Should I switch to premium fuel?

[zachc275]

I'm about 1100 miles into my Outer Banks and I've noticed that the MPG hasn't been what I expected at about a combined 21 or 22 MPG. I've had a healthy mix of both city and highway driving. On the highway alone, I get about 24-25 MPG. In the city, I get closer to 19 or 20. It's gotten as low as 16 or 17. I'm hoping there's not a mechanical issue, but I do know that Ford recommends using fuel with higher octane.

I did some calculations— based on a combined 22 MPG on regular fuel, gas prices in my area, and my yearly mileage, I would need to get at least 24.5 MPG combined in order to "break even" and make buying premium fuel financially worth it. Anything lower than that would provide marginal MPG that is too low to justify the extra cost. If anyone wants my spreadsheet on how I calculated this feel free to let me know.

For those who use premium fuel, have you noticed an improvement in MPG compared to regular? Thanks!

Edit: forgot to add that I try to use Eco mode as much as possible and have auto-start/stop turned on.

Sponsored

 

[sparkerk]

I'm about 1100 miles into my Outer Banks and I've noticed that the MPG hasn't been what I expected at about a combined 21 or 22 MPG. I've had a healthy mix of both city and highway driving. On the highway alone, I get about 24-25 MPG. In the city, I get closer to 19 or 20. It's gotten as low as 16 or 17. I'm hoping there's not a mechanical issue, but I do know that Ford recommends using fuel with higher octane.

I did some calculations— based on a combined 22 MPG on regular fuel, gas prices in my area, and my yearly mileage, I would need to get at least 24.5 MPG combined in order to "break even" and make buying premium fuel financially worth it. Anything lower than that would provide marginal MPG that is too low to justify the extra cost. If anyone wants my spreadsheet on how I calculated this feel free to let me know.

For those who use premium fuel, have you noticed an improvement in MPG compared to regular? Thanks!

Edit: forgot to add that I try to use Eco mode as much as possible and have auto-start/stop turned on.

I've heard that new vehicles can take several thousand miles to settle into their optimum fuel mileage. Like, 5,000 - 10,000 I think. I don't know this for sure, it might be less than 5,000 too, and I've never owned a brand new vehicle (my Big Bend getting delivered to me at the end of the month will be the first) so I can't tell you from experience, but this is what I've heard some chatter about here on the forum.

I think premium fuel will help, as even the manual states that you'll get the best performance with higher octane, and I think fuel mileage is included in that. However, other factors include driving style, hilly terrain, starts and stops, idling in drive-throughs, tire pressure, tire tread/resistance, and of course any weight & exterior modifications.

And as a last thought, I guess it could be possible that your active grille shutters aren't functioning properly, as I think those are designed to help with aerodynamics by closing at higher speeds. Just some things to think about.

I, for one, will definitely be running premium in my Big Bend when it arrives. I've been running that in my 2010 Escape 3.0 V6 and have not regretted it. Hope you get better mileage soon

 

[rootdoc]

I'm getting 27-30mpg using regular 87 octane gasoline in my BS Big Bend. With gas prices skyrocketing, I have no interest in using premium high octane gasoline!

 

[13MikeH]

If the end game is prices savings ie. Better fuel mileage the rate our fuel gouging is going, are the miles gained worth the price overage paid?
Current my local cheapest is
$4.79/g for 87
$4.99/g modgrade 89
$5.49/g premium 91
70¢ per gallon at 16 gallons is $11.20 extra.

if you gain 2-3 miles per gallon is it worth the extra at the pump? (32-48 Miles or roughly two gallons of gas ($10.98 in free gas) net gain...22 cents.

 

[69cuda340s]

Over on the Escape forums they debate the regular vs premium fuel in lots of threads. From what I read the tiny gain in fuel economy from premium does not offset the cost. So in general don't use premium for economical reasons.

I would get several thousands miles on it change the oil and make sure you aren't doing a lot of jack rabbit launches. Slow steady gradual acceleration and drift up to stop signs / stop lights will show an increase in mileage.

 

[AmazingSieve]

If the end game is prices savings ie. Better fuel mileage the rate our fuel gouging is going, are the miles gained worth the price overage paid?
Current my local cheapest is
$4.79/g for 87
$4.99/g modgrade 89
$5.49/g premium 91
70¢ per gallon at 16 gallons is $11.20 extra.

if you gain 2-3 miles per gallon is it worth the extra at the pump? (32-48 Miles or roughly two gallons of gas ($10.98 in free gas) net gain...22 cents.

I paid $6.75 to fill up with 91 and that was one of the cheaper places

 

[zachc275]

If the end game is prices savings ie. Better fuel mileage the rate our fuel gouging is going, are the miles gained worth the price overage paid?
Current my local cheapest is
$4.79/g for 87
$4.99/g modgrade 89
$5.49/g premium 91
70¢ per gallon at 16 gallons is $11.20 extra.

if you gain 2-3 miles per gallon is it worth the extra at the pump? (32-48 Miles or roughly two gallons of gas ($10.98 in free gas) net gain...22 cents.

It does end up being worth it on a yearly basis depending on how much MPG you gain. Here is a snippet of my calculations which shows the breakeven point based on a combined MPG of 22 using regular gasoline (13,000 yearly miles of driving). The prices were based off my area, but the MPG where it breaks even shouldn't be that much different anywhere because the price of regular generally tracks with the price of premium and vice versa.

MPG	Yearly cost of Regular Fuel @ $4.39 w/ 16gal/fillup	Yearly cost of Premium Fuel @ $4.88 w/ 16gal/fillup	Difference
22	$2,594.09	$2,883.64	$289.55 loss
23	-	$2,758.26	$164.17 loss
24	-	$2,643.33	$49.24 loss
24.5	-	$2589.39	$4.70 savings
25	-	$2,537.60	$56.49 savings
26	-	$2440.00	$154.09 savings
27	-	$2,349.63	$244.46 savings
28	-	$2,265.71	$328.38 savings
29	-	$2,187.59	$406.50 savings

In essence, if you get 22 MPG with regular and decide to fill up with premium, you are at a loss if you are only gaining a marginal MPG of 2.5 MPG. However, any MPG over that is actually saving you despite the higher price of fuel. This is because the additional cost of that fuel is covered by the fact that you'll need to put less fuel in your car in the first place due to the better MPG.

I suspect in my situation that I could maybe put premium and get better MPG, but what would actually get me over the hump to make the premium worth it would need to be the break-in period of my car settling in and an oil change or two. Of course, there are plenty of variables at play so this is a little bit of a simplification.

 

[zachc275]

That sounds about what I was getting in my Outer Banks at that mileage. I did an oil change at 1500 and then I would say around 2500 to 3000 or so I can't quite remember, I started getting 26 to 28. I'm using regular now with the current prices.

I do notice the difference in speed with premium but not a difference in gas milage. If anything it's worse because I drive faster.

That's helpful to know— so no noticeable drop in MPG when you switched down to regular? When it got up to 26-28 were you using premium?

 

[13MikeH]

It does end up being worth it on a yearly basis depending on how much MPG you gain. Here is a snippet of my calculations which shows the breakeven point based on a combined MPG of 22 using regular gasoline (13,000 yearly miles of driving). The prices were based off my area, but the MPG where it breaks even shouldn't be that much different anywhere because the price of regular generally tracks with the price of premium and vice versa.

MPG	Yearly cost of Regular Fuel @ $4.39 w/ 16gal/fillup	Yearly cost of Premium Fuel @ $4.88 w/ 16gal/fillup	Difference
22	$2,594.09	$2,883.64	$289.55 loss
23	-	$2,758.26	$164.17 loss
24	-	$2,643.33	$49.24 loss
24.5	-	$2589.39	$4.70 savings
25	-	$2,537.60	$56.49 savings
26	-	$2440.00	$154.09 savings
27	-	$2,349.63	$244.46 savings
28	-	$2,265.71	$328.38 savings
29	-	$2,187.59	$406.50 savings

In essence, if you get 22 MPG with regular and decide to fill up with premium, you are at a loss if you are only gaining a marginal MPG of 2.5 MPG. However, any MPG over that is actually saving you despite the higher price of fuel. This is because the additional cost of that fuel is covered by the fact that you'll need to put less fuel in your car in the first place due to the better MPG.

I suspect in my situation that I could maybe put premium and get better MPG, but what would actually get me over the hump to make the premium worth it would need to be the break-in period of my car settling in and an oil change or two. Of course, there are plenty of variables at play so this is a little bit of a simplification.

great breakdown...and just a perspective. So you gain $100 pulling 26MPG which is probably the sweet spot for most, in my perspective, it's not worth the extra cost for premium for the majority of drivers...you save about ten bucks a month in fuel if everything goes right.

 

[Osco]

The side that thinks premium is cost effective reminds me of the blind crowd that thinks if it cost more it’s better.
Premium is a higher anti knock formula.
There is a set number of BTU’s in a gallon of gasoline no matter the octane rating.
If and ONLY IF your car is tuned to take advantage of a higher anti knock formula you can pull loads up hills better at higher rpm’s ONLY.
If your seeking the highest possible HP and Torque numbers to impress potential buyers premium give you a better number. It’s your money, spend 50 cents a gallon more and be happy.
Here, I’ll make everyone feel better, “ Premium is the best”
Ok really, If I was pulling a trailer and or hauling fat people and or a load in the back in hot climates. I’d put premium in my 1.5L Or my 2.0L

 

[69cuda340s]

Ok really, If I was pulling a trailer and or hauling fat people and or a load in the back in hot climates. I’d put premium in my 1.5L Or my 2.0L

Yeah pulling trailer with bunch of fat ppl on board in hot weather yes fill up with premium.

 

[13MikeH]

Yeah pulling trailer with bunch of fat ppl on board in hot weather yes fill up with premium.

 

[Mark S.]

.

For those who use premium fuel, have you noticed an improvement in MPG compared to regular? Thanks!

I did extensive testing to answer this very question. The short answer is no.

The long answer is to get better fuel mileage out of one gallon of fuel compared to another you need one of two things: more energy or better engine efficiency. Since there is no more energy (measured as BTUs) in premium fuel compared to regular, the only way you can get better mileage burning premium is with better engine efficiency. With government CAFE mandating minimum fleet-wide fuel economy standards you can be sure if it were possible to get better efficiency using premium manufacturers would require its use.

The manual recommends premium to get the best performance. Performance can be defined in many ways, including fuel efficiency. The manual gives uscontextual clues to help us understand what Ford meant:

The performance gained by using premium fuel is most noticeable in hot weather as well as other conditions, for example when towing a trailer.

It says nothing about using premium if you need the most miles from a tank of fuel.

So what does premium do? Premium requires more heat to ignite, which means when burning it the powertrain control module may increase boost and advance timing—both of which increase heat—without inducing detonation (engine knock) as readily as when burning regular. Increasing boost and advancing timing allows greater power output, therefore the engine can produce more power burning premium. When high power isn’t required the PCM uses the most efficient fueling strategy possible—whether burning premium or regular.

 

[nikon_addict]

I'm really surprised that you are getting mileage that low, my BS BL averages about 23.5 combined, with about 70/30 City Highway.

 

[TakeTheBlack]

..
For those who use premium fuel, have you noticed an improvement in MPG compared to regular?
Thanks!
''

What about chemistry..? Is there corn alcohol in "low octane" (and not in "high octane").
If so, does that mean anything?

I decided to go all in for Indy 500 weekend and drive to the Speedway on Premium.
I filled up in Effingham Illinois for $68. I then spent the night in Terra Haute Super 8 for $68.

I like my carbon from underground, but did not feel any difference.

Heading home in a strong headwind at 80mph I did feel something vibrating under my floorboard. It went away at slower speeds. The Dragon Engine downshifted maybe twice the whole trip. Three liters of pure turbo fire!

Sponsored