What grade fuel to use ( normal, plus, premium )

[Lil Red Broncette]

Do not be concerned if the engine sometimes knocks lightly. However, if the engine knocks heavily while using fuel with the recommended octane rating, contact an authorized dealer to prevent any engine damage.

Mine "knocks lightly" regardless of what fuel I put in and dealer claims it is normal. It does go away when engine warms up.

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[76to22]

Mine "knocks lightly" regardless of what fuel I put in and dealer claims it is normal. It does go away when engine warms up.

Timing is off. Premature combustion. But, if it's going away, sounds like the computer is taking care of that. If the knocking keeps coming back though, it will eventually become a problem. Try running 91 consistently, spark plugs, and regular oil changes might help. Check oil level every couple days before you start the vehicle, between oil change intervals.

 

[HBTFD]

87. I’m surprised at the number of bronco drivers that use 93 to make their rig run like a race car.

If I needed more range I would put non ethanol 90 or higher in the tank.

 

[stampede1]

I went back and forth. I use 87 E0.

Have you seen what ethanol can do to an engine?

better get an oil separator too. Seen the blow by build up on these turbos after 30k, 40k, 50k…you get the jist.

I get better fuel efficiency on 87 E0 than 93.

Manual says 87 is recommended. You can always use more but best bang for your buck, 87 E0. I do not do spirited driving daily and can average 20 mpg in my bronco Raptor. My father-in-law gets almost 25 mpg with it in his 2.3 badlands.

to each there own. But if overall care on engine is why you use 93…I suppose there are additional steps you are taking for engine health for a ecoboost turbo.

more to it than just fuel octane rating.

Getting a 20 mpg average is extraordinarily rare for a bronco raptor.

 

[timhood]

Cool story bro, but yeah lot of people with optioned broncos are in the 50’s, including all the people that paid adm which a lot of people did (I didn’t) so yes this is a 50k vehicle when optioned.

In that case, might as well say it's a $100K vehicle because there are surely Raptor owners who paid that much.

 

[timhood]

87. I’m surprised at the number of bronco drivers that use 93 to make their rig run like a race car.

If I needed more range I would put non ethanol 90 or higher in the tank.

Agreed. This vehicle is a heavy brick. We aren't going to be out-gunning vehicles on the road, premium or not, nor should we be trying. I save premium for the 600+ horsepower car that rewards me for it.

 

[omi205]

Interesting thread. Thanks for bringing this up. Just hit 2,000 miles and have been using 87 up until now. I based this on the sticker on the inside of the gas door that says "87+". However, after reading through some the posts in this thread, the owners manual, and then googling as to WHY turbo engines are more in need of higher octane gasoline...I will now switch to at minimum 91+ gasoline.

Understanding the mechanics of WHY really helped me make this decision/switch...as the 2.7 has not one but two turbos (2.3 has one turbo). For those that do not know, a turbo engine will have higher compression within the cylinder (before the spark plug actually sparks) and thus could/will lead to pre-mature ignition if lower octane gasoline is used. Lower octane gasoline will ignite easier/before higher octane gasoline. The higher the octane, the more compression the gasoline can handle before igniting (no premature ignition). This is what causes the "knocking" or "pinging" sounds that people eventually complain about over time. Premature ignition (from compression) is definitely not good for the engine as the ignition process is a highly timed process and should only be happening/igniting from the spark plugs. The gasoline should not be igniting until the spark plug causes the ignition, not from compression. Basically if you use sub 91 octane, the gasoline can/is igniting before the spark plug actually sparks. This is not good. I wasn't aware of this so I learned something new and now have a better understanding of this entire process/lower vs higher octane gasoline.

Officially switching over to 91+ octane. Thanks OP.

 

[KC5MO]

Both will work, but what I have found is with regular (89 octane) I get up to 17.4 MPG city/highway and with premium (93 octane) I get up to 18.9 MPG city/highway. That's hand calculated and not the computer. I want to test the mid grade and see what I get.

 

[Combustion_King]

Due to the twin turbo aspect and my low gear riding off-road and i lke MoPowa. My bronco has only ever had 93 except the tank they gave me to start with.
The difference in price is not a factor to me

 

[Blaven]

I only put 93 in mine.

 

[MadMan4BamaNATL]

Interesting reads into the minds of the modern vehicle owner.

Honestly, it’s troubling to learn what some people decide to hold onto to justify their actions. Meaning, I‘ve read a lot of “theory” from maybe 20 or more years ago. No, the ICE engine isn’t new, but they’ve never been what they are now. Technology and increased engineering efficiency alleviate a lot of the misunderstood or outdated advice that so many are clinging to.

All of this talk of ethanol in particular; guys, your Bronco doesn’t have a 2 stroke engine. Yes, ethanol is sticky and sugar, but your brand new Bronco’s engine was made to run on it and yes, it can handle it. If you can get regular access to gas with no ethanol; great, but not many can who don’t live around a marina or the few chains that have it all the time. Driving out of the way to get it is also a waste of gas. Your Bronco and its engine are fine running on the liquid candy.

To the philosophy of extended engine life, please see the statistical data that the average vehicle today is almost 12 years old. That means that a lot of people; roughly 25% are driving cars that are close to 20 years old! Most people barely keep the oil changed, so if a whatever can run for 20 years on candy gas and old conventional oil, I‘m sure your ”new“ Bronco with at least a synthetic oil blend will be just fine.

Further, the bigger liquid for you to focus on is the oil. You want to consider full synthetic over conventional or a blend, and yes, the Ford Motorcraft is actually a very good full synthetic (Brand here matters a little due to oil specialization to match engineering; a tad). But, even if you grab just any synthetic and not blow it out and grab Amsoil every change, you’re good. And you’re not helping by changing full synthetic every 3-5K miles; you’re just wasting money. The computer knows better than you when to change the oil and it’s not a conspiracy; again, 20 years on the road!

If you want to do premium to speed up your brick shaped truck on the highway where it doesn’t even belong, knock yourselves out, but if you want to only do regular 87, you’ll be fine as long as it’s Top Tier as the manual states.

I run Plus usually just in case the 87 isn’t up to par, but I only ran 93 during break in and will only grab now when someplace cheap or out in the sticks, and the talk of mpg with this rig is a joke, 19 mpg or whatever is just, whatever……

 

[1st 75th ranger]

So the other day I was telling a buddy of mine that regular grade fuel is more than sufficient for his daily commute. He insisted his bronco 4 door wildtrak needs only premium. I let him know that's only really needed and that's a big if only if he is towing something but for his 30 minute commute to work and back its not necessary. So why grade fuel do y'all use ? Do y'all use regular (normal) , plus , or premium ? I personally own a bronco wildtrak 4 door. I really only put normal even when towing something semi small like a jet ski. If I'm correct as well. Might be wrong but I'm the manual it says normal is more than sufficient for any bronco ( I don't know about the new raptor bronco so don't attack me on that )

iv worked at a ford dealer for 3 decades plus and am a level for trainer not a mech
ford suggest but does not recommend higher octanes in many of their products
that means his and my bronco lol will run just find on lower octane but will preform better on higher octane and better fuel economy on the road
that being said as far as turbos go iv tried 104 horse power and had better gains out of e85 products thats just my experience however...
every 3/4 tank i do fill up with the best grade avail just to clean my bronco out

 

[JBlanco]

Interesting reads into the minds of the modern vehicle owner.

Honestly, it’s troubling to learn what some people decide to hold onto to justify their actions. Meaning, I‘ve read a lot of “theory” from maybe 20 or more years ago. No, the ICE engine isn’t new, but they’ve never been what they are now. Technology and increased engineering efficiency alleviate a lot of the misunderstood or outdated advice that so many are clinging to.

All of this talk of ethanol in particular; guys, your Bronco doesn’t have a 2 stroke engine. Yes, ethanol is sticky and sugar, but your brand new Bronco’s engine was made to run on it and yes, it can handle it. If you can get regular access to gas with no ethanol; great, but not many can who don’t live around a marina or the few chains that have it all the time. Driving out of the way to get it is also a waste of gas. Your Bronco and its engine are fine running on the liquid candy.

To the philosophy of extended engine life, please see the statistical data that the average vehicle today is almost 12 years old. That means that a lot of people; roughly 25% are driving cars that are close to 20 years old! Most people barely keep the oil changed, so if a whatever can run for 20 years on candy gas and old conventional oil, I‘m sure your ”new“ Bronco with at least a synthetic oil blend will be just fine.

Further, the bigger liquid for you to focus on is the oil. You want to consider full synthetic over conventional or a blend, and yes, the Ford Motorcraft is actually a very good full synthetic (Brand here matters a little due to oil specialization to match engineering; a tad). But, even if you grab just any synthetic and not blow it out and grab Amsoil every change, you’re good. And you’re not helping by changing full synthetic every 3-5K miles; you’re just wasting money. The computer knows better than you when to change the oil and it’s not a conspiracy; again, 20 years on the road!

If you want to do premium to speed up your brick shaped truck on the highway where it doesn’t even belong, knock yourselves out, but if you want to only do regular 87, you’ll be fine as long as it’s Top Tier as the manual states.

I run Plus usually just in case the 87 isn’t up to par, but I only ran 93 during break in and will only grab now when someplace cheap or out in the sticks, and the talk of mpg with this rig is a joke, 19 mpg or whatever is just, whatever……

Finally! One of the few informed posts on this thread.
The zero ethanol posts are comical on a daily driver. Ethanol absorbs water and it's not recommended if your gas is exposed to ambient and it sits for longer periods of time. For example, I run non ethanol in my boat because depending on the weather, it can sit for a few months. On a vehicle that's used frequently, its ridiculous to use.

 

[JBlanco]

straight from the manual

Your vehicle operates on regular unleaded gasoline with a minimum pump (R+M)/2 octane rating of 87.

For best overall vehicle and engine performance, premium fuel with an octane rating of 91 or higher is recommended.

so, paraphrased as:

87 is 'minimum' requirement and 91+ is recommended

under 87, not covered by warranty

You are not paraphrasing, you are making stuff up to justify your comment. At no point Ford is recommending anything in the manual, they are giving the owner the option between normal use and best performance, again, thats not a reccomendation for either octane.

 

[Compta38]

Mind you I havent even hit 2000 miles yet since picking it up almost a year ago and 600 was the drive home from SAC. Every one of my fill ups have been regular except for one which was 93. I believe I've added Techron one time as well as Oreillys had a BOGO deal. I'm just going to stick with regular and Techron right after oil changes.

Badlands Sasquatch with V6 fwiw.

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