Fuel economy

[TwistedADV]

Thanks for the great answer! I did a little more research on it last night and found some other solutions like adding Boostane. A 32 oz bottle is like 33 bucks and would turn about 6. 36- gallon tanks of 91 to 93 octane. At 5 bucks a fill up, that might not be a bad way to go. I wonder if using an added octane booster each fill up would effect durability. Has anyone on this forum with a 93 tune use Boostane to supplement lower octane gas? It seems to be a common practice in places like California where 91 is typically the max octane available at the pump.

 

[deepblack]

I started with 87 octane and went to 93 octane for more power. Gas mileage stayed the same for me. Knock octane modifier went up from -.4 to +.4. 90 octane zero ethanol same gas mileage but a 0 octane modifier. Ford tunes the engines and quotes rated horsepower and torque for 91 so that makes sense.

As the knock octane modifier goes up you get more spark advance and more horsepower. So if you want to know if your octane booster is working check the KOM through an OBD device before and after and see if it goes up.

 

[Escape Hatch]

Thanks for the great answer! I did a little more research on it last night and found some other solutions like adding Boostane. A 32 oz bottle is like 33 bucks and would turn about 6. 36- gallon tanks of 91 to 93 octane. At 5 bucks a fill up, that might not be a bad way to go. I wonder if using an added octane booster each fill up would effect durability. Has anyone on this forum with a 93 tune use Boostane to supplement lower octane gas? It seems to be a common practice in places like California where 91 is typically the max octane available at the pump.
View attachment 42880

Using Boostane to raise a full 36-gallon tank from 91 to an effective 93 octane does not negatively impact engine durability when it’s used correctly and mixed to the manufacturer’s ratio. Octane boosters like Boostane work by increasing knock resistance, not by making the fuel “hotter,” so the engine is actually better protected against detonation under boost, towing, or high load. In a modern engine with knock sensors and proper fueling, higher octane than required will not cause additional wear; it simply provides more margin against knock. Durability concerns only arise if the product is overdosed, mixed inconsistently, or used to mask an underlying issue such as excessive boost, poor tuning, lean conditions, or overheating. At a proper 91-to-93 blend in a 36-gallon tank, Boostane is generally safe, especially for turbocharged or high-compression engines, and in many cases it can be easier on the engine than running borderline octane and relying on timing pull. The key is consistent dosing, good fuel mixing, and ensuring the engine is otherwise mechanically and thermally healthy.

PS. My responses are purely from ChatGPT.

 

[TwistedADV]

Using Boostane to raise a full 36-gallon tank from 91 to an effective 93 octane does not negatively impact engine durability when it’s used correctly and mixed to the manufacturer’s ratio. Octane boosters like Boostane work by increasing knock resistance, not by making the fuel “hotter,” so the engine is actually better protected against detonation under boost, towing, or high load. In a modern engine with knock sensors and proper fueling, higher octane than required will not cause additional wear; it simply provides more margin against knock. Durability concerns only arise if the product is overdosed, mixed inconsistently, or used to mask an underlying issue such as excessive boost, poor tuning, lean conditions, or overheating. At a proper 91-to-93 blend in a 36-gallon tank, Boostane is generally safe, especially for turbocharged or high-compression engines, and in many cases it can be easier on the engine than running borderline octane and relying on timing pull. The key is consistent dosing, good fuel mixing, and ensuring the engine is otherwise mechanically and thermally healthy.

PS. My responses are purely from ChatGPT.

HA Ha Ha!! I kind of figured it was a ChatGPT answer about two sentences in. Not many people would waste their time describing what octane boosters are.
Of course mixing consistency is key. I don't have an MPT 93 octane PR-X tune so worries here . But now that Lawton, OK just lost their last 93 octane pump, it is at least something to consider for those who live here when spending money on octane specific tunes.

 

[Spamslurpee]

I just did an 1,126 mile road trip (each way) this past week. I got between 17.8MPG and 18.5MPG on the highway. I used 93 octane fuel exclusively during the trip.

 

[TwistedADV]

I just did an 1,126 mile road trip (each way) this past week. I got between 17.8MPG and 18.5MPG on the highway. I used 93 octane fuel exclusively during the trip.

Nice! I am a believer in the 93. My last 4 tanks have been sitting around 18.6 mixed driving. Current tank is 91 since 93 is no longer available in my area and I am watching it drop to just over 17. I don't believe I will ever put 87 in the tank unless absolutely forced to.

 

[Spamslurpee]

Nice! I am a believer in the 93. My last 4 tanks have been sitting around 18.6 mixed driving. Current tank is 91 since 93 is no longer available in my area and I am watching it drop to just over 17. I don't believe I will ever put 87 in the tank unless absolutely forced to.

I watched a whole thing about fuel quality and detergents in gasoline. Evidently, a lot of the big discount gas places like Buc-ee's and Loves have trash gasoline that only have the minimal amount of detergents required by law. Chevron, Exxon, Texaco, Shell, etc. are the way to go for quality fuels. Which makes sense. I've used those places exclusively in the past in vehicles that didn't run right with the cheap crap in them.

My 2001 Camaro SS being one of them. So that's all I used on my road trip.

 

[DirtyBoots]

My 2024 5.0 (stock) just got 21.3 overall from D.C. to Jackson TN to Lakeland FL running 75-80 mph with cruise the majority of the time. 33Hr trip overall.
From FL back to D.C. was 20.8 overall with a strong crosswind and crap traffic. 16 Hr trip straight thru. Both trips were within 0.5 mpg +/- checking manually at every fillup also 87 octane since day one. Tires at 36 psi.

 

[Spamslurpee]

My 2024 5.0 (stock) just got 21.3 overall from D.C. to Jackson TN to Lakeland FL running 75-80 mph with cruise the majority of the time. 33Hr trip overall.
From FL back to D.C. was 20.8 overall with a strong crosswind and crap traffic. 16 Hr trip straight thru. Both trips were within 0.5 mpg +/- checking manually at every fillup also 87 octane since day one. Tires at 36 psi.

My drives were about 17 hours straight through with only a couple stops for fuel, snacks and bathroom breaks here and there. I averaged around 80MPH, but obviously sometimes ran over that and under that at different points depending on speed limits. There is a lot of up and downhill sections on that drive as well. (Parts of Arkansas and Virginia.)

 

[BUFF]

I live in western U.S. and retired. This is not my daily driver and on average only fill the tank but once a month. I do use it for my trips to visit family in California and yes it is very expensive there. My recent trip just got up to 19 mpg. I agree with the top tier gas purchase for both vehicles and may save in the long run with any engine issues. But I have to admit I love putting my foot into it and as long as I get at least 13 mpg I’m ok. With this type of vehicle with the power it has if you are concerned about mpg maybe you should have bought a Maverick.

 

[ReidPfromNC]

So this past long weekend I did some good real world towing with a 1500 mile round trip from Mooresville NC (just north of Charlotte) to NY finger lakes region, Auburn, NY specifically. This involved significant mountain cruising ranging from baseline 700 AMSL to 2800 max, with lots of ups and throughout the entire trip. I’m running the 5.0 with the Whipple and Borla S-Type exh, and limited max speed to 70 mph, and towing the ~3200 lbs boat/trailer combo shown in my profile. On the way up I averaged 14.3 and on the way back 14.7. I attribute the difference mainly to coming back downhill. She tows great, and if I had any complaint it might be that she’s a little louder than I’d like on some of the very hardest short pulls when the 10 speed dropped as far down as 6th gear, but typically 7th was the lowest she’d drop. But flat cruising in tow mode is normally 9th gear and you care barely hear the exhaust different over stock. And to simply satisfy curiosity, on flat ground I did manually go to 10th gear several times and it definitely didn’t record any better mpg, and actually appeared to drop a few times when 10th gear was engaged. Also note that I’m naturally using the mandated premium fuel, which on this trip was all 93. Oh and for those that may have never visited Skaneatles Lake, the water is beautifully clear and the small town is very cool, and with some of the most spectacular boat houses I’ve ever viewed.