Getportfolio

Plenty of threads on this but...

I have been using 87 octane in my 12 GTCS since day one.

Last week, I added a tank of 93 octane and I can certainly tell a difference!

The car idles/sounds better, my tail pipes are cleaner, and honestly it feels like the car does not have to work as hard under acceleration. (If that makes sense)

Has anyone had similar experience?

I may never switch back at this rate.

2011gt5.0

93 octane is recommended. If you run 87 you will lose 12-15hp.

Getportfolio

That's what I heard. I never used it before because I
Thought that wasn't enough power to notice for the price. I stand corrected.

Jazzman442

The ECU in these Mustangs is very fast and knows what octane you are using. There is a hugh difference when you move up the Octane in these cars. They love advanced timing and it will give it to you if you have the right Octane. I have been running Tier One 93 since Day one. The dealer even put the first Tank of the same.

SilrBult

I've used 87,91 & 93 at various times and I can't really feel any difference. I agree that the horsepower difference is only 12-15 and anyone with any dragstrip experience knows that 10 horsepower is generally worth about .01 of a second and 1 mph in the quarter. So even 15 horsepower is only going to be worth maybe .015 and 1.5 mph at best. You really need more than this to actually feel the difference. Now you can make yourself believe that the 93 is a major boost, but even experienced racers usually need at least .025-.03 and around 3 mph to really be sure. I asked the service manager at my local Ford dealer how long it would take for the ECU to recalibrate itself when using higher grade fuels and was told that it would happen pretty quickly so that agrees with what has been said previously. I use 93 whenever I plan to run the car hard mostly to prevent any chance of detonation, otherwise 87 is fine and I can save enough money over the course of a year to buy a set of tires or other neat toys.

Getportfolio

Thinking it may be a good idea to run a tank of 93 every 3 tanks of 87 just too keep the car healthy?.,,

2011gt5.0

You will feel the difference. On a warm day you may lose more hp and the timing may adjust timing more just my 2 cents

ElkGroveFordGuy

I have ran 91 octane since tank one! (91 octane is the highest I can get in CA)
The diffrence between 87 and 91 in my area is about $5 a tank!
Which I drive about 10,000 miles a year that's only about $175 a year!
So for $0.48 a day I get 15+ extra horse power! Yes please!

NC14GT

I'm with you. If I can't swing $175 for my Mustang in a year I might as well not own it. I only drive half that amount so 87 octane is out of my vocabulary for local driving. Insurance costs, taxes, all the unpleasant things in life increase in large increments regularly, so I can certainly spend some $$ for my own Mustang.

tom281

FYI the factory tune is based on 91 octane according to my tuner. So running 87 will likely pull timing and running 93 will def add timing, I've seen this in data logging the factory tune.

Jazzman442

I'm so Confused. Why Would some one By a pure Performance car and worry about what It costs for the Gasoline that makes the car last and performance at its best?

I live in Florida and some regular cars you could not Run 87 It would Ping all day long.

Have you seen what it costs for an oil change?

Getportfolio

Not everyone wants to buy premium gas when your car runs on the cheaper gas.

Not about the pennies saved.. It's about the concept of saving in general. May not matter in the grand scheme to some but the concept outweighs all.

JoeMidnight

91 octane is about .18 more per liter here in Ontario. I'd be looking at roughly $9-$10 per fillup (each week) over the 87 stuff.


not practical for a DD commuter like myself.


I would probably still use 91 now and then if my v6 could actually benefit from it. 87 it is I agree. I rather just save myself the $500 a year in the extra fuel costs and buy mods and tweak the car

5.M0NSTER

The ONLY time I ever put premium in my car is when I'm doing a track weekend. I gas up with 93 to get full performance and not to have to worry about knock.

But on the street it's a waste of octane if you ask me. I can't tell the difference 8hp makes in a 3600lb car (2014s are rates 412 on 87 and 420 on 91). And I don't spend 20-30 minutes between 4000 and 7000 RPM on the street either, like I do at the track. So I see no benefit. I tun 87 on the street. Car is plenty fast with 87 in it.

Nice thing is, you can run what you want. Ford gave us a choice . Either way won't hurt any.

shaneyusa

I don't get it. Did they buy the car to look at it? I bought mine for the driving experience. Love the looks, but I want the rush I get when I drive it. Have ran nothing but 91 octane since day one. No 93 available here or I would use it. I also run non-ethanol whenever I can. Figure the better the fuel, the longer the life, and the more fun per mile.

Coyote5-0

The cost of premium is only a few dollars extra per tank, its worth it to run 93 IMO. I tried 87 once just to see what it would feel like, and I was taking a long highway trip. Omg, I couldn't wait to burn all that out and refill with 93. It felt so much slower.

JoeMidnight

its nice to have options with the GT! V6, you don't. its fine. 300HP+ car running 87 octane is perfectly okay by me.

5.M0NSTER

I think you guys are experiencing a placebo effect of higher octane gas.

There is NO WAY you can feel the change in acceleration. 8hp increase will give you a theoretical acceleration difference of 1.9%. Your body is not physically capable of sensing such a minute difference. You need sensitive measuring equipment to capture that difference.

5.M0NSTER

So the V6 cars don't make more power with higher octane? I figured they make a few HP more.

JoeMidnight

be careful 5.Monster. you don't want to go down this road, trust me lol.


some people will argue things much sillier like dry wiper blades may scratch your windshield hahahahaha. Who knows how crazy they may when reading your comment.