We found a newly-opened Murphy's Express station, and they have ethanol-free 87 octane available. I know that the EF is better for the engine, I was wondering if it would give better power and/or fuel mileage. We pull a 6500# travel trailer, and some long-range trips are planned, would it be advantageous to run the fuel on these trips?

For the last several weeks we've been using the SPORT mode of the transmission, and the meter is showing to be giving us about 2 mpg better than running in standard mode. Has anyone else found to get better mileage running in Sport mode vs. standard mode? We have a trip from Austin down to Beaumont, TX next week and I plan on filling up before we leave and see what mileage we get on a long trip.

 

Go HERE and see if your gas stations are listed! I would ONLY use top tier gas as they are certified to have the most cleaners and additives to keep our engines running the best!!

 

We have found that higher octane premium fuels such as 91 or 93 octane will usually provide you with the best mileage possible. These vehicles are designed to add timing as the knock sensors report back little to zero knock when running higher octane fuel. So if I had to choose between 87 ethanol free and 93 e10, I would definitely run the 93 e10 to get the best performance and mileage possible. They also use a learned octane rating to make decisions like this, so it can often times take a full tank or two to really see the full benefit of higher octane fuels.

Sport mode can cause these trucks to keep the RPMs up higher in certain situations which can cause the truck to burn more fuel than normal drive mode, but it's different from one driver and environment to the next really. I believe the owners manuals tell you to run premium fuel for optimal performance in severe duty and towing situations as well, I know for sure the ecoboost trucks at least owners manuals say this. I see you have a 5.0L, but the 2.7 and 3.5 ecoboost trucks for example are designed for best performance when running premium fuels and their factory HP specs also say that figure is achieved when using 93 octane fuel in the fine print. So we've found the F-150 3.5L for example typically loses anywhere from 12-15% of their factory rated 365 HP on average due to lack of octane causing knock to pull back timing and in turn decreases boost. So I always suggest to our customers to run the highest octane available in their area for the best results in performance and efficiency as well.

 

Ethanol-free is not better for your truck since it is designed for EF. Zero benefit.

Higher octane MAY help your towing.

You should be using Tow/Haul mode.

 

Well, IF you read the MANUAL, Ford recommends Premium when towing. You know, the manual some here preach about it being read and followed.

 

Do you really believe that first sentence in your post? Every engine since 1995 was designed to run alcohol, that does not mean it is better for your engine. You get better MPG without alcohol in your gas

 

You get better mileage because there are more BTUs in a gallon of "pure" gas versus a gallon of E10. But, your engine is designed for E10... running it won't hurt a thing.

E85 in a motor not designed for it (like the EB)? Of course that will cause issues. And you may not agree with the corn lobby or the presence of ethanol in gas in the first place... but that doesn't mean that it will cause harm to the engine.

 

I have burned moonshine in late model engines. Doesn't hurt a thing.

 

What a waste.

 

When we are pulling our travel trailer I ALWAYS use the Haul/Tow mode, and have also switched to Manual in the transmission. When we were in northeastern Arkansas hills last year I really liked how the truck performed. It seems to me, while letting the computer decide the shift points, it holds RPM's very long before shifting, even while running on level ground or downhill. It's been a while since I've looked through the manual for towing recommendations, but I do remember usually using at least mid-grade 89 octane gas while towing. It's been since last October since we've gone camping so I don't remember what kind of gas we had been using. Now with the gas prices rising, it's going to be a bit more $$'s going into the tank.

The trip to Beaumont is without the trailer, so I just wanted to see how the truck does with the ethanol-free regular 87 octane. If the meter is correct, just by driving around town in Sport mode, the highway mileage should be very good indeed. The gas mileage difference between my wife, the primary daily driver, and myself, is fairly significant. I guess part of that fact is that when I'm driving we usually have longer trips planned.