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Explorer Sport - fuel?

What grade of fuel do you use in your Sport?

  • Regular 87

    Votes: 34 30.9%
  • mid grade 89

    Votes: 8 7.3%
  • Premium 91-93

    Votes: 58 52.7%
  • I use more than one grade

    Votes: 5 4.5%
  • I'm tuned I have to run Premium

    Votes: 6 5.5%

  • Total voters
    110
I went 240 miles on my last tank and with about 50/50 hwy/city driving in very cold weather I averaged 18 mpg using 91 octane and Winter tires.

Peter
 



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Yeah JE, re: post# 107, lots of misunderstanding there. It was the same thing in the 70's and 80's with 4 barrel (4bbl) carburetors. The comment was, “Oh, a 4 barrel, that must suck back the gas”, when compared to a 2 barrel. Well, yes and no.

If you drove the 4 barrel the same easy manner you drove the 2 barrel, you would get better gas mileage with it, because the 4 barrel ran on only two barrels normally, and those two barrels were smaller in throat diameter than the two (larger) barrels in the 2 barrel, so you got better mixing and combustion efficiency with it when power demand was low.

When you kicked the 4 barrel hard, then the two larger barrels open up in addition to the two smaller barrels and voila, you get lots of power on tap, but you necessarily also consume fuel at a higher rate to get that extra performance.

Kick hard on the 2 barrel, and it's not capable of giving you near the performance, but of course it also is not consuming fuel as fast as the 4 barrel would at full throttle.

Same deal with the twin turbo V6 vs the normally aspirated V6. All that extra power has to come from the fuel, there is only so much chemical energy contained in the fuel, so, quite simply, you have to consume more of it. But you are still using less fuel, and getting more power and torque than a normally aspirated V8, which is not capable of burning fuel as efficiently as a V6, particularly when compared at low power requirements.
 






Don't forget about the added benefits of reduced weight and size of a V6. Both of those contribute to efficiency. A big 5 liter V8 would have been a tight fit in that stubby little nose on the Ex too.
 






I'm at 1500 miles with my 15' sport. Been using regular since day one. After reading the entire thread, I'm going to try premium. Hopefully I notice some difference after a couple of tanks. Then again I hope it's not a placebo lol!
 






I'm at 1500 miles with my 15' sport. Been using regular since day one. After reading the entire thread, I'm going to try premium. Hopefully I notice some difference after a couple of tanks. Then again I hope it's not a placebo lol!

I ran 6 tanks of 93 through it I think it got worse...:salute:
 






There has been nothing but premium in my Ex. I have a Livernois tune. It has been awesome. Just leaks in the back and there are more rattles than a baby convention. Between ****ty brakes and loose parts as well as a GPS system that shows me in the middle of lakes and driving in farmers fields, I'd have to say the only good thing is the Livernois tune. LOL>>>> JUNK VEHICLE>>> STAY AWAY
 






Using the Forum's 'Search' program I found this thread and merged yours with it. There aren't too many things that haven't already been dicussed.
As per the Owner's Guide;

2.0L/3.5L EcoBoost® engines:
Regular unleaded gasoline with a pump (R+M)/2 octane rating of 87 is
recommended. Some stations offer fuels posted as “Regular” with an
octane rating below 87, particularly in high altitude areas. Fuels with
octane levels below 87 are not recommended. Premium fuel will provide
improved performance and is recommended for severe duty usage such
as trailer tow
.

It is up to you which you wish to use. I started off using 87 and then tried 91 and didn't really notice any difference given my driving style. I have had my MKT almost a year now and have yet to really 'open it up'.

Peter

WHAT A PUTTS ! Even the Shetlands think so.....Plum
 






There has been nothing but premium in my Ex. I have a Livernois tune. It has been awesome. Just leaks in the back and there are more rattles than a baby convention. Between ****ty brakes and loose parts as well as a GPS system that shows me in the middle of lakes and driving in farmers fields, I'd have to say the only good thing is the Livernois tune. LOL>>>> JUNK VEHICLE>>> STAY AWAY

Interesting, I believe I mentioned this before about our 2013...... "JUNK VEHICLE" I agree 100%.....best regards Plum
 






Missed you Plum. ;)

Peter
 






Gasoline Requirements

What kind of gasoline is required in the 2016 Explorer Sports?
I've references that it takes regular, other references that it requires premium.
What gasoline are most people here using, Regular, Mid Grade, or Premium.

Thanks.

Mark
 






Owners manual states 87. I use mid-grade @89
 






Use 87 when you want to save on fuel costs and you don't plan on driving aggressive. 93 if you plan on pushing it/towing with it.
 






Ford says that 87-octane regular unleaded gasoline is OK to use for the EcoBoost turbocharged 3.5-liter V6, but Ford uses 93-octane gas when they run their horsepower and torque tests on these engines. This implies that you'll get more toque and horsepower when you use premium 93-octane fuel, but these engines will run fine on regular unleaded.

Personally, I use top-tier 93-octane unleaded in my EcoBoost-powered 2016 Explorer Platinum. I believe the better detergent additives in a top-tier fuel are beneficial in a direct-injected engine like the 3.5-liter EcoBoost, and I seem to get better miles-per-gallon results when I use top-tier gasoline rather than a fuel that isn't classified.

For more info on top-tier gasoline, look here: http://www.toptiergas.com/
 






Here is what the Federal Trade Commission has to say. Think about it, if a higher octane gasoline provided better fuel economy you would have refiners making all kinds of claims and the EPA would require cars to use fuel that provided better MPG.


FTC Statement

Does your non-fancy car need fancy gas?

No. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), charged with consumer protection, there’s no benefit to putting premium gas in the tank of a car that does not need it.


"The EPA requires that all gasoline contain engine cleaning detergent additives, so premium isn’t better than regular at preventing the buildup of engine deposits.

“In most cases," the FTC says, "using a higher octane gasoline than your owner's manual recommends offers absolutely no benefit.”

The exception is if you hear your car “knocking.” The rattling sound is triggered when gasoline combusts before it’s ignited by the spark plug, which disrupts the proper working of the engine. Per How Stuff Works, pre-ignited fuel does not burn completely, and leaves behind debris that makes things worse over time.
 






FTC Statement

Does your non-fancy car need fancy gas?

No. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), charged with consumer protection, there’s no benefit to putting premium gas in the tank of a car that does not need it.

“In most cases," the FTC says, "using a higher octane gasoline than your owner's manual recommends offers absolutely no benefit.”

In this case, there is actually benefit to using higher octane gas because the engine can actually make use of it with the turbos, which before Ecoboost's direct injection, required the use of premium gas or else you'd knock all over the place because of the pressures associated with forced induction. That and the engine was designed to take advantage of the premium fuel.

Indeed, if a person is towing, they definitely should use premium fuel in an engine that can actually use it like the Ecoboost engines.
 






What the FTC says is correct but isn't the whole story. High octane fuel will have no added benefit if your vehicle is not timed for it or cannot adjust its timing to it.

The EcoBoost engine in the sport IS capable of adjusting its timing to take advantage of higher octane fuel. It will do it over time and under certain conditions, so switching to a higher octane for one tank may not be enough for it to readjust. It will perform somewhat better with high octane and I think I have seen a little better mpg but haven't been able to substantiate that.

I've run my sport on 89 and 93. Both run fine. It doesn't suffer much from 89 but I usually run 93 for the little extra get-up-and-go but if you need to save a few bucks there's nothing wrong with it on 89.
 






Your engine adjusts immediately to the octane of the fuel to reduce pinging, that is why lower octane fuels do not ping., You are correct that you can get slightly higher performance from a higher octane fuel, the engine will run slightly higher compression before then spark plug ignites thus more "pep". However, as per Consumer Reports the added performance is no where close to the added cost of premium fuel. You will not get better gas mileage.
 






What kind of gasoline is required in the 2016 Explorer Sports?
I've references that it takes regular, other references that it requires premium.
What gasoline are most people here using, Regular, Mid Grade, or Premium.

Thanks.

Mark
I ran my Ecoboost on 91 octane for several months but ended up going back to 87. The only difference I noticed was the price.;)
The Manual covers the type of fuel to use. You can download the latest one here;
https://owner.ford.com/tools/accoun...s-search-results.html#/ymm/2016/Ford/Explorer

Peter
 






FWIW, based on today's average nationwide prices mid grade is + .17 more than 87 and premium is + .52. We live at altitude for the winter and our regular is 85 octane, cars run fine. My gas mileage is no different on 85 than it is on 87.
 



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FWIW, based on today's average nationwide prices mid grade is + .17 more than 87 and premium is + .52. We live at altitude for the winter and our regular is 85 octane, cars run fine. My gas mileage is no different on 85 than it is on 87.

Actually for the 2016 there is a warning against using 85 octane in the owners manual.
 






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