Premium fuel for longevity?

[LG_123]

I used premium fuel for the first 8 months of ownership of my 2019 platinum max, mostly 91 octave without ethanol. Then I thought I’d save some money by using regular gas instead.

Do any of the engineers on here have an idea of whether using premium gas, ethanol free gas, or any particular brand with cleansing additives might improve the life expectancy of the car?

Shell in particular advertises the cleansing properties of their high octane fuel (I’m in southern Ontario).

 

[Michael D Morris]

All "Top Tier" gasolines use higher levels of detergents than what is required by state law. This will prevent fuel system fouling better than non-Top Tier fuels. These fuels come in all octane grades, not just premium. I seriously doubt if these fuels will extend the longevity of your vehicle as fuel system issues are not typically the cause for ending their useful life.

Here is where you can read about Top Tier Fuels and where you can buy them:

https://toptiergas.com/

 

[Fozzy]

Wow, that’s surprising that your EcoBoost liked the non ethanol fuel. Both of my EcoBoosts ran like crap on it.


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[Backinblack]

I've used BJ's club regular 87 since day on with no issues. It's probably better to use a top tier fuel and if I was having issues I would use a Mobil or Exxon. But I'm a cheap SOB, sorry.

 

[Alex Taylor]

While I'm a new owner (<1 month) currently I'm doing 87 Octane here in Arizona but do a bottle of Octane booster which should/does help. My next fuel up will do 91 Octane (the highest they offer here in AZ) then booster on top of that which should help and certainly won't hurt.) As I understand it higher octane gas is usually almost always better for our Eco Boost (perhaps it's a turbo thing) so when in doubt, go higher if you can.

My $.02.

Alex

 

[JasonH]

Ford says used top tier fuel, and no more than 15% ethanol. Low octane = lower hp, apart from that, there's no additional benefit to using premium that I'm aware of.

 

[Expedition Dave]

The 3.5 runs great on 87, or even less at elevation. The engine is smart that when it detects knock, it pulls timing (power) to keep things all nice-nice.

There IS A BONEFIDE advantage in power when running premium though. This smart engine bumps timing a bit if higher octanes are detected (or simply adds the timing it pulled in the first place from when it detected you using 87 in the first place) --I have felt it and some motor-rag proved it.

That being said, do you get 375hp/470tq on 87 and a smidge more over that when you run 92? I do not know. TTBOMK, there is nothing in the 2020 manual stating you need to run anything more than 87 octane (please tell me if I am wrong here) so if they report 375/470, I feel it has to be on 87 octane (again, could be wrong here).

I run 87 all the time, unless: Running a full load of weight, trailering, heavy 4x4ing (not yet), or where ambient temps are over 95 degrees.
YMMV

 

[Lou Hamilton]

The 3.5 runs great on 87, or even less at elevation. The engine is smart that when it detects knock, it pulls timing (power) to keep things all nice-nice.

There IS A BONEFIDE advantage in power when running premium though. This smart engine bumps timing a bit if higher octanes are detected (or simply adds the timing it pulled in the first place from when it detected you using 87 in the first place) --I have felt it and some motor-rag proved it.

That being said, do you get 375hp/470tq on 87 and a smidge more over that when you run 92? I do not know. TTBOMK, there is nothing in the 2020 manual stating you need to run anything more than 87 octane (please tell me if I am wrong here) so if they report 375/470, I feel it has to be on 87 octane (again, could be wrong here).

I run 87 all the time, unless: Running a full load of weight, trailering, heavy 4x4ing (not yet), or where ambient temps are over 95 degrees.
YMMV

Here is a screen shot out of the 2019 Owners Manual. Clearly states for best performance, which I read as top HP and Torque, you need to use 91 or better octane fuel.




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[LG_123]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I also haven't been able to discover any evidence that premium fuel will yield any benefit other than increased HP and efficiency. So I'll stick with regular fuel except when towing.

 

[sixstring]

I ran cheap 87 on my 15 ecoboost and never noticed anything negative.

I run cheap 87 on my 20 ecoboost and am very happy with the performance.