Premium fuel?

Bdub

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I noticed premium fuel is recommended for the 2.0 Eco-boost. Any downside to running regular?
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hawkonthego

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I think Ford says to get the max hp as advertised, premium fuel is needed. I always have used premium in my 2.0 liter.
 

rms34208

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I noticed premium fuel is recommended for the 2.0 Eco-boost. Any downside to running regular?
Carbon buildup, lower performance. Use non ethanol fuel 89 to 90 octane. Best performance with 93 octane.
 

Slickrock

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Carbon buildup, lower performance. Use non ethanol fuel 89 to 90 octane. Best performance with 93 octane.

Oof. Been starting to hear about this for the Sport. That significantly raises the cost of driving out here in CA, and good luck trying to get non-ethanol...
 

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Run regular, you'll be fine, it's in the owners manual for both engines.
 


Ryneal21

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General rule of thumb for me is anything that has a turbo should get premium gas.

Due to the reason listed below:
Turbos generate more heat and boost which contributes to pre-ignition condition of the fuel in the engine. Premium gas is higher octane, so it resists pre-ignition better than regular gas.

Thats just what I have always followed. I prefer to have the car operate at its full potential when I need it to.

However, most modern cars are made to operate on normal gas. With or without a turbo.
 

tRex

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Carbon buildup is due to increased blow-by from higher compression and turbocharging, PCV re-burn, and direct injection -- since the valves aren't continuously cleaned by the premixed intake charge as in port-injected engines. It has nothing to do with octane -- except that with higher octane the computer can advance high-end timing, you can drive and rev faster, consuming more fuel, and causing the computer to enrich the mix to cool the cylinders -- which things do increase carbon buildup. The computer will retard the timing as needed for standard fuel and your driving habits. The critical thing in the fuel is the detergent additives -- as are promised with Top Tier fuels. Whether your usual driving performance in the 2.0LT Ecoboost "Twin-Scroll" is noticeably different on 87 or 91 or higher octane, who can tell without trying it out -- YMMV. 'Premium' also meant 'detergent' gasoline a long, long time ago, but not anymore. My bet is, 99% or more of the time I won't be in that part of the rev band where it makes any difference. Use Top Tier fuels, change oil and filter frequently, put in a catch can system if you're inclined. Have the top end opened up and cleaned out after some what, 30K-40K miles (not sure what might be recommended). Convince me that additives (Techron) or cleaners (Seafoam) do no harm and actually work -- I'm not, yet.
 
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Slickrock

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Carbon buildup is due to increased blow-by from higher compression and turbocharging, PCV re-burn, and direction injection -- since the valves aren't continuously cleaned by the premixed intake charge as in port-injected engines. It has nothing to do with octane -- except that with higher octane the computer can advance high-end timing, you can drive and rev faster, consuming more fuel, and causing the computer to enrich the mix to cool the cylinders -- which things do increase carbon buildup. The computer will retard the timing as needed for standard fuel and your driving habits. The critical thing in the fuel is the detergent additives -- as are promised with Top Tier fuels. Whether your usual driving performance in the 2.0LT Ecoboost "Twin-Scroll" is noticeably different on 87 or 91 or higher octane, who can tell without trying it out -- YMMV. 'Premium' also meant 'detergent' gasoline a long, long time ago, but not anymore. My bet is, 99% or more of the time I won't be in that part of the rev band where it makes any difference. Use Top Tier fuels, change oil and filter frequently, put in a catch can system if you're inclined. Have the top end opened up and cleaned out after some what, 30K-40K miles (not sure what might be recommended). Convince me that additives (Techron) or cleaners (Seafoam) do no harm and actually work -- I'm not, yet.
Well, the other thing I know, at least here in SoCal, unless you buy the racing grades, you never know who actually made it anyway. A neighbor used to own a company that delivered "extra" to multiple branded stations.
 

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Well, the other thing I know, at least here in SoCal, unless you buy the racing grades, you never know who actually made it anyway. A neighbor used to own a company that delivered "extra" to multiple branded stations.
I worked in sight of a fuel depot at the Port Of Tampa.
I watched all different fuel tankers fill up at the same pumps so one day I asked a Shell driver.
He pointed to a tank, that's Shell then pointed to another, Mobil.
He said top tier fuels are better and never mixed.
It's just that all the pumps are up front for safety, static and fire control.
He then added all that's been said about additive packages.
Then told me lower grade fuels are tanked with more corrosives and other impurities some from old tanks rusting inside from excessive water.
He stressed, Buy Top Tier Fuel.......
 

neosolidus

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It is all fun a game until you hear what sounds like a stick of dynamite going off and see a rod fly by............ Premium gas is cheap insurance in turbo engine against this(picture below).

PS. this does not buff out.......
Ford Bronco Sport Premium fuel? enginewithahole
 


tRex

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It is all fun a game until you hear what sounds like a stick of dynamite going off and see a rod fly by............ Premium gas is cheap insurance in turbo engine against this(picture below).

PS. this does not buff out.......
Ford Bronco Sport Premium fuel? enginewithahole
Rod? On what engine? What vehicle? 'Regular' did not cause this.
 

dano0726

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tRex -- which catch can do you suggest for the 2.0L Badlands?
 

neosolidus

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Rod? On what engine? What vehicle? 'Regular' did not cause this.
It was a boosted aluminum head engine, what brand it was is irrelevant since I am sure we can find a failure like this for every brand that is boosted.

although the tech couldn't say that "regular" did this, he did say it definitely made things worse.

there was detonation in the engine due to bad gas and (allegedly) the computer couldn't compensate which resulted in a cascading of failures which made the engine go lean(really low AFR) and resulted in this.

In the majority of cases that I have seen where a hole on the side of the engine was the end result bad gas was a possible cause, owners always were out in the country and had to fill up with the gas that was available and still drove the vehicles like normal or they were in a rush and just chose the closest/cheapest gas station, a very small portion is due to owners trying to increase boost PSI to get more power beyond OEM specs.

I know that vehicles nowadays have a ton of safety features and should be able to compensate for bad/cheap gas by reducing power but as someone that likes to drive(not out of necessity but for enjoyment) and sometimes will find myself out in the sticks where cell signal is nothing but a myth let alone AAA, I do everything I can to make sure that my boosted engines run at peak efficiency and can get me back home.

Good gas and frequent oil changes are cheap insurance and make vehicles more reliable..
 

tRex

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tRex -- which catch can do you suggest for the 2.0L Badlands?
No idea, I'm sorry -- still 54 days out until I can take possession of mine. :-( But, there are indeed specialized kits with the perfect bracket, tubing layout, and snap-on connectors, I think I saw a video of one for the 2.0LT EcoSport on an Escape, not sure I'm remembering that correctly. Very neat solution EXCEPT the can looked very small, and with no obvious easy way to drain it. The Engineering Explained guy on YouTube does an excellent comparison of some different types/quality catch cans.
 

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It was a boosted aluminum head engine, what brand it was is irrelevant since I am sure we can find a failure like this for every brand that is boosted.

although the tech couldn't say that "regular" did this, he did say it definitely made things worse.

there was detonation in the engine due to bad gas and (allegedly) the computer couldn't compensate which resulted in a cascading of failures which made the engine go lean(really low AFR) and resulted in this.

In the majority of cases that I have seen where a hole on the side of the engine was the end result bad gas was a possible cause, owners always were out in the country and had to fill up with the gas that was available and still drove the vehicles like normal or they were in a rush and just chose the closest/cheapest gas station, a very small portion is due to owners trying to increase boost PSI to get more power beyond OEM specs.

I know that vehicles nowadays have a ton of safety features and should be able to compensate for bad/cheap gas by reducing power but as someone that likes to drive(not out of necessity but for enjoyment) and sometimes will find myself out in the sticks where cell signal is nothing but a myth let alone AAA, I do everything I can to make sure that my boosted engines run at peak efficiency and can get me back home.

Good gas and frequent oil changes are cheap insurance and make vehicles more reliable..
I’m honestly finding it hard to take you seriously when you refuse to give information about the situation. What car? What year? What fuel? You are using that picture as an example of why we shouldn’t use low octane in a modern vehicles, but don’t actually give any information on what the picture is of. Seems fishy
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