Chris and Jane and two boys (and a DDIL) who prefer tents
2013 Open Range Journeyer JT337RLS
2006 Dodge Ram 3500, 4x4, Crew Cab, DRW, 5.9 turbo diesel
1996 Harley Davidson Electraglide
Water-Bug writes "Do you use premium gas when towing ?"
No, I ran several tanks of each grade with my 5.4 towing and found absolutely no REAL significant power or mileage change between 87 and 93 octane.
My mileage was only .1 better with 93 than from the base of 87, since the cost difference in my area is nearly 50 cents per gal more for 93 it made no advantage to me to run the 93.
This is one of those things that each and every engine may be different so you need to test it yourself and determine if the additional cost per gallon and potential mpg change will be significant enough to warrant 93.
Desert Captain writes "Just another one of the things I love about my 5.4L, no need to run anything but regular. In some states we found regular to be 85 or 86 octane vs the 87 we are used to in California and Arizona and it still runs fine without any pinging. If you are shopping for a new TV take a look at the fuel requirements of any potential engine."
Correct! Modern day engines like the 5.4 actually will automatically detect "pinging" (IE predetonation) and adjust the timing and fuel delivery. This results in the most power and fuel economy possible with the lowest grade of gas possible.
PenMan writes "Nope, I always run diesel."
Hmm.. I don't recall this discussion to be about diesel?
But that's OK, since you can drool over the fact that I spent $4K less for my 5.4 and I pay 60 cents per gallon LESS for 87 gas than diesel and I don't HAVE to keep my vehicle until I have 350,000 miles on it (break even point of fuel and engine costs over the life of a diesel vehicle). Happy camping...
Pulling my 4000lbs loaded OFF-ROAD POPUP with my truck shown in my profile I always get bettery gas mileage (2-3MPG better) using SHELL products ??? This is the bottom grade SHELL gasoline - have never used the high grade before... I always get better gas mileage than the wife does when she drives.. I dont do anything sudden starting and stopping...
The worse I get is with Exxon (I really only use these two brands the most of time so this isnt a good statement I guess)
My Posts are IMHO based on my experiences - PM me Roy and Carolyn
RETIRED DOAF/DON/DOD/CONTR RADIO TECH (42yrs)
K9PHT (Since 1957) 146.52M
2010 F150, 5.4,3:73 Gears,SCab
2008 Starcraft 14RT EU2000i GEN
2005 Flagstaff 8528RESS
POPUP PHOTOs-Pg52-Pg56
Yes! after the changeover to more ethanol in the fuel my power and mileage dropped to 5mpg while towing used to get 8 when I first got it, I now average 6-7mpg. I changed everything at 50k miles and nothing helped, then I started running 93 and my power an mileage came back. my truck is even better when I run WI. gas (much better blend than IL gas).
Wife Kim
Son Brandon 11yrs
Daughter Marissa 10yrs
Dog Shadow
07 Cherokee 32B
02 Excursion 4X4 V-10 4.30 gear 5Star tuner Y-pipe mod Hellwig sway bar
Reese HP dualcam Prodigy brake controller
A bad day of camping is
better than a good day at work!
We love towing and riding the motorcycles in the US where you can still find no ethanol in regular fuel (last summer anyway). Do our best to find it whenever possible. Premium is the only option north of the border for ethanol free. Excellent increases for the bike, minor for the truck. But the gas is so much cheaper we are always smiling even on premium down south.
Gdetrailer wrote: Water-Bug writes "Do you use premium gas when towing ?"
This is one of those things that each and every engine may be different so you need to test it yourself and determine if the additional cost per gallon and potential...
Correct! Modern day engines like the 5.4 actually will automatically detect "pinging" (IE predetonation) and adjust the timing and fuel delivery. This results in the most power and fuel economy possible with the lowest grade of gasoline..
I really don't think a lot of people understand what the OP is trying to express. As noted above, most engines detect pinging and adjust timing and fuel delivery to prevent it. These engines are programmed to run a great deal of timing, which it will retard if pinging is detected. As soon as it removes that timing, mileage and performance both suffer. Therefore, the further your fuel can resist preigniting, the more timing advance your engine can run, and the better your performance and mileage will be. Naturally, some engines are way more sensitive to this than others. Some are right on the verge of pinging under extreme conditions, some aren't.
Gdetrailer wrote: Water-Bug writes "Do you use premium gas when towing ?"
This is one of those things that each and every engine may be different so you need to test it yourself and determine if the additional cost per gallon and potential...
Correct! Modern day engines like the 5.4 actually will automatically detect "pinging" (IE predetonation) and adjust the timing and fuel delivery. This results in the most power and fuel economy possible with the lowest grade of gasoline..
I really don't think a lot of people understand what the OP is trying to express. As noted above, most engines detect pinging and adjust timing and fuel delivery to prevent it. These engines are programmed to run a great deal of timing, which it will retard if pinging is detected. As soon as it removes that timing, mileage and performance both suffer. Therefore, the further your fuel can resist preigniting, the more timing advance your engine can run, and the better your performance and mileage will be. Naturally, some engines are way more sensitive to this than others. Some are right on the verge of pinging under extreme conditions, some aren't.
I agree.
Modern engines have computers that adjust timing for maximum efficiency without pre-detination (pinging), so a higher octane fuel could/might help in many cases, and maybe not in others. Our Hummer gets better fuel economy using premimum, as does a friend's Chevy 2500 pickkup. In fact, he is the one who suggested it to me and I was quite surprised to find it did improve fuel usage.
Holiday Rambler Navigator DP, Hummer, and Honda VT1100C Shadow
Gdetrailer wrote: Water-Bug writes "Do you use premium gas when towing ?"
This is one of those things that each and every engine may be different so you need to test it yourself and determine if the additional cost per gallon and potential...
Correct! Modern day engines like the 5.4 actually will automatically detect "pinging" (IE predetonation) and adjust the timing and fuel delivery. This results in the most power and fuel economy possible with the lowest grade of gasoline..
I really don't think a lot of people understand what the OP is trying to express. As noted above, most engines detect pinging and adjust timing and fuel delivery to prevent it. These engines are programmed to run a great deal of timing, which it will retard if pinging is detected. As soon as it removes that timing, mileage and performance both suffer. Therefore, the further your fuel can resist preigniting, the more timing advance your engine can run, and the better your performance and mileage will be. Naturally, some engines are way more sensitive to this than others. Some are right on the verge of pinging under extreme conditions, some aren't.
Glad to see that SOMEONE finally got my point. I have a 5.7L Dodge Hemi. It will burn ANY grade but is a performance engine that LOVES premium. Owners manual says that it will burn regular and it does with a loss of economy, under heavy load.
EDIT: As I stated, when the computer retards the spark, to eliminate ping/knock, power is lost. The driver depresses the throtle further, the transmission down-shifts and economy goes further to hell.
With my 93 chevy,the big difference is mpg when using the regular gas with ethanol added, it doesn't make enough difference in the power to justify the xtra cost of premium. That being said if I can find gas without the ethanol my truck does better in mpg and power with just the regular grade, but it was built for that gas.
Robert & Phyllis
Peyton-13 & Ashlynn-11
2008 KZ Spree 289RKS TT
1993 CK1500 Ext. Cab
5.7, W/3.73,
custom paint on tv
Offline
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