Ford's Ecoboost Engines Don't Demand Premium Gas, But You Might Want To Use It Anyway

If you've been wondering really Ford's EcoBoost engines make max powerfulness connected 87 octane, sorry to burst your bubble, but they don't. Sure, nan manual for your F-150 pinch nan EcoBoost 3.5 sounds "Your conveyance operates connected regular unleaded gasoline pinch a minimum pump (R+M)/2 octane standing of 87," but what nan mean personification will astir apt attraction connected is nan large bluish container pinch nan number 87 wrong of it. It's easy to miss nan good people reading, "For champion wide conveyance and motor performance, premium substance pinch an octane standing of 91 aliases higher is recommended." 

Car and Driver tested an EcoBoost F-150 pinch some 87 and 93, and recovered that connected 87, horsepower dropped from 380 to 360, resulting successful a 0.6-second slower 0-60 time. The logic Ford tin opportunity your EcoBoost is designed astir 87, yet premium is nan only way the 2024 Mustang EcoBoost makes its afloat 315 hp, is acknowledgment to nan powerfulness of nan asterisk.

Go to Ford's website correct now and cheque retired nan Mustang EcoBoost Fastback, and nan tract will show you that nan 'Stang delivers 315 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque. Then click connected nan small citations adjacent to those numbers, and you'll get a connection that reads, "Horsepower and torque ratings based connected premium substance per SAE J1349® standard." After that, spell to nan owner's manual to find assurance that your Mustang EcoBoost's motor was designed to tally connected 87. At a glance, it feels for illustration EcoBoost owners are being pulled successful 2 directions, and forums are afloat of disorder connected nan matter.

Ford's EcoBoost tin modify capacity connected nan alert via its Octane Adjust Ratio, which, if you're utilized to old-school laggy turbos that request high-octane state to debar becoming grenades, is beautiful miraculous. Thanks to observant power of ignition timing and boost levels, EcoBoosts tin tally connected 87 without creating engine-harming knock. 

Knock is erstwhile substance ignites excessively early successful nan combustion chamber, creating a high-frequency unit activity that sounds for illustration a small firecracker going off. When nan motor is experiencing terrible knock, it sounds for illustration distant popcorn popping or, arsenic a repair shop proprietor mightiness telephone it, rate registry noises. Excessive sound tin lead to a big of unpleasant broadside effects, from premature bushing and base deterioration to bent rods, surgery pistons, and moreover cracked cylinder heads successful utmost instances.

Higher octane levels trim knock because they thief substance defy unintended detonation. This detonation guidance is basal for high-compression aliases forced-induction setups specified arsenic turbocharging and supercharging because nan much unit successful a combustion chamber, nan much apt nan substance will detonate erstwhile it's not expected to. That's why premium state exists — it lets high-performance engines tally astatine greater boost pressures and compression ratios without nan threat of knock.

Even if you wholly understand that Ford emphasizes that its EcoBoost engines tin usage 87, yet advertises numbers generated connected premium, it mightiness consciousness a small for illustration personification telling you to meet up astatine 12:00, neglecting to show you that intends midnight. Will you laughter disconnected nan correction erstwhile you get roused from furniture successful nan mediate of nan night, aliases would you person preferred much up-front clarification? 

The EcoBoost lineup doesn't request this benignant of confusion. Thanks to nan large powerfulness and torque these engines tin generate, you'll find an EcoBoost successful everything from your uncle's workhorse F-150 to nan ex-John Cena-owned barely-driven GT supercar. Oh, really times person changed. We each judge turbos arsenic nan norm now. Remember erstwhile Jaguar XJ220 buyers demanded their money backmost because it had a twin-turbo V6 alternatively of a V12? Small turbo engines powerfulness everything now, and tin propel F-150s to 60 successful nether 6 seconds connected plain-Jane 87. Try that successful your XJ220! No, scratch that, please, please don't really put 87 successful an XJ220. 

Also, don't put 87 successful EcoBoost Ford GTs or EcoBoost F-150 Raptors (Rapti?), which, conscionable to adhd different hair-pulling wrinkle to this story, do require 91+ octane.

All of this could beryllium easy fixed by changing nan owner's manuals. Instead of writing, "your EcoBoost is designed to tally connected a minimum of 87 octane," nan building could alternatively be, "your EcoBoost makes its max powerfulness connected 93 octane, and those are nan figures you perceive successful commercials, but nan motor won't detonate if you capable nan vessel pinch 87, GTs and F-150 Rapti excluded."