Choice of gas

[ArgonV]

Re: Choice of gas

I run 89. The car manual says it will take regular just fine. I infact ran regular for the first year of owning with no problems. But now I run 89 as it's a bit more peppy, and I get better gas milage with it.

[joe166]

Re: Choice of gas

That is nonsense! I used to run premium in both my cars until I went for a ride with the Service Manager of the Lexus dealership that works on my wifes car. He used regular and said he has never used any other gas. He also told us to use premium and when I called him on it he said he didn't want to go against the manufacturers recommendation.

As to not using a gas with ethanol or any other alcohol derivative, good luck! Every pump in the state of Florida has a big sticker on it that states that by law it must contain up to 10% ethanol. If you get gas without ethanol, it is blind luck. The only stations that say they never add ethanol in Florida is Marathon Oil, but there aren't very many of them around where I live.

I have used regular almost exclusively for the past two years. Before that, I used to mix regular and premium to get to 91 octane. The cheapest gas available. Despite my many COPS failures and the changing of several plugs no one has ever mentioned carbon deposits or anything of the sort.

On the few occasions when I have used premium I have not noticed any difference in performance or fuel economy, although it is logical that there would be some.

I guess if I didn't use my car as a daily driver I might not care if I wasted 40 or 50 cents a gallon on premium (nothing frosts me as much as more than 10 cents difference between the various grades), but since I drive about 15 to 20,000 miles per year, and average about 15-16 mpg, it would add up to a decent amount of money.

Bottom line...you pays your money and you takes your choice. BUT it is not as clear cut as some have said, in my opinion. Depends on how much you drive your car, but I have never noticed any difference whatsoever with regular.

I am kind of turned off by the "Nothing is too good for my baby" comments. I won't hurt my car, but I don't think of it as though it were my baby (or even my dog!) Although I make a good living, I have better things to do with my money than to throw it into a bottomless well for no reason.

[ArgonV]

Re: Choice of gas

I too use my car for daily driving, I should add. I think this may infact keep away the carbon deposits as I take many long road trips at 75+ mph.

[FUN X 3]

Re: Choice of gas

Joe, you really need to stop holding back and tell us how you really feel!

[tbird6t4]

Re: Choice of gas

Joe!

15 to 16 MPG? Man you must do a lot of stop and go driving or have your foot into it pretty deep all the time!

There is the subject of a new thread! Anyone care to get that one started?

[fums6]

Re: Choice of gas

Try it for yourself. I did. The car just doesn't have as much giddy-up and go with regular. It was proof enough for me. I can't tell much difference between good middle grade and premium.

[Leroy]

Re: Choice of gas

MMMM,Lets see here. At 16 miles per gallon, you bought 1,250 gallons of gas to go 20K miles and if you bought the cheap stuff and saved twenty cents a gallon you saved $250.00. But if you would've bought the higher grade gas and say improved your average mileage up to say 18 MPG, you would've only had to buy 1,111 gallons of gas to go 20K miles. A savings of 139 gallons of gas and probably alot better performance and maybe less maintenance in the future. I'm not sure what my mileage is in the city but I know I can get close to 25 MPG on the highway because I've checked it. And I'm staying with the higher octane. Leroy

[JAB02LHS]

Re: Choice of gas

That is nonsense! I used to run premium in both my cars until I went for a ride with the Service Manager of the Lexus dealership that works on my wifes car. He used regular and said he has never used any other gas. He also told us to use premium and when I called him on it he said he didn't want to go against the manufacturers recommendation.
I wouldn't care either,
if I got a new Company Car every year!
The cheapest gas available. Despite my many COPS failures and the changing of several plugs
Maybe the retarded timing is straining you components????
On the few occasions when I have used premium I have not noticed any difference in performance or fuel economy, although it is logical that there would be some.
You have to drive a little harder!
I guess if I didn't use my car as a daily driver I might not care if I wasted 40 or 50 cents a gallon on premium (nothing frosts me as much as more than 10 cents difference between the various grades), but since I drive about 15 to 20,000 miles per year, and average about 15-16 mpg, it would add up to a decent amount of money.
I've never seen more than 10¢ spread between grades
Bottom line...you pays your money and you takes your choice. BUT it is not as clear cut as some have said, in my opinion. Depends on how much you drive your car, but I have never noticed any difference whatsoever with regular.
Although I make a good living, I have better things to do with my money than to throw it into a bottomless well for no reason.
Maybe you need a

[joe166]

Re: Choice of gas

MMMM,Lets see here. At 16 miles per gallon, you bought 1,250 gallons of gas to go 20K miles and if you bought the cheap stuff and saved twenty cents a gallon you saved $250.00. But if you would've bought the higher grade gas and say improved your average mileage up to say 18 MPG, you would've only had to buy 1,111 gallons of gas to go 20K miles. A savings of 139 gallons of gas and probably alot better performance and maybe less maintenance in the future. I'm not sure what my mileage is in the city but I know I can get close to 25 MPG on the highway because I've checked it. And I'm staying with the higher octane. Leroy

Good for you. I am firmly in favor of free choice. In fact, I have spent most of my adult life working to guarantee you that right. If you want to use your money that is your prerogative (as long as it is not Federal bailout money) but in your zeal to convert people to your point of view, lets read what I posted rather than extrapolate from what you read. I get 15 or 16 mpg around town. I also have gotten over 25 mpg on the highway every time that I have kept it under 80 mph. One time I kept it under 60 mph and I got over 29 mpg. On regular grade gas. I check my mileage on almost every tank of gas. As far as 20 cents a gallon difference between regular and premium, if most stations in my area only boosted the price by a dime per grade, I would probably use premium more often. It is more like 30 to 40 cents between grades or some goofy 3 cents extra for midgrade and 35 cents extra for premium. There is no rhyme or reason that I can fathom. I would love to see someone show me exactly how using regular grade gasoline could in any way affect "maintenance" on my vehicle. I have had only multiple COPS failures and the other standard failures like the transmission additive, the power steering recall and routine oil changes. I have seen absolutely no difference in the performance of my car on regular and on premium although I am sure there could be a slight but measurable difference.

[FritsB]

Re: Choice of gas

In Holland we have three choices.
Normal lead free = 91 Octane
Euro lead free = 95 Octane
Super Plus = 98 Octane

I drive my Bird on all three now and then and don't feel any difference in performance whatsoever. Mostly I take the 95 Octane.

[Sumerbird]

Re: Choice of gas

I run the premium,, the car likes it and yes thats what Ford asks me to put in the tank .

[justjon]

Re: Choice of gas

I hate to say ...but do You suppose that there is any corelation between "regular" gas and COP problems. As a faitful premium user my only Cop problems in 44,000 miles have been of the highway patrol variety, maybe regular gas is more affective in handling that problem?

[blue731]

Re: Choice of gas

Nothing like piling on - but +1 more for using Premium gasoline in the TBird. There is a good reason for using premium, and I'll give the high level, 10,000 foot version here.

Octane is a retardant. Regular gasoline detonates faster and hotter than premium, because it contains less octane. Premium gasoline detonates slower, and the engine runs cooler because it contains more octane, or retardant. While it is true that the computer will adjust the timing slightly to compensate for the hotter detonation of regular, it isn't what the engine and computer is set up for. Most high performance cars use High Octane. Air cooled engines in Harley's use high octane to keep the engine a bit cooler under heavy load, and high heat conditions.

This is, more or less, why you would want to use high octane.

[tbird6t4]

Re: Choice of gas

I hate to say ...but do You suppose that there is any corelation between "regular" gas and COP problems. As a faitful premium user my only Cop problems in 44,000 miles have been of the highway patrol variety, maybe regular gas is more affective in handling that problem?

I agree, I have just hit the 40.000 mile mark and I have had exactly the same # and type of Cop problems....radar!

Other than that, I maintain the car with regular oil changes with synthetic oil (yes it too is more expensive) and 91 to 93 Octane. No repair bills what-so-ever.

My car has got as much as 28 mpg on a long run to Nashville last year using cruise controll travelling at 65 mph on I-75 with ambiant emps of around 60 degrees in September. I know others that the have similar results with their RetroBirds.

I am always happy with the car's performance and that to me is worth the price tag.

Gord R.

[bottomtime]

Re: Choice of gas

Nothing like piling on - but +1 more for using Premium gasoline in the TBird. There is a good reason for using premium, and I'll give the high level, 10,000 foot version here.

Octane is a retardant. Regular gasoline detonates faster and hotter than premium, because it contains less octane. Premium gasoline detonates slower, and the engine runs cooler because it contains more octane, or retardant. While it is true that the computer will adjust the timing slightly to compensate for the hotter detonation of regular, it isn't what the engine and computer is set up for. Most high performance cars use High Octane. Air cooled engines in Harley's use high octane to keep the engine a bit cooler under heavy load, and high heat conditions.

This is, more or less, why you would want to use high octane.

I agree wholeheartedly with this explanation above. One factor that was not mentioned is the compression ratio of a liquid cooled engine. The higher the compression ratio, the higher the octane that is required to prevent detonation. The ThunderBird 3.9L engine has a compression ration of 10:75 to 1 which in itself requires a minimum or higher of 91 octane.That's why the power plant engineers specify these octane ratings that design and build engines. Nascar engines, which are very powerful and have a very high compression ratios, require fuel with octane ratings around 140 to 160 octane. I've been riding Harley's for years, and they run their best on 93 octane. It's not necessarily because of a high compression ratio, but because they are an air cooled engine only, which produces very high heat ranges and temperatures, far more than a liquid cooled engine will produce. Because of the extreme heat of an air cooled engine, the high temperatures will produce detonation on just regular 87 octane fuel. Your little push lawn mower, which is air cooled, will operate very well on 87 octane, because they are designed with a fan pulling cool air into, across, and around the motor while it is running. The only thing that cools a V-Twin Harley engine, is not any fans running, but only the movement forward into the air, which forces the air, by movement only, to cool the motor. That's why there are fins on the cylinder jugs, to help dissipate this moving hot air away from the motor. Bottom line on all of this is you are far better off using the higher octane, because denotation is one of the worst things you want happening on the inside of a running engine. Can and will cause major damage over time.............