they compensate by backing off the timing which reduces power... meaning you need to squeeze the pedal more for the same effort and more fuel burn. Try it...
Fuel Economy?
- Thread starter JDRogers
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they compensate by backing off the timing which reduces power... meaning you need to squeeze the pedal more for the same effort and more fuel burn. Try it...
When I did the math, it was closer to 40% on the highway. The local costco in NJ was .55 or so more per gallon over regular for Premium. Highway MPG went from 17-18 up to 24 & change. Oh yeah I remember the days of a .10 increase per grade & .80 for a gallon of regular. unfortunately those days are gone with the dodo...
Our used (33k mi.) ‘18 4wd Limited gave us 19.9 mpg on 87 octane last weekend. Wife usually gets 1 or 2 mpg better than me but she cruised between 65 to 75 most of the way on our road trip. Mixed driving during about 20% from Birmingham to SE AL. OAT was mid-50’s, which reduces the amount of down-shifting on moderate hills. Little or no winds, fairly light baggage, tires at spec, refueled during cool morning. Yes, it does help. Fuel is slightly more dense in AM. Oh, one more factor: the longer you stay in lower gears the worse mileage. Without “jack-rabbiting”, we try for moderate acceleration that gets you into those tall, 9th & 10th gears. Good luck!
1955moose
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It's possible that the lower gas mileage on a 4th gen, can be due to a overly rich running system. I'd bring it to a smog or shop that can measure your fuel trim. If it's supposed to avg 17-18, and your eeking out 12, something's wrong there. The heavy 14 passenger Transit I drive in the mornings only gets 8-9 city, 12-13 highway. And that's with a 3.5 or 3.7 non turbo. I did the math and saw they weigh less than the Expedition, around 4700-4900lbs. Even with 5-8 passengers it still shouldn't get 8. But they all do. I've driven at least 20 different vans, and when the mileage thingy is set, that's what reads out. Fuel is paid for by Ford, so who cares, but if I used one of these for my own, that would suck!
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I've just never seen premium go from 17- 24. Typically more like 17-19 or 20.
1955moose
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Toby don't you know theirs always that one guy that says his car or truck gets phenomenal mileage. I remember my brother in law used to say his big ole 1970's Cadillac got 18 mpg. When I pumped him for more info, that was on a long Freeway trip, and driving at 55mph. His in town was 10! It's human nature to one up the other guy. My cars faster, my girls prettier, etc,etc. Everyone wants to be an Elvis, or a George Clooney when they walk into a room. Ever notice how all heads turn to the door at a bar, when someone comes through the door? Must be from watching those old westerns! When I drove a cab years back, I never saw more liars in one building in my life. I'd average $250.00 in fares, $100.00 to $120.00 in my pocket, but others would brag about $400.00 to $500.00 days. Yeah right!
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Yep. You're definitely right about speed and horsepower and stuff I had an uncle that was that way about gas mileage too. I'm the other way. I tell them I'm a poor white orphan boy. I get 8-9 in the city and it never sees 10. On the highway I've actually seen it crack 15. I can't afford to drive very far. Don't ask me to drive...
1955moose
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It's funny when you tell people my Suv gets 9-10 mpg, they look at you like your successful, and have Bill Gates money. Never seen a woman yet get exicted when you say I drive a Prius. Now a Corvette or Ferrari, that will get you laid! Especially a red one.
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Brother-in=law bragged about his chevy pickup getting such good mileage, and it did. I went to visit pulling my camper that was only about 6,000#. He said he couldn't pull that much weight. The reason was that his great mileage truck was a V6 and he wanted to make it seem equal to my Expedition. Different comparisons sometimes.
1955moose
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We'll see that's why he got 20 mpg plus. Back in the 40's 50's and 60's, that was the big threes selling point for their six cylinders. 20 mpg plus sure sounded better than the 10-13 the V8 and straight eights were getting. To a lot of customers, saving money meant more than horsepower.
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1955moose
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Yep, and always marry a good cook. The sex will wear off, but you'll always be hungry!
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1955moose
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Most young brides aren't good cooks. They rarely paid attention to their moms when growing up. Now the hot ticket is get one that's decent looking, and cooks for a living. Only problem their is she cooks all night long, probably doesn't want to when she's home. Do any of you mechanics want to work on your wife's car? Hell no, you do it 5 days a week for a living.
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Now wait a minute. If sex wears anything off you might need some of that liquid titanium we've been reading about ... and I can eat out.
Matter of fact, I'll take her out to eat every night if sex is to follow.
So drop the oven mitt and the clothes too. Humans can go 21 days without food. We can eat later.
I don't believe you will get 40% better mileage switching from regular to premium, especially if the car is designed to run on regular. If that were true, I could average 28MPG in my XLT MAX 4WD, or 34MPG at 65MPG on the freeway. In that case everybody would pay the extra charge for it. Our BMW recommends premium, but it does fine on regular because the engine compensates for lower octane to prevent knock. Higher octane only reduces knock, it does not have more energy per gallon. This is from the California Energy Commission:
REGULAR VERSUS PREMIUM GASOLINE
Regular Gasoline Has As Much Merit As Premium Gasoline
"Put a tiger in your tank," says a classic advertising tagline. In today's motoring world, what kind of fuel grade will have the power to place a beast in your gas tank?
The answer, according to experts who study fuel efficiency in detail, is both regular and premium gasoline. And it would be a waste of money to favor premium over regular, especially in these times when gasoline prices are high, according to the experts.
Virtually nothing is gained by filling up with a premium or more expensive grade of fuel than the vehicle manufacturer has recommended, the experts say. And many of the same experts explain that drivers may not lose much performance from their cars by using a lower grade of fuel than recommended by the car manufacturer.
There is little difference in energy content of regular versus premium gasoline. They both contain about 111,400 British Thermal Units of energy per gallon.
The price difference, however, between the fuel grades is anywhere from 20 cents to 40 cents, depending on where you live in the United States. The experts' consensus goes against the long-held belief by thousand of drivers who fill up with premium only, or on every third or fourth trip to the pump. The idea is to fill up with premium every so often to clean out the engines or rev up the performance of older engines.
But according to the experts, this practice is like tossing quarters in a wishing well, since most engines are designed to operate on relatively low-octane regular unleaded gasoline.
Octane is defined as a fuel's resistance to knocking. There is no benefit if the octane is higher than what the engine needs. Engine knock occurs when fuel in a combustion chamber ignites before it should. This disrupts the engine's operation. But electronic knock sensors are now common and have nearly eliminated engine disruption.
The American Petroleum Institute says if you find that your car runs fine on a lower grade, there is no sense switching to premium. The Institute recommends following manufacturer's recommendation, but even those manufacturers say that it is more of a suggestion than a command.
My math may be off ever so slightly but not by that much... You don't have to believe me, or try it if you don't want to. Just my own personal experience. I've built my share of performance motors and have a pretty good understanding of what makes these tick...
Not all motors will get the benefit. I completely agree that anyone who puts premium in their Honda Civic is a knuckle head, it does nothing. ANY motor with a turbo or blower and a modern ECM that recognizes the increased octane will perform better with premium over regular.
Engines produce more power when the timing is advanced. The higher octane allows the ECM to advance the timing more while preventing detonation (knocking). A forced induction motor is more susceptible to this based on the increase in combustion temperature generated by the turbos (Ideal gas law). Sure these motors "run fine" on regular because the ECM adjusts for this. There is a noticeable increase in power when I run premium as the tune is sharpened up. The 3.5 in the Raptor & F150 Limited requires premium as the tune is always sharp, hence the higher output of those motors over our 3.5's.
It's a tank of gas... try it, drive it for 100 miles and then we can see.
Have you tried it?
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