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92 vs 93 octane question

12K views 44 replies 15 participants last post by  Soccerluvr4 
#1 ·
There are very few gas stations in the state of WA. that carry 93 octane gas, as they all carry 92 octane. I know that the knock sensor for the engine is able to pull timing if it detects any knock, but my questions are these.......I know that Ford says the 5.0 "requires" 93 octane. right?

Will 92 octane do any long term damage to the engine?

How much performance am I leaving on the table running 92?

Is the 5.0 a flex fuel engine, and will it run OK on both 10% ethanol and ethanol free gas?

Thanks in advance for any help here......
 
G
#3 ·
On factory tune you can run 87 or 93 like mentioned above. There's maybe like a 8 to 10 whp jump from 87 to 93 if i can remember. 92 is fine. My car ran fine with 10% ethanol mix. Most gas is. If I'm not mistaken the wideband is adjusted for the 10% ethanol mix or mine is anyway. If you have a tune that requires 93 then you'll need to run 93.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Mustang Evolution mobile app
 
#4 · (Edited)
The Mustang is NOT a "Flex Fuel" vehicle, meaning, you can't put E85 in it (without extensive modifications).
It does however run just fine on regular gasolines from 87,89,91,92 and 93. All of these contain 10% Ethanol unless you find the rare gas stations which still offer ethanol free gas. If you have access to one ,I would buy any grade of ethanol free over higher octane.

*I drove a free Ford test vehicle that ran only on E85 as well as many of my coworkers. Those vehicles were all junk within 6 months due to fuel related issues. This was a few years ago as Ford adjusted how they built their Flex fuel vehicles but the experience convinced me that Ethanol in my vehicles, lawn mowers, boat motors etc is NOT a positive thing. (Unless you're a corn farmer selling that crap).
Look here for your states stations that have ethanol free gas.
http://www.buyrealgas.com
Or here
http://pure-gas.org
 
#6 ·
The only modifications needed are 47lb injectors, and a tune. FAR from extensive.

It's definitely not crap. Basically cheap race gas. Let's you increase timing safely, since it would be a higher octane level than 93. Basically the only downside is a few MPG loss.
 
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#7 ·
im sure it has performance gains. The fleet vehicles Ford gave us that only used E85 had serious issues time after time over a two year period. Most were crushed after 6 months or so and you got a new one with more tweaks and attempts to make them marketable to the public. The vehicles were: Taurus SHO, CVPI, Mustang 4.0, Expedition 5.4
We went through about 30 of them.
Don't forget E85 and the 10% blend wasn't started because it's a miracle drug, it was forced by the gub-mint.
Your long term experience just running E85 may not leave you happy with it.
 
#9 ·
Been running straight e85 in my 10 sec street mustang for years....zero problems.
My 2011 flex fuel F150 has run Gasoline, E85 and any mix in between perfectly since....2011. e85 is awesome.
 
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#31 · (Edited)
91 only here in California.

California:
Home of the strictest emissions in the world and the crappiest gas in the country.

Why?
Because you don't need a fast car to support illegal immigrants, Silly.
 
#32 ·
#34 ·
For those living in the higher elevations, it is not uncommon to see only lower octane fuel available at most gas stations. This is due to the lower cylinder pressures that are experienced at higher altitudes. It becomes less necessary to reduce the speed of the flash point of gasoline, by raising the octane rating. The higher the elevation, the lower the air pressure. It is the high cylinder pressure that, in most cases, causes detonation, thus requiring a raised octane rating to compensate for it.
 
#35 ·
Anchorage is near sea level though lol

Sent from the Death Star.
 
#36 ·
Yes. But if you look at a globe, Alaska is way up to the North, which is much higher than say Australia, which is far down in the southern hemisphere. Due to your geographical location on earth...

Lol. Who am I kidding?
I have no idea why you have such crappy gas in Anchorage.

Maybe write a letter to your congressman.
 
#44 ·
Here in the East Bay too, but 16 gallons won't get you far.
Those stations are typically hundreds of miles apart.
I get e85 there and fill up a couple drums at a time.
 
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