Mixing regular and premium gas

[jeffbrx]

I know it is ok to use regular gas, but it says in owner manual that in the summer you may have to use premium. My thought is to alternate between the two at fill ups. Thoughts?

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[oysterville]

It's better than buying just premium in that you are only wasting money half of the time.

 

[zacatac]

So you are taking the effort to blend together low octane and high octane to get mid octane, instead of just pushing the button on the pump for mid??

Also, I'd recommend doing a bit of research to see what the actual benefits of higher octane fuel are. I'll give you some cliff notes: the higher octane rating means it is better at resisting premature combustion. This is why you can generally get away with running lower octane in colder air temperatures because your intake temps are lower. When outside air temps rise so do your intake temps, which then increases your risk of premature combustion. You can combat that by running higher octane fuel.

 

[jeffbrx]

So you are taking the effort to blend together low octane and high octane to get mid octane, instead of just pushing the button on the pump for mid??

Good point after using regular all my life forgot about the middle choice.

 

[oysterville]

So you are taking the effort to blend together low octane and high octane to get mid octane, instead of just pushing the button on the pump for mid??

Many stations in my area don't offer but two options.

 

[Brian_J]

the octane rating will average out so no issues switching from one to the other. also, i frequently use less than high test in the summer months. when we have our summer heat wave, or when i'm towing, i will make sure to use high test.

 

[colinl]

the 2.0 ecoboost is rated at 250hp / 277lbft for MY22-24 (238 and 277 for MY25) using premium unleaded. check the official spec sheet Ford produces; there's an asterisk and a little blurb at the bottom that says so.

hybrid is different, so you should fully expect hybrid owners to do different things.

here's some helpful information from Cobb Tuning about how the ecoboost benefits from higher octane fuel and a little bit of informed speculation about how it performs on 87: https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/f...vs-regular-fuel-data-point.35480/#post-642696

forgot to answer the question in the first post. no, I would not bother switching between 87 and 91. I would use 91 (or 93 if that's premium in your locale) all the time. this is a very, very good idea on any turbocharged engine.

 

[Automan21]

I’ve only used 91 or 93 in my turbo cars.
I have used regular and it’s a bit rough, once I use up all the 87 and then go back to the higher octane it smooths out.
I’ve also put higher octane in cars that didn’t ask for it in the manual and have gotten them to cut off at lights or stop signs. Once again when empty and switched back to regular no issues.
I use what the manual recommends.

 

[AutobahnSHO]

I read the "mid grade" is just mixing the regular and premium..

 

[Superg0]

If you want the claimed HP and TQ figures you will have to use premium. That's what Ford uses for the claimed figures. Otherwise mixing back and forth will be fine., and your results may vary.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

I read the "mid grade" is just mixing the regular and premium..

There are stations that have "blending" pumps which let you select 86,87,88,91,93 or whatever. There is a valve that injects into the regular 86/87 the amount of 93/95 super premium to yield the octane you push button for. Bear in mind the first two or three quarts will be the octane the prior purchaser bought UNLESS the blending pump has been programed to fix that octane ( ummm, I need an extra pint of 95 this time????).

 

[psuarmy]

I know it is ok to use regular gas, but it says in owner manual that in the summer you may have to use premium. My thought is to alternate between the two at fill ups. Thoughts?

I have no expertise, but I was talking to my mechanic friend about this. His recommendation was to not use higher octane but acknowledged that it will give some extra HP. He was, however, adamite about not switching.

He said pick one octane and stick with it. He said he has had engines in the past that had issues from the constant timing changes from octane switching. He said the newer engines might not have the problem, but he doesn't know and wouldn't want to test it on a new engine.

Occasional switching like twice a year for the seasons probably wouldn't be bad. Every other tank seems excessive when you could just use midgrade all the time.

 

[Carlitos_92]

He said pick one octane and stick with it. He said he has had engines in the past that had issues from the constant timing changes from octane switching. He said the newer engines might not have the problem, but he doesn't know and wouldn't want to test it on a new engine.

Newer engines most definitely do NOT care about switching fuel back and forth because of timing. Many of them, including the 2.0 EB, literally have variable timing, specifically so they can change it on the fly based on load, rpm, and whatnot.

 

[84IM]

It's better than buying just premium in that you are only wasting money half of the time.

Maybe for the hybrid, but not true for the ecoboost.

 

[dochawk]

the octane rating will average out

it's not a linear average, though. Half 87 and half 91 gives something a bit above 89, for example.

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