Is there a benefit to using higher octane gas in the hybrid?

[mavycactusgrey]

XLT Hybrid Cactus Grey Owner... Put about 2k miles on my maverick so far and have loved it. Utah located, so cold weather. I am getting about 37 MPG, %80 highway though. Using 91 octane every fill up so far, but have read that it may not be beneficial? My local Costco only carries 85 and 91, so I pick 91 right now. Would love anyone thoughts, especially fellow hybrid owners. What is working to maximize your MPG?
- Yes I know city driving is more efficient
- Yes cold weather makes mpg drop
- Yes I change It to eco drive mode as often as I can remember (damn the fact that you can't default it!)

TYIA!

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[Mavman123]

You are wasting money. The octane number has nothing to do with the energy density of the fuel. It has to do with the fuels resistance to detonation in the engine. Most fuel is 10% ethanol(E10). Ethanol does have a lower energy density than gasoline, so buying ethanol free fuel will provide a 2 to 4% increase in mpg. However, ethanol free fuel is often much more than 4% more per gallon than E10 so there is no benefit

 

[Mymaverick2021]

XLT Hybrid Cactus Grey Owner... Put about 2k miles on my maverick so far and have loved it. Utah located, so cold weather. I am getting about 37 MPG, %80 highway though. Using 91 octane every fill up so far, but have read that it may not be beneficial? My local Costco only carries 85 and 91, so I pick 91 right now. Would love anyone thoughts, especially fellow hybrid owners. What is working to maximize your MPG?
- Yes I know city driving is more efficient
- Yes cold weather makes mpg drop
- Yes I change It to eco drive mode as often as I can remember (damn the fact that you can't default it!)

TYIA!

I do believe the manual says 87 octane

 

[Proflig8tor]

I do believe the manual says 87 octane

Yep and 87 Octane has a slightly higher energy content. The difference might not even be measurable, but lower octane would result in higher MPG.

 

[WesM]

I guess If its only between 91 or 85 I would keep using the 91... User manual says 85 will void warranty.

 

[Bigbill27]

is The hybrid a flex fuel vehicle?

 

[projectvortex]

XLT Hybrid Cactus Grey Owner... Put about 2k miles on my maverick so far and have loved it. Utah located, so cold weather. I am getting about 37 MPG, %80 highway though. Using 91 octane every fill up so far, but have read that it may not be beneficial? My local Costco only carries 85 and 91, so I pick 91 right now. Would love anyone thoughts, especially fellow hybrid owners. What is working to maximize your MPG?
- Yes I know city driving is more efficient
- Yes cold weather makes mpg drop
- Yes I change It to eco drive mode as often as I can remember (damn the fact that you can't default it!)

TYIA!

I’ve actually put a sticky note in pink with the word “ECO” on it near the “tranny dial” so I see it every time I startup as a reminder. Eventually maybe I won’t need it.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

XLT Hybrid Cactus Grey Owner... Put about 2k miles on my maverick so far and have loved it. Utah located, so cold weather. I am getting about 37 MPG, %80 highway though. Using 91 octane every fill up so far, but have read that it may not be beneficial? My local Costco only carries 85 and 91, so I pick 91 right now. Would love anyone thoughts, especially fellow hybrid owners. What is working to maximize your MPG?
- Yes I know city driving is more efficient
- Yes cold weather makes mpg drop
- Yes I change It to eco drive mode as often as I can remember (damn the fact that you can't default it!)

TYIA!

FYI looked up high altitude 85 octane found this!!!!
Because the air is less dense, less air flows to your car's engine. This translates to a slightly richer air-fuel ratio, and deters engine knock. For that reason, you'll find that regular gas carries an 85 octane rating here in Denver and throughout Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and Montana.Aug 20, 2019

 

[8211badger]

No. The only exception maybe is if your towing. But even still probably doesnt matter.

 

[MLowe05]

You don't need 91, but Ford specifically says don't use 85 either. So I'm not sure what to tell you.

 

[Flomounier1]

One guy tried a full tank of 91 and got 1mpg more. Not worth the $. BUT, the manual says it's good to use 91 in very hot weather. I'll try it this summer.

 

[TheWizziard]

The manual says not to use E85. That is "Flex Fuel" 85% ethanol

Some posts are confusing octane rating with ethanol percentage

 

[AutobahnSHO]

The Hybrid has an Atkinson cycle engine, different than the Otto cycle most gasoline cars use. The Atkinson engine is better mpg and power at running in a certain speed, at moderate (not max!) power. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atkinson_cycle

Different octane levels are used for different compressions- and for the Atkinson, I don't believe the higher octane would ever matter.

 

[Benilla]

I tried b/c my company paid for a road trip and no perceivable difference. Dug into it and the hardware on the hybrid doesn't have anything that would take advantage of higher octane

 

[GPSMan]

I tried b/c my company paid for a road trip and no perceivable difference. Dug into it and the hardware on the hybrid doesn't have anything that would take advantage of higher octane

^^^ Exactly this. ^^^

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