87 Octane?

[MightyMaverick]

Living in South Florida, we've experienced fuel supply disruption as a result of the record-breaking rainfall that affected Ft. Lauderdale a week and a half ago. As a result, certain stations are completely out of fuel or are only limited to the cheapest grade, 87 octane. After work, I decided to head to a fuel station since I was only on one bar and the fuel light popped on. I went to a Mobil about a mile down the road. The only grade they had was 87 octane so I bit the bullet and filled with it anyway. Ever since I got my Maverick, I've only put 89 octane which makes it run optimally. After putting 87 in for the first time however, the car was not happy about at all. It keeps sputtering, bucking, and seems sluggish on acceleration. Even the engine note sounds a little different, like it has a deeper tone. I told my dad about it and suggested getting octane booster at an auto parts store. I'll give it a try but I'm writing this because I'm questioning whether or not to ever use 87 octane again despite the vehicle being rated for it. I've read the Ecoboost engine is made to run on 87 but I'm sure it's only if you're not looking for optimal performance, fuel economy, or driving range. Premium is not required, however, but I'm definitely starting to see the positive affects it does have on an engine.

Does anyone else run 87 octane in their Mavericks, Ecoboost or Hybrid? If so, what are the results? Anyone else having performance issues with cheaper grade fuel?

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[cannon]

Living in South Florida, we've experienced fuel supply disruption as a result of the record-breaking rainfall that affected Ft. Lauderdale a week and a half ago. As a result, certain stations are completely out of fuel or are only limited to the cheapest grade, 87 octane. After work, I decided to head to a fuel station since I was only on one bar and the fuel light popped on. I went to a Mobil about a mile down the road. The only grade they had was 87 octane so I bit the bullet and filled with it anyway. Ever since I got my Maverick, I've only put 89 octane which makes it run optimally. After putting 87 in for the first time however, the car was not happy about at all. It keeps sputtering, bucking, and seems sluggish on acceleration. Even the engine note sounds a little different, like it has a deeper tone. I told my dad about it and suggested getting octane booster at an auto parts store. I'll give it a try but I'm writing this because I'm questioning whether or not to ever use 87 octane again despite the vehicle being rated for it. I've read the Ecoboost engine is made to run on 87 but I'm sure it's only if you're not looking for optimal performance, fuel economy, or driving range. Premium is not required, however, but I'm definitely starting to see the positive affects it does have on an engine.

Does anyone else run 87 octane in their Mavericks, Ecoboost or Hybrid? If so, what are the results? Anyone else having performance issues with cheaper grade fuel?

I run 87 in my ecoboost. But I only get it from Costco, or if on a road trip, Chevron. I have experimented with premium and found it wasn't worth the $ difference. Slightly better MPG but I couldn't tell a difference in performance.

 

[Hoagus]

I only use 87 in my hybrid.

 

[fossil]

considering the circumstances I'd be more concerned about possible water contamination than octane.

 

[SR-71]

It's likely that the floodwaters may have gotten into the fuel. Don't ask me why I think that may be the case.

 

[OleFordGuy]

I've always used 93, Overkill unless your towing or want to drive spirited i know. Little higher priced but it's not that huge, i don't worry about it. It's runs like a top.

 

[Flight Test]

I use what the manual recommends, not concerned with price. As stated above, she runs like a top.

 

[PlantMan]

87 all the time for me. No issues.

 

[22MavXLT]

I run 93 in everything we have. Always have, probably always will. At the very least 91, because some of our gas stations have that here and not 93.

 

[deej]

I've only run 87 octane in my Ecoboost. No issues.

Sounds like you got some bad gas, unrelated to the octane rating.

 

[dalola]

Agree, you got some bad gas, independent of the octane rating.

87 works just fine in normal driving. Of course, for the EB, higher octane will result in more power & better FE. Most people won't notice unless towing or driving in a spirited manor.

 

[kkreit01]

I've had (3) 2.0 Ecoboosts. I mainly ran 87 on all of them. If gas gets cheap enough, I may run 91 once in awhile (that's the highest we get around here). Premium is 50+ cents higher/gal around me. I always run Top Tier gas. Never had an issue with 87.

 

[FordDiehard]

I've only had my EB for 6 weeks, but thus far I have only put 89 octane non-ethanol gas in the tank. It costs roughly .50 more per gallon, but it's better for the engine. The mileage is about 3 mpg better than the dealer-furnished initial tank full.

 

[crgator]

I ran premium in my Eco once. At $0.65/gal (or about $8.50 more for my normal fillup) I didn't see enough, if any improvement to justify that much of an increase. It ran just fine on 87. Now I've got a hybrid, getting great gas mileage and smooth running on the 87. Not going to spend more unless that was all that was available. I agree with others, that ran and flooding you got down there probably contaminated a lot of gas.

 

[OneAlienBoi]

Living in South Florida, we've experienced fuel supply disruption as a result of the record-breaking rainfall that affected Ft. Lauderdale a week and a half ago. As a result, certain stations are completely out of fuel or are only limited to the cheapest grade, 87 octane. After work, I decided to head to a fuel station since I was only on one bar and the fuel light popped on. I went to a Mobil about a mile down the road. The only grade they had was 87 octane so I bit the bullet and filled with it anyway. Ever since I got my Maverick, I've only put 89 octane which makes it run optimally. After putting 87 in for the first time however, the car was not happy about at all. It keeps sputtering, bucking, and seems sluggish on acceleration. Even the engine note sounds a little different, like it has a deeper tone. I told my dad about it and suggested getting octane booster at an auto parts store. I'll give it a try but I'm writing this because I'm questioning whether or not to ever use 87 octane again despite the vehicle being rated for it. I've read the Ecoboost engine is made to run on 87 but I'm sure it's only if you're not looking for optimal performance, fuel economy, or driving range. Premium is not required, however, but I'm definitely starting to see the positive affects it does have on an engine.

Does anyone else run 87 octane in their Mavericks, Ecoboost or Hybrid? If so, what are the results? Anyone else having performance issues with cheaper grade fuel?

I run 85, after doing some research, it seems like that should be fine. The hybrid recommends 87, but Utah doesn't offer that.

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