking advantage of a higher octane.

you should really do some homework before you go making innacurate suggestions to other people.

 

[Gotta_gofast]

you again


i think the 2.3 needs all the help it can get

and if 87 if fine

then why do people run 101 racing fuel and why do they get much better performance out of it on a stock engine

i think that the higher the octain the higher the oxigen level is in the fuel and a higher burn level

You must be one of the kids that brag about running octane booster in their Dodge neon when they go street racing on saturday night from stop light to stop light!

 

[Rico]

All that higher octane does is resist detonation and that is all. I know that in my 2.3L Ranger the higher octane helps it take off a little faster. The 2.3L has a knock sensor on it and when it senses detonation it retards its timing a little bit to avoid knocking. The higher octane will help that out and that's about it.