Premium vs. Regular fuel data point

[AnnieWaits]

Disclaimer: YMMV. I have run premium on my 2.0T AWD ever since I got it last year, and did a couple of pulls on the Fastr app. Recently, I ran the tank to (almost) empty and filled up with regular. I did a couple of pulls today on regular fuel. My Mav ran 5.95 and 6.0 seconds 0-60 on premium. Both pulls on regular were 7 seconds, and felt noticeably slower. Outdoor temperature was similar on both days. I feel like can't make a valid MPG comparison due to variable driving conditions.

I plan to run premium going forward, unless I stop at a station in the boonies where I figure they don't sell much premium, and what they have is probably years old.

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[Montana]

What is premium where you live? 91? 93? Do you run ethanol free? I just filled up with ethanol free and it's a noticeable difference. I can only get 91 where I live - the boonies

Honestly not running it for performance or MPG gains, but it's nice that it exists. I've always used premium fuel. I did recently fill up the past two tanks with ethanol free and noticed a nice little difference so I may stick with it a bit and see how it goes.

 

[Tim d]

Personally a one second difference in a 0-60 time would not justify paying more money to get to the same destination. Can you even tell the difference in one second?

 

[RedRider]

Disclaimer: YMMV. I have run premium on my 2.0T AWD ever since I got it last year, and did a couple of pulls on the Fastr app. Recently, I ran the tank to (almost) empty and filled up with regular. I did a couple of pulls today on regular fuel. My Mav ran 5.95 and 6.0 seconds 0-60 on premium. Both pulls on regular were 7 seconds, and felt noticeably slower. Outdoor temperature was similar on both days. I feel like can't make a valid MPG comparison due to variable driving conditions.

I plan to run premium going forward, unless I stop at a station in the boonies where I figure they don't sell much premium, and what they have is probably years old.

How come you bought a truck, when you really want a racecar? Doing a "pull" in a truck is not what they are built for, and they suck at it as a result.

 

[710-oil-614]

No doubt that using premium fuel increases performance and marginally increases MPG.

Mostly, owners fall on one side of the fence or the other - pay for it because it makes a difference, or don't pay for it because it doesn't make sense financially.

 

[SDakota]

If I wanted gas mileage, I would have bought a Hybrid. I like the way my truck runs on premium.

 

[Tiger Dude]

Thank you for this data point. I for one am quite happy with you doing literally anything you want in or to your truck, including what gas you put in it for whatever reason you want.

 

[COBB Tuning]

This is a great demonstration of Ford's octane learning strategy and the impact it can have on vehicle performance.

The ECU is constantly listening to the feedback from the knock sensors on the engine. Knock, or detonation, is the spontaneous combustion of air and fuel after the spark plug has fired in the cylinder. As cylinder pressure and heat builds with the propagating flame-front of the combustion event, pockets of air and fuel in the cylinder can spontaneously and explosively combust before the flame-front ignites it. This is a knock event, and in very high cylinder pressures can cause significant damage to pistons/rods/rod bearings/head gasket integrity/etc. These knock events produce a distinct ringing in the engine that the knock sensor is carefully calibrated to recognize - the knock sensor is basically a very finely tuned microphone listening for specific sound frequencies that happen when knock events occur.

Octane is a measurement of a fuel's resistance to spontaneous combustion like knock. Higher octane fuels can withstand higher pressures and temperatures within the combustion chamber without knocking. The Maverick (and all other modern Fords) ECU's goal is to infer octane based on the frequency and intensity of knock events.

If the ECU detects a series of knock events that result in a significant amount of timing retard to be applied, it will lower the inferred octane by decreasing the Knock Octane Modifier (KOM). For those familiar with some slightly older Fords, you may be familiar with the term Octane Adjust Ratio (OAR) - this is practically speaking the exact same system.

KOM can learn between +1 (highest possible learned octane) and -1 (lowest possible learned octane). If you've been driving around with 93 OCT in the tank, run it dry, and then refill with 87 OCT, the knock events that the engine detects with the knock sensors will decrease the learned KOM value.

KOM is used to modify the amount of total ignition advance and airflow limiters. When KOM is 1, the KOM-based timing compensation will add anywhere between 3-5* of ignition timing advance. When KOM is -1, it will remove that same amount (creating a difference in final ignition timing of anywhere from -6* to -10* compared to KOM at +1).

Airflow limiting is done via three tables that blend based on inferred octane. This one is also a longer explanation, but you can expect to lose a few PSI of boost pressure when KOM is -1 compared to +1.

KOM will tend to settle in anywhere between -0.5 and 0 on 87 OCT, and the stock tune will see KOM at +1 with 91 OCT or higher. Expect 20-30WHP lost by running 87 OCT instead of 91/93 OCT, with similar torque losses.

Another thing related to KOM/octane learning to help you analyze dyno charts for "baseline" pulls: Even if you're running 93 OCT, if you reset the ECU the stock tune will default KOM to 0. If a dyno pull is done on the stock tune immediately after a reset without giving the ECU the opportunity to learn up to the appropriate KOM that matches the real fuel quality, you'll get a "baseline" run that makes significantly less power than it should, artificially increasing the power gain comparing stock to tuned. We ALWAYS baseline our vehicles with the octane learning system fully up to +1 and on the same tank of fuel used for tuned power pulls, as shown in our dyno charts for advertised power gains.

 

[Montana]

How come you bought a truck, when you really want a racecar? Doing a "pull" in a truck is not what they are built for, and they suck at it as a result.

Seems to me like vehicles have a wide range of being for whatever the person who buys them wants them to be used for.

 

[rlhdweman]

Personally a one second difference in a 0-60 time would not justify paying more money to get to the same destination. Can you even tell the difference in one second?

You sure can! some people pay thousands of dollars to cut 1 second off a 0-60 run, I've tried both in mine & it's a very noticeable difference + going to 91 without ethanol increased my mpg by nearly 10%, both are well worth it to me.

 

[710-oil-614]

I'm finishing off my first tank from the dealer (87, not top tier) - mixed driving at no more than 60% throttle. I am getting 22.5mpg in my Tremor. Going run it down to a gallon or so and then go Top Tier (Shell) 91 octane for tank 2 to see how it feels and runs.

Regardless - I will only fill with a Top Tier fuel unless I am on a road trip and it is unavoidable.

 

[bgn]

I enjoy the extra "power" I get because I have bigger ATs and doubly so in the mountains, especially when it's hot. Minus the noticeable turbo lag from the cute turbo they have on the Maverick, it's been good to me...

 

[Hoagus]

Personally a one second difference in a 0-60 time would not justify paying more money to get to the same destination. Can you even tell the difference in one second?

If someone runs a stoplight by one second, you can feel the difference.

 

[Tim d]

You sure can! some people pay thousands of dollars to cut 1 second off a 0-60 run, I've tried both in mine & it's a very noticeable difference + going to 91 without ethanol increased my mpg by nearly 10%, both are well worth it to me.

Well I guess the 10% increase in gas mileage might offset the increased cost in premium? I will try paying extra for premium and see if I can notice a difference.

 

[Samcat13]

I believe what you'll are saying but I'm Cheap. I get 22.5 mpg around town and don't need the extra speed.

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