What grade fuel to use ( normal, plus, premium )

[GreyZ]

I‘m sure your ”new“ Bronco with at least a synthetic oil blend will be just fine.

Further, the bigger liquid for you to focus on is the oil. You want to consider full synthetic over conventional or a blend, and yes, the Ford Motorcraft is actually a very good full synthetic (Brand here matters a little due to oil specialization to match engineering; a tad). But, even if you grab just any synthetic and not blow it out and grab Amsoil every change, you’re good. And you’re not helping by changing full synthetic every 3-5K miles; you’re just wasting money. The computer knows better than you when to change the oil and it’s not a conspiracy; again, 20 years on the road!

I mostly agree with you, but have two major caveats. The motorcraft original fill, and the motorcraft you can buy at parts stores, and the motorcraft used at the dealership, is a synthetic blend. The Motorcraft full synthetic can only be special ordered.

I fully agree on the oil changes being most important, but to truly get an idea if you can stretch out the oil change interval, you need to do a full oil analysis every oil change until you get a solid interval. The bronco will let you go 10k miles on an oil change, and that may be fine for some people, but I would change a bit more often. 3k intervals is a relic of old conventional oil not applicable anymore.

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[Ravenndd]

I drive the 2.3L manual, commute 140 miles a day and record my fuel mileage for every round trip because I wanted to know if it mattered. I would do two tanks of 87 and then 2 of premium and drive them almost completely dry before filling up. There has been zero difference in the gas mileage. I’d pay the 30 cent per gallon difference in price if I saw different numbers but I don’t.

I’m also not sure how people can tell it runs smoother and quieter and all around better. Are you attaching a scanner and recording data or is that just on feel? I could see it making a slight difference in sport or towing but don’t see how anywhere else you’d notice the difference.

 

[hozer]

87. I’m surprised at the number of bronco drivers that use 93 to make their rig run like a race car.

If I needed more range I would put non ethanol 90 or higher in the tank.

I've never understood this.

Buy a giant box on wheels and insist it needs 93 to go faster for maximum performance.

 

[MadMan4BamaNATL]

Mind you I havent even hit 2000 miles yet since picking it up almost a year ago and 600 was the drive home from SAC. Every one of my fill ups have been regular except for one which was 93. I believe I've added Techron one time as well as Oreillys had a BOGO deal. I'm just going to stick with regular and Techron right after oil changes.

Badlands Sasquatch with V6 fwiw.

I like premium for only one reason, as someone pointed out, to “clean out” the engine. By that, meaning maybe more detergent since it’s the fancy expensive gas. Hell, I don’t even know if they actually do add more soap to the 93 stuff, but if it makes me feel better, that affects the Bronco don’t it?

Love me some Chevron with Techron and Shell premium for sure, but it may come from the same truck that delivered to the Marathon or Race Track down the street. Not even sure when the soap is added.

If it’s all Top Tier I just don’t think about it. You’d think some guys here believe they own a 911 or something. It’s a Ford truck!

Keep it simple; keep it moving.

 

[MadMan4BamaNATL]

I mostly agree with you, but have two major caveats. The motorcraft original fill, and the motorcraft you can buy at parts stores, and the motorcraft used at the dealership, is a synthetic blend. The Motorcraft full synthetic can only be special ordered.

I fully agree on the oil changes being most important, but to truly get an idea if you can stretch out the oil change interval, you need to do a full oil analysis every oil change until you get a solid interval. The bronco will let you go 10k miles on an oil change, and that may be fine for some people, but I would change a bit more often. 3k intervals is a relic of old conventional oil not applicable anymore.

You’re correct, the full synthetic Motorcraft is not regularly on hand, but they do keep it for the performance cars like the Mustang GT and Raptors. I will be requesting and paying extra for the full synthetic. That said, the blend isn’t bad at all and isn‘t worth anyone being worked up about if your dealership says no or something like that.

Again, most cars today drive around 20 years on recycled conventional trash from Jiffy Lube, but hey, let them save some money. Modern cars get the oil changed once per year, and yes, it’s around $200 for a blend or synthetic.

I’m coming from BMWs, so full synthetic is all I know as is premium gas, but this Bronco ain’t that, so I am enjoying the regular gas in my Ford. Synthetic, yes.

Also, the more spirited you’re driving or off roading, your oil will be replaced sooner. I have 3500 miles on my 4 month old Bronco and the oil is now at 55%; saw it yesterday and it’s in Ford Pass App; when it’s ready for new oil, it will let me know.

 

[Lcubed]

You are not paraphrasing, you are making stuff up to justify your comment. At no point Ford is recommending anything in the manual, they are giving the owner the option between normal use and best performance, again, thats not a reccomendation for either octane.

see page 180 in the manual. it's a direct quote. ford uses the word 'recommended'. no paraphrasing or interpretation required

 

[WaitingForMyBroncoHTX]

Interesting thread with great commentary for sure!

My 2.3L Bronco is my daily driver and drive 70+ highway miles a day. I've been using 87 regaular gas and been averaging 21+ mpg (allegedly).

Have noticed from startup til a minute or so there is slight knocking but seems to disappear as it warms up. Gonna switch to a midgrade or premium on my next couple fillups to see if anything changes. I used to drive a Q5 so buying premium wasnt a big deal for me.

Will switching back to regular after going premium for a few tanks damage the engine?

 

[HBTFD]

Interesting thread with great commentary for sure!

My 2.3L Bronco is my daily driver and drive 70+ highway miles a day. I've been using 87 regaular gas and been averaging 21+ mpg (allegedly).

Have noticed from startup til a minute or so there is slight knocking but seems to disappear as it warms up. Gonna switch to a midgrade or premium on my next couple fillups to see if anything changes. I used to drive a Q5 so buying premium wasnt a big deal for me.

Will switching back to regular after going premium for a few tanks damage the engine?

No.

 

[JBlanco]

see page 180 in the manual. it's a direct quote. ford uses the word 'recommended'. no paraphrasing or interpretation required

Yes, for best performance... What I just said...

 

[Capt steve]

I have 44000 miles on my 2.3 using regular gas. I tried premium just to compare the power and economy. Economy was the same with a bit of increase in the power but not enough to justify using premium. I’m happy with 23.3 mpg at 75 mph. No knocks, plenty of pep. Maybe it’ll make a difference when I trailer my 3200 Lb boat and trailer.

 

[HBTFD]

All premium does is let the PCM advance the timing. That increases the HP and mpg on some engines. The cost benefit of premium is negative.

 

[timhood]

So much truth here.

Interesting reads into the minds of the modern vehicle owner.

Honestly, it’s troubling to learn what some people decide to hold onto to justify their actions. Meaning, I‘ve read a lot of “theory” from maybe 20 or more years ago. No, the ICE engine isn’t new, but they’ve never been what they are now. Technology and increased engineering efficiency alleviate a lot of the misunderstood or outdated advice that so many are clinging to.

This!

All of this talk of ethanol in particular; guys, your Bronco doesn’t have a 2 stroke engine...your brand new Bronco’s engine was made to run on it and yes, it can handle it.

As is basically every vehicle made in the last two decades or more.

To the philosophy of extended engine life, please see the statistical data that the average vehicle today is almost 12 years old. That means that a lot of people; roughly 25% are driving cars that are close to 20 years old! Most people barely keep the oil changed, so if a whatever can run for 20 years on candy gas and old conventional oil, I‘m sure your ”new“ Bronco with at least a synthetic oil blend will be just fine.

I found it interesting that Ford was requiring semi-synthetic (and not full synthetic) in our '04 F150. 19 years later, it's still running fine as my daughter's car and it's never had any significant engine work. Oil changes per maintenance schedule. I guess the engineers know what they are doing.

If you want to do premium to speed up your brick shaped truck on the highway where it doesn’t even belong, knock yourselves out, but if you want to only do regular 87, you’ll be fine as long as it’s Top Tier as the manual states.

It may be the fear of being shamed by a Toyota Camry in a stoplight drag race. A Bronco isn't a sports car. Or maybe it's the "It's just a little more money..." mentality. I see that a lot here. "It's just a little more money to change the oil twice as often...to use premium...buy extra tie rods...buy an extended warranty..." It goes on and on. People can nickel-and-dime (or is it five-and-ten dollar) themselves into a lot of unnecessary expenses without thinking of the long-term cost of ownership.

 

[timhood]

I like premium for only one reason, as someone pointed out, to “clean out” the engine. By that, meaning maybe more detergent since it’s the fancy expensive gas. Hell, I don’t even know if they actually do add more soap to the 93 stuff, but if it makes me feel better, that affects the Bronco don’t it?

Love me some Chevron with Techron and Shell premium for sure, but it may come from the same truck that delivered to the Marathon or Race Track down the street. Not even sure when the soap is added.

If it’s all Top Tier I just don’t think about it. You’d think some guys here believe they own a 911 or something. It’s a Ford truck!

Keep it simple; keep it moving.

All grades of Chevron have the same amount of Techron. All grades of Costco gas have the same detergent additives in them. I can't speak for other brands, but I would assume it's likely the case with all Top Tier brands and is something you could easily find out with whatever your preferred daily brand is.

A long, long time ago (maybe 30 years ago?) only Chevron's premium had Techron, and that was a reason to use premium every so-many fill-ups.

 

[jbacon47]

I apply the rule that turbo cars get Premium, to prevent knock. Ford also suggests 10,000mile oil changes, which is even more ridiculous. I switched to using Costco’s Kirkland brand fully synthetic oil. The Kirkland oil is fully up to date in latest oil technology: Dexos1 gen3 API GF-6A certs for low speed pre-ignition. It should work just as well as Motocraft oil and is under half the price.

 

[mdonathan56]

I have been running nothing but Premium, 91+ octane. Just finished a tank of 93 No Ethanol and saw almost 2MPG increase over my existing average. Same driving habits and roads. Got another tank of 93 No Ethanol to verify results and if it checks out that's all I'm running in the future.
It will be perfect when I bump the Ford Performance Tune.

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