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Premuim? or Regular?

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Old Mar 25, 2007 | 03:44 PM
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Premuim? or Regular?

Well i have an 88 5.0 v8 efi 2wd single cab long bed. stock

my question is would there be any benefits to using premium in my engine? it is a newer engine same stock 302 5.0 but only has abotu 20k on it, would i get better gas mileage or more ponies or even just a better burn for my engine by using premium? or could there be an oposite harmful effect on my engine?

and what fuel combonations are you using with your setup?

thanks
 
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Old Mar 25, 2007 | 04:10 PM
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regular is what you are asked to use from ford.

it will only cost you more to use premium.

covered many time before, do a search for lots of opinions with most saying use regular.
 
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Old Mar 25, 2007 | 04:16 PM
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its really a psycological thing, you THINK its performing better, yes it kind of is.. your suppose to use what ford calls for which is 87 octane... im not too sure but can;t you damage your engine if your running to high of an octane? I have put middle grade gas in mine once, didnt notice anything different...
 
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Old Mar 25, 2007 | 04:53 PM
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you are just wasting money using premium.

it may have a little bit more cleaners in it.
 
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Old Mar 25, 2007 | 06:49 PM
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The only time I run mid-grade or premium is if I plan on towing or something else that will really put the engine under load. For daily casual driving, anything over regular is just wasting your money in my opinion.
 
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Old Mar 25, 2007 | 07:16 PM
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i can't wai till they come out wis E100 (100& Ethanol) its octane is about 110-115 and all u need to do to make ur engine run on it is replace some hoses
 
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Old Mar 25, 2007 | 07:23 PM
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If your engine doesn't ping or knock on regular, use regular. Higher octane (premium) fuel does NOT have more energy per gallon than regular. Octane rating is only a measure of the fuel's ability to withstand compression before it pre-ignites (pinging or knocking). Ethanol has much less energy per gallon in it than gasoline, so just because its octane rating is 110 or 115 means nothing if your engine doesn't need a fuel that withstands high compression. With ethanol of any blend, your mileage will go down in a stock engine. Period.

As quicklook2 said, premium may have more additives that allow it to burn a LITTLE cleaner, but that's it.

Jason
 
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Old Mar 25, 2007 | 07:27 PM
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no, ethanol boosts your MPG the current 10% mix doesnt do crap but 100% etanol will definetly give power to engines,for example if you put E100 in a lightning it would run amazing cause it is a high compression engine. how can you say less energy wen its higher octane? what do you think race fuel is? its all alcohol with a high octane... go to Nascar or a monster truck show and you can smell it
 
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Old Mar 25, 2007 | 08:10 PM
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Race and aviation fuel also have lead in them to stabalize the octane.
 
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Old Mar 25, 2007 | 08:28 PM
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If I remember correctly, alcohol fuel has about half the thermal energy of gasoline, hence about twice as much is needed for use. However, it does have higher octane which benefits its use in racing and high compression engines designed for it and it does burn cooler. If you do run alcohol, you need to make sure the entire fuel system is designed to handle it starting with the tank and working your way forward. Many materials used in petroleum based fuel systems don't react well to alcohol.
 
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Old Mar 25, 2007 | 08:41 PM
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Originally Posted by NeXtras
i can't wai till they come out wis E100 (100& Ethanol) its octane is about 110-115 and all u need to do to make ur engine run on it is replace some hoses
Just hoses? Are you sure? What about injectors?

And about power increases, from what I have read E85 has been proven to make any motor generate 5%-10% more power at the flywheel depending on the engine...
 
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Old Mar 25, 2007 | 08:50 PM
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did anyone watch the "Future Car" series on the Discovery channel? they talked all about it. E85 is an 85% ethanol mixture. the number determines what percentage is ethanol... to convert your engine they said all u need is some hoses... i remember them sayin it was about 100$ in parts to convert
 
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Old Mar 25, 2007 | 09:07 PM
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Higher octane allows you to run higher compression--which is where the power is, not the octane. Do the research. One gallon of gasoline (87, 91, 93 or 100 octane) has about 124,000 BTUs of energy. One gallon of ethanol has about 76,000 BTUs of energy. Energy is what moves you down the road. Race fuel is often methanol.

Here are some links, read up:

http://www.cogeneration.net/FuelAndE...quivalence.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating
(Note especially the paragraph that begins, "The power output of an engine depends on the energy content of its fuel, and this bears no simple relationship to the octane rating. A common myth...")

You can argue "feel" or "smell" all you want, but that all gets blown away by the measurements and calculations.

Jason
 
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Old Mar 25, 2007 | 09:20 PM
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I don't want to get into the P-ing contest, and no offense, but please tell me you don't consider a stock lightning engine to be a high comp. engine.

Let me know when a company offers a stock 13:1 or more engine, then we'll talk of high compression.
 
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Old Mar 25, 2007 | 09:26 PM
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All octane does is slow down the combustion. You could probably pour a quart of diesel into a full tank and get the same result. Unless your engine pings, the regular grade is better.
 
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