octane observations

[Adam Janowski]

hi

87 vs 93 octane gasoline in 2015 explorer PUI 3.7

"seemed" a bit peppier with a full tank of 93, but the rest of my first 5 or 6 tankfuls has been 87 octane.

i seem to get 19.1MPG on average over last 1200 miles with mostly 87 and mixed commute type of driving

is the factory 304hp engine rating on 87 octane or higher and has anyone noticed appreciable benefits of premium fuel?

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Adam.
I don't know about the 3.7 engine but the Manual for the 3.5 in the retail Explorer recommends 87 octane with premium recommended for peak performance and/or towing. The advertised HP and Torque figures in the retail were achieved using 94 octane. Going by the majority of posts on regular vs premium, most seem to agree that there is little difference in regular driving and that the extra cost of using premium outweighs and perceived performance. There have been several discussions on this.

Peter

 

[pdxgeek]

No need to run premium on the NA 3.7. I still run it in my EB 3.5, I need that OAR to read -1, not 0. Thats a holdover from my RS though.

 

[Volksjager]

Any experience on e-85? I’ve ran 3 tanks so far and it seems a lot peppier. It’s 2.09 where I’m at so it’s about a dollar less than premium. However I only get 200 miles on a tank. That’s about 14mpg.

 

[peterk9]

Any experience on e-85? I’ve ran 3 tanks so far and it seems a lot peppier. It’s 2.09 where I’m at so it’s about a dollar less than premium. However I only get 200 miles on a tank. That’s about 14mpg.

Gas mileage decline on E85 is normal since there is less actual gasoline in it. It contains 85% ethanol and only 15% gasoline.

Peter

 

[KayGee]

Similar to my experience. Unless e85 is more than 20% less than reg, I don't bother with it. Every once in a while though, some stations have a significant enough difference (25-30% or more) to reg that makes it worthwhile.