Higher octane, better gas mileage......

[BiggerBend]

At least for me. If I fuel up with a higher octane I see an improvement in gas mileage. Not huge but still consistently get better gas mileage when using even 89 over 87. A little better if I go the next grade up.
Just sayin'

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[adam1991]

I'm trying it. No joy.

 

[JAD67428]

Run nothin but 93 89 is to hard to find in my neck of the woods, 93 is more prevalent I average 18.9 city driving no bull.

 

[TrailRaider]

California 91 since day 1 so I cant say if it gets better vs 87. Have not cared about MPG to be honest. 10-12 MPG all day long in sport mode (2H), depending on which roof I have on. If I ever get on the freeway, I might see 20-22 with no traffic.
But I didnt buy this thing for the MPG ratings
Also I noticed sport mode wont pass 7th gear under 55ish, even if I try. At least for me it wont.
Normal mode adds about 2MPG in town for me.
Oops, just noticed this is the 4cyl section. My bad. I can ask my neighbor. They have a base 4cyl manual. Ill update later.

 

[CalvinT]

I wondered if higher octane gas would give better mileage because of the horsepower increase. It didn't., at least that I could measure. I can get either 91 octane or 87 octane where I live. Maybe someone else will have better results with 93 octane or different driving situation. Most of my driving is around town with very little highway or freeway.

 

[RagnarKon]

I wondered if higher octane gas would give better mileage because of the horsepower increase. It didn't., at least that I could measure. I can get either 91 octane or 87 octane where I live. Maybe someone else will have better results with 93 octane or different driving situation. Most of my driving is around town with very little highway or freeway.

From a chemistry standpoint it has the effectively the same amount of energy. Ethanol-free fuel has about 3% more energy potential, but most premium fuels these days have ethanol in them, so it's probably not that.

Any differences come down to the fuel/air mixture tuning on the engine, or the guy sitting behind the steering wheel. I know some folks get better fuel economy on premium simply because it feels faster due to that slight horsepower/torque differences. And because it feels faster, they're not as much of a lead foot as they would be on 87 octane. But engines are also not perfect, and the engineers who design them are human, so my guess is it is a little bit of both.

 

[Boostedblues]

I've used both 93 and 87 I see no difference in MPG. I'm getting 19.9- 20 MPG using 87 octane on a stock Wildtrak. but that drastically decreases with winter blend fuel.

 

[CalvinT]

From a chemistry standpoint it has the effectively the same amount of energy. Ethanol-free fuel has about 3% more energy potential, but most premium fuels these days have ethanol in them, so it's probably not that.

Any differences come down to the fuel/air mixture tuning on the engine, or the guy sitting behind the steering wheel. I know some folks get better fuel economy on premium simply because it feels faster due to that slight horsepower/torque differences. And because it feels faster, they're not as much of a lead foot as they would be on 87 octane. But engines are also not perfect, and the engineers who design them are human, so my guess is it is a little bit of both.

I know that regular gas has more energy (btus) per gallon than higher octane gas. But higher octane allows a more efficient engine. I was curious which would win out. For me it was a wash.

 

[Mako]

At least for me. If I fuel up with a higher octane I see an improvement in gas mileage. Not huge but still consistently get better gas mileage when using even 89 over 87. A little better if I go the next grade up.
Just sayin'

When I use premium, I get 17.5-19 dependent on speed and wind( I drive75-82) . When I use regular 87 I get 16.5-18 , same variables. The increased mileage does not offset the cost but it does stop the clatter>

 

[RagnarKon]

I know that regular gas has more energy (btus) per gallon than higher octane gas. But higher octane allows a more efficient engine. I was curious which would win out. For me it was a wash.

It was a wash for me too.

During a road trip this past fall I did three tanks of each, alternating between the two. Admittedly not a super controlled scientific test, but there was no consistent winner. When Premium was better it was certainly not enough to offset the price of Premium.

 

[B-Dog15]

When I had my 1.5L Bronco Sport, I noticed a significant increase in gas mileage when I started using premium gas vs 87. Everything just felt smoother and more efficient (for lack of knowledge on a better way to explain it) and also knocking was significantly reduced.

While I have not filled up with 87 on my Bronco, my experience with the Bronco Sport has convinced me to use 91 for any vehicle that says it can take it. I would be interested to see how my truck feels on 87 though but right now with how close the two are in price/gallon I'm just gonna stick with 91.

 

[Keerplunk]

Man I guess I would be so screwed if I put lower octane in mine! My Mileage sucks as it is! But I didn't buy it for its fuel efficiency!

 

[heavyD]

Theoretically fuel economy should be better with premium fuel as the engine should be utilizing optimal ignition timing. In practice it may be hard to notice unless there's a disparity in the quality of the gasoline from fill to fill.

 

[bigdedition]

if anything, its better for the longevity of your fuel system if no MPG increase! Don't fall for fuel cleaning system from Ford if you run high octane.

 

[UncleBrad]

When I had my 1.5L Bronco Sport, I noticed a significant increase in gas mileage when I started using premium gas vs 87. Everything just felt smoother and more efficient (for lack of knowledge on a better way to explain it) and also knocking was significantly reduced.

While I have not filled up with 87 on my Bronco, my experience with the Bronco Sport has convinced me to use 91 for any vehicle that says it can take it. I would be interested to see how my truck feels on 87 though but right now with how close the two are in price/gallon I'm just gonna stick with 91.

I can confirm your experience with your Bronco Sport. My son has a 1.5L OB Sport and gets over 34 MPG consistently on higher octane gas, and in the upper 20's on 87 octane.
I am consistently 22MPG, regardless of speed, air conditioning, etc. using only 93 octane, high tier gas in my 2024 Bronco Big Bend, 2.3L manual. Pulling a trailer is the only thing that seems to affect it.

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