GEN 2 Gas Octane Question

[EricM]

BY gawd look power at the wheels on that M5! I had the TT V8 M6 back in another life (2014? maybe) and it was a rocket ship.

Crazy. 8 seconds faster to 100 MPH than the F150. We are living in the the golden age of horsepower. The muscle car era had nothing on today other than bodies that were 100% metal from front to back.

 

[MnFlyer]

Car and Driver magazine had an article last month in the print edition where they tested four vehicles with various engines to determine whether premium fuel made a difference. One of the vehicles was an F150 Limited with the Raptor motor. Of the vehicles they tested, 93 octane made the biggest difference in that motor.

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Just some quick maths


About 6% increase in HP across the board, save for the the BMW.

For the 3.5 EcoBoost you gained about 20 miles per tank or 1.22 gallons.

There is about a .50 cent delta between 87 and premium. $18 more per tank of gas for 6% more HP and 20 miles of range.


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[Sharkus29]

Car and Driver magazine had an article last month in the print edition where they tested four vehicles with various engines to determine whether premium fuel made a difference. One of the vehicles was an F150 Limited with the Raptor motor. Of the vehicles they tested, 93 octane made the biggest difference in that motor.

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Does it say what brand of fuel they used for those tests? I’m interested if the 93 they used has ethanol or not

 

[bvlaw]

Does it say what brand of fuel they used for those tests? I’m interested if the 93 they used has ethanol or not

I just read the article again and it does not specify brand or ethanol %. The article does mention that there is a noticeable seat of the pants difference at the drag strip between the two fuels. They also stated that using premium was equivalent to a sport mode that could be turned on and off depending on what was in the 36 gallon tank.

 

[df4801]

They also stated that using premium was equivalent to a sport mode that could be turned on and off depending on what was in the 36 gallon tank.

That quote pretty much invalidates the whole article as they are clearly idiots.

anybody who's driven in sport mode knows that its more about the RPMs and shift points.

But maybe higher octane gas magically changes those things too!

 

[Badgertits]

I think you’re getting a little carried away with the performance delta between 87, 91 and 93 octane fuel. If you feel like you are getting the performance to justify the expense then continue to do so, but your analogies are a bit ridiculous.

Bud- he isn’t getting carried away, this is PROVEN w/ dyno graphs to show it, hell even car mags have pointed it out!

He doesn’t need analogies because it’s just A fact. The EB motors, particularly the HO, make noticeably more power on stock tune running 93 over 87.

 

[NE Raptor]

I guess I haven't been paying attention to the new M5 but those numbers are damn impressive!!! 10.8 @ 130mph in a luxury sedan right out of the box

 

[Badgertits]

That quote pretty much invalidates the whole article as they are clearly idiots.

anybody who's driven in sport mode knows that its more about the RPMs and shift points.

But maybe higher octane gas magically changes those things too!

If the turbos are spooled to stay in boost & thus sucking more air & burning more fuel then a higher octane fuel is gonna be even more noticeable than just driving around in normal mode.

I’ve been member of quite a few online auto forums (G8/GTO/SS, GM trucks, corvette, Acura, F150, LS1, etc) I gotta say this Raptor forum has probably the biggest disparity of “gearhead” knowledge vs cluelessness.

This isn’t directed @ you in particular sir- just in general.

I’m big into figuring out how stuff works- (check out howstuffworks website on turbo vehicles ) but also trying to find reputable info w/ evidence/facts to prove any claims.

One of the biggest determining factors on buying a gen2 raptor for me (other than the test drives which sealed it) was researching & learning the tunability/mod ability potential of the HO EB & in particular finding out that it shares most of the strengthened internals of the related GT motor...from what I gather the only major difference being turbo size (aside from intake & exhaust layout/placement which is obviously going to be freer flowing in a supercar vs a truck)- heads, connecting rods, pistons, & forged crank etc all carry over.

While I think most are aware of the kind of power gains that can be had w/ a decent tune, results have shown significant power/performance gains on stock tune w/ some basic stuff- intercooler, colder tighter gapped plugs, & 93 octane being @ the top.

I really don’t know why this is hard to grasp tho- do you realize that K2 Gen GM trucks w/ 5.3 DI V8 make like 20-25 more hp & 30-40 more torque all day every day running E85 over regular unleaded?? It’s the same idea- the factory ECU has parameters that can adjust for it already (& some hard parts like fuel lines)- why is hard to believe that a tt V6 in the Raptor could make more power on factory tune running 93......ESPECIALLY when it shares the internals & compression ratio of a ******** supercar engine!?!?

 

[NE Raptor]

I don't think anybody is disputing the fact that you can see gains with 93 over 87. It is well known and proven. I think people are arguing the point that you can safely run 87 and have almost as much fun on your daily commute, should you choose to.

 

[500mag]

The Federal Government subsidizes the production of ethanol gasoline as a means of reducing dependency on foreign oil reserves, with the added benefit of ensuring demand for our corn crop. I'm not sure how much influence the individual states have over what they'll allow and what they won't allow. In Alabama, they run 10% ethanol. Unfortunately for us, the energy density of the gasoline-ethanol blend is lower than pure gasoline, thus our HP, Torque and gas mileage drops. Ethanol will also disassociate out of gasoline, becoming water over time, which everyone knows is not a good thing in your tank. Ethanol also tears the hell out of marine engines and things like lawn mowers, edgers and chain saws, as the alcohol destroys the gaskets and seals. Products like STA-BIL can help minimize the damage caused by ethanol gas.

You can go here to find a listing of non-ethanol gas stations in your area, though it's not updated nearly often enough to be truly reliable.

Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada

Good luck.

Older marine engines, yes, not newer ones though.