MPG using different grades of fuel

[Berfs1]

My Maverick is scheduled to be built in the next few days, and I have done some research, and found in the manual that Ford recommends 91 octane, but 87 octane is required. To those Hybrid XL owners (with the steel rims), what is your MPG numbers, and what grade of fuel do you use? I am trying to see if there is an MPG increase, and if that MPG increase is large enough to offset the higher cost of premium for a lower total cost per mile for gas. Thanks in advance!!

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[WannaMav]

87 is just dandy for general purposes. Any variation in MPG with higher grade(s) will be marginal.

Exception (strictly opinion): If doing extensive towing and/or heavy hauling, consider upping the fuel to a higher grade.

 

[Eagle11]

My Maverick is scheduled to be built in the next few days, and I have done some research, and found in the manual that Ford recommends 91 octane, but 87 octane is required. To those Hybrid XL owners (with the steel rims), what is your MPG numbers, and what grade of fuel do you use? I am trying to see if there is an MPG increase, and if that MPG increase is large enough to offset the higher cost of premium for a lower total cost per mile for gas. Thanks in advance!!

Simple math here........ How much more is 91 in your area v 87, and if you got 15-20 miles more, is it worth the extra 4-5 bucks...

 

[MLowe05]

Here in GA the difference in cost for a 12 gallon fill up would be about $10. The difference in fuel economy would have to be extreme to make up for that. Premium is never worth the price.. premium.. in cars that "recommend" it, in my experience.

 

[pxpaulx]

Here in GA the difference in cost for a 12 gallon fill up would be about $10. The difference in fuel economy would have to be extreme to make up for that. Premium is never worth the price.. premium.. in cars that "recommend" it, in my experience.

Really does depend where you live on that cost difference! Here in MN I can get premium for 10-20 cents more than regular at other stations at Costco or Sams Club. With that said, the higher the gas price, the less it is worth the time if I can find a station on gas buddy that has premium for another 25cents over the wholesale clubs.

 

[Ferroplasm]

Higher octane premium fuel isn't worth the price premium when used in the hybrid. If you can find ethanol free gas at a similar price as E10, that's certainly worth it.

The Ecoboost will operate fine on 87. You may consider running higher octane when towing to hedge against pre-detonation and engine overheating.

 

[Scupking]

My current vehicle likes 89. If I use 87 it pings when I step on it. I will probably run 89 in my Mav as well.

 

[Berfs1]

How much more is 91 in your area v 87, and if you got 15-20 miles more, is it worth the extra 4-5 bucks...

4.659$ vs 4.199, comes out to ~11% higher cost. So as long as the MPG bump will be at least 11% higher (4-5MPG assuming a baseline of 40), then yeah ill get premium. However that's just for 1 gas station at that price, if prices go higher or lower, ill need a different increase in MPG to overcome it, so i'll need a static number (MPG). Without that, the answer will always be variable.

 

[Berfs1]

Here in GA the difference in cost for a 12 gallon fill up would be about $10. The difference in fuel economy would have to be extreme to make up for that. Premium is never worth the price.. premium.. in cars that "recommend" it, in my experience.

For a 12 gallon fill up here in TX, 4.659$ vs 4.199$, it would be 55.91$ vs 50.39$, but if premium helps enough (or even midgrade), I will get the higher grade.

 

[MLowe05]

For a 12 gallon fill up here in TX, 4.659$ vs 4.199$, it would be 55.91$ vs 50.39$, but if premium helps enough (or even midgrade), I will get the higher grade.

It's not going to help enough to offset that cost.

 

[Mavman123]

4.659$ vs 4.199, comes out to ~11% higher cost. So as long as the MPG bump will be at least 11% higher (4-5MPG assuming a baseline of 40), then yeah ill get premium. However that's just for 1 gas station at that price, if prices go higher or lower, ill need a different increase in MPG to overcome it, so i'll need a static number (MPG). Without that, the answer will always be variable.

You will get exactly 0% mpg increase by using higher octane fuel in your maverick. Octane in simple terms is the fuels resistance to detonation. 87 octane has the same energy density per gallon as 91 octane.

You will however get better fuel economy if you found ethanol free gasoline, as E10 gasoline that contains up to 10% ethanol has less energy per gallon than ethanol free. But it's also expensive

 

[Eagle11]

It's not going to help enough to offset that cost.

Party pooper, I was having fun with this, watching people hypothesize all the possibilities

 

[MavDave]

I get 2-3 mpg better using 89 opposed to 87. I did 1 fillup with 90 octane led free and got 32 on the highway. I'm also in an eb with the 4k. I think the slight price increase is worth it

 

[rlhdweman]

I get 2-3 mpg better using 89 opposed to 87. I did 1 fillup with 90 octane led free and got 32 on the highway. I'm also in an eb with the 4k. I think the slight price increase is worth it

I think you mean ethanol free, not led free. I get a solid 3 mpg better using 91 no ethanol vs 87 E-10 with my EB. I am currently getting a little over 31 COMBINED mpg. I don't think the difference will be as large on the hybrid as the ICE isn't always running like the EB. It still cost me a little more, I'm getting 10% better mpg, but @ 16% higher cost. I'll pay it, I don't support the use of ethanol in fuel, that's a whole other long discussion not really for this website.

 

[MavDave]

I think you mean ethanol free, not led free. I get a solid 3 mpg better using 91 no ethanol vs 87 E-10 with my EB. I am currently getting a little over 31 COMBINED mpg. I don't think the difference will be as large on the hybrid as the ICE isn't always running like the EB. It still cost me a little more, I'm getting 10% better mpg, but @ 16% higher cost. I'll pay it, I don't support the use of ethanol in fuel, that's a whole other long discussion not really for this website.

yes ethanol free.... all gas in the US has been lead free for a long time. And also I agree with you about the hybrid without the turbo there is no point in running more than 87

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