Time to revisit my thread here quickly.
Disclaimer: I broke my foot a few weeks ago and am bored out of my mind. Forgive me if I am not thinking correctly.
I was chatting with my wife about how much I like this truck and how much of a lemon my 2019 was and we got to discussing Ford Protect warranties. I kept the last truck for fours years since I didn't trust it, but my truck before that I kept for eleven. Keeping a truck long term is in the cards if it's dependable. I drive about 18,000 miles a year on average. She suggested going out 9 years at 175k miles since its transferable and refundable (unused portion). That warranty is right around $5600 ($50 deductible). She asked why I run 93 in it and I said it's better for a high compression engine, get better MPG and more HP/TQ. She then asked why would I give a shit about the engine internals if it's fully covered? I didn't have a good answer, so I put a basic spreadsheet together (remember...bored on the couch).
I have only put premium in it, so I am not sure if I would feel the 20hp loss in a 6kLB truck running 87. I don't drive it hard, so my guess is probably not, but not sure. Occasionally, I get on it from a stop since it makes my teenagers laugh, but thats more Baja exhaust than acceleration feel. I also think If I took the advice the spreadsheet says to that I would quickly feel dirty/guilty and go right back to putting 93 in it anyways.
The math says to run 87 and save close to 8k over nine years. The savings more than covers the cost of warranty. What am I overlooking?
Edit: I do very little of my driving @75mph like their test results are based on. Obviously, if I am getting something like 2mpg less running 87, it skews all those numbers dramatically.
Car and Driver ran numbers on this engine a few years ago with 87 vs 93. They didn't test mid grade, so I split the difference.
My numbers (todays) using the Shell station I fill up at: