87 octane fuel requirement

[Snakebitten]

Trouble maker.

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[Samson16]

The Cowboy and Roman Centurion from “Night at the Museum” comes to mind ?

 

[Snakebitten]

Touché

 

[Snakebitten]

My other Powerboost acquisition. (corporate)
Definitely a "work truck"

~$40k less MSRP than my yacht.
A towing beast too!

 

[JExpedition07]

My other Powerboost acquisition. (corporate)
Definitely a "work truck"

~$40k less MSRP than my yacht.
A towing beast too!

That’s close to my payload

 

[HammaMan]

If you're wanting to figure out air flow, consider looking at HP. The 3.5 runs richer under load to reduce detonation risk and keep EGTs down thanks to its ~18 psi. Both motors could in theory run the same injectors while leaving more excess capacity on hand in the V8 due to have 4 more injectors with its 2 additional cylinders.

 

[Deleted member 17130]

I've run 91 since day 1 on my non-powerboost 3.5 EB. The truck much prefers it.

 

[Snakebitten]

But that's Powerboost Payload.
The whipping boy for Payload ridicule.
600 ftlbs of ProPower Boondocking Glory. I'm just saying. ?

It's actually a jet aircraft rescue rig.
We transport mechanics to repair grounded aircraft at remote airstrips and get them back in the air. Even the lighting on the truck is designed to turn a dark tarmac into daytime. It's quite the rig.

 

[JExpedition07]

But that's Powerboost Payload.
The whipping boy for Payload ridicule.
600 ftlbs of ProPower Boondocking Glory. I'm just saying. ?

It's actually a jet aircraft rescue rig.
We transport mechanics to repair grounded aircraft at remote airstrips and get them back in the air. Even the lighting on the truck is designed to turn a dark tarmac into daytime. It's quite the rig.

Is it a 4x4? If that has a transfer case and the extra shafts underneath that’s crazy impressive.

 

[Snakebitten]

Nope.
It's a road only 2WD work platform.
2.5 years of 24/7/365 duty and it's never ever seen a Ford dealership.
Towed that bunkhouse many thousands of miles too.

It does have some aftermarket towing improvements. Bilsteins all around, Helwig sway bar, RAS. And of course the CEO (city dude) demanded tires/wheels that made it look "more like a truck". ?

 

[amschind]

To the point about beaten up beds, there are a lot of work trucks with pristine beds which are attached to trailers that make the wreck of the Titanic look beautiful. Focusing wear and tear on a trailer isn't viable for everyone, but it is a valid strategy. I prefer that strategy with a camper shell, which more or less converts the whole bed into a giant tool box.

 

[Samson16]

your pretty little show truck

You called my XLT with cloth seats a "pretty little show truck". Fantastico indeed sir!

 

[gtotco]

This thread has definitely taken some turns and so my apologies if this has been addressed already but…

I live in CO where 85 octane (NOT E85 that is 85% ethanol and can handle higher compression but do not use unless vehicle designed for it) is “regular” - I have been advised by people who know more about these things not to use this in a turbocharged engine that requires higher.

85 as standard is more of a relic from most cars being naturally aspirated. Basically octane is a gauge of how stable a fuel is before it ignites under compression, which is what causes knock. Because of the lower air pressure at altitude in a naturally aspirated engine the engine can handle more compression at any given octane without causing knock. Basically the lower density of oxygen in the air means there is less to combust which allows for the lower octane.

Enter turbochargers: since turbos create extra power and efficiency by compressing the air entering the engine (giving it more oxygen so it naturally runs richer) this compensates for that difference already. Basically the turbo is already compensating for the lower oxygen density by compressing the air prior to putting it into the engine- so you don’t have that natural reduction that allows for 85 octane.

Personally I always put 91 (premium) in because in Denver 91 at Costco costs less than 87 (mid grade) at most other gas stations. I also always used it in my GTI before this. My wife has a CR-V with a 1 liter turbo that doesn’t have any min required so we put 85 in that and it runs fine but it’s a 1.5l 190 hp engine - vs my 3.5L 400 hp.

My understanding is engines generally can retard the timing enough to compensate for the knock so it might not matter. The fact that Ford is so explicit about their 87 requirement makes me think that ends up out of spec for how they engineer it and I’d rather just play it safe.

I’m sure someone who knows a lot more about engines will fix the things I said inaccurately here (I’m an economist not an engineer) but hopefully I got the general sentiment correct.

Either way I keep to 87+ personally though I would venture to guess there are 100s of thousands of vehicles on the road doing just fine running 85 with this requirement so you are probably safe. As someone mentioned earlier if you aren’t pushing it to its limits (flooring it or towing) I’m not sure you are bumping against those compression and timing issues anyway but again I don’t know the technical details.

I also take advantage of those extra ponies and torque when I have to pass people regularly on 285 which is a 65mph two lane road where Texas and Florida license plates are regularly driving 50 with a trailer. I need to get up to 90 to 100 quick to pass them even if I cruise at 70… those 400 ponies and 500 ft pound torque will still pull quite nice at speed or trying to catch a passing lane going up hill. Just gotta do something about the 4Runner from California trying to get by the trailers in those zones that take about 15 seconds to get from 50 to 60…

 

[Snakebitten]

Oooo
Nice shot at the tourists.

 

[gtotco]

Oooo
Nice shot at the tourists.

Look you can visit just drive 5 over the speed limit like you would anywhere else. That is my only request.

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