Guest auser99 Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 I know the manual for Fusion states only 87 is required, however, anyone using premium fuel 91 or 93? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bailey151 Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 You will get more HP (in the ecoboosts anyway) & a bit more mpg........is it worth it? Only way to know is to try it & run the numbers. Also premium doesn't have ethanol so that will get you better mpg.........but see above, enough to cover the cost? FWIW - car runs fine on RUG (2.0L) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryG Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 If the manual says 87 octane, you will get better MPG and performance with 87 octane. Don't waste your money on higher octane that will reduce MPG and performance. Higher octane is to reduce pre-ignition (pinging) which you don't have with 87 octane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryblauser Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 (edited) I am NOT an expert, but I have issues with both responses 2 & 3. As far as I am aware, metro areas which don't meet fed clean air minimum requirements require all gas to contain ethanol. The higher octane is there for knock suppression, but, the computers fight knock at lower octane by changing timing which robs performance. The '05 PT Cruiser I had would get slightly better mileage and yield slightly more "snap" with 91 octane but it tested to be not worth the cost premium. To be certain of the answer to your question, I suggest you try a full tank of mid-grade and see how your car behaves and how it affects mileage. You will NOT get better mileage and performance with the lower octane. The manual listing means the 87 grade is entirely sufficient for normal operation. Edited January 12, 2013 by terryblauser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryG Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 I am NOT an expert, but I have issues with both responses 2 & 3.As far as I am aware, metro areas which don't meet fed clean air minimum requirements require all gas to contain ethanol. The higher octane is there for knock suppression, but, the computers fight knock at lower octane by changing timing which robs performance. The '05 PT Cruiser I had would get slightly better mileage and yield slightly more "snap" with 91 octane but it tested to be not worth the cost premium. To be certain of the answer to your question, I suggest you try a full tank of mid-grade and see how your car behaves and how it affects mileage. You will NOT get better mileage and performance with the lower octane. The manual listing means the 87 grade is entirely sufficient for normal operation. Most engines today have a knock Sensor which is a tuned accelerometer that converts engine vibration to an electrical signal. The PCM uses this signal to determine the presents of engine knock and retard the spark timing. If the engine is designed to use 87 octane and does not recommend a higher octane to improve performance, than most likely it will not. In other words, some engines manuals today will state if performance will improve with higher octane gas. Higher octane fuels just have additives added to slowdown the burning process of the fuel to do the same thing the PCM does by retarding the timing. The spark is going to be adjusted by the PCM in either case, so why use a slower burning fuel with additives you don't need. Changing fuel types for increasing snap is questionable. First of all, the PCM stores short term and long term fuel maps to increase efficiency with stored air-fuel ratios memory maps. The change in fuel types cause the PCM to relearn these fuel maps based on new engine loads and RPM's. My experiences in the relearning of fuel maps is lower MPG with higher octane fuels. Even changing the percentage of ethanol going to straight gas drops my MPG at first. I had this happen on vacation in my '11 Explorer. The gas station I had to fill-up at had straight regular gas only, and my fuel maps were adjusted to E10. At first, my MPG dropped but starting getting better than the E10 as the tank was used up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboTi Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 (edited) The owners manual states regular is the normal fuel. It also states "Premium will provide improved performance for severe duty usage such as trailer tow", and I would add, sport driving like I do on occasion. Some of the car magazines have even got this wrong by stating in the specs that premium is required. Before I got the car, I was planning on running premium all the time, but I feel the increased cost probably isn't worth it. But I will try a couple tanks, probably this summer when the weather warms up and I can roll the sunroof back and I'll have enough experience with it to know how much of a detectable difference it is. My guess is this only applies to the two turbo engines, as they are tuned to a higher level of performance. My Mustang, on the other hand, states premium fuel is REQUIRED, but it is safe to run on regular, but you will get a reduced level of performance. I only run premium in that car. Edited January 12, 2013 by TurboTi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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