Powerboost 88 vs. 87 Octane

[gadiedrick]

The local service station has recently added 88 octane gas to its menu @ the pump. It's understood that 87 octane is 10% ethanol, & that 88 octane is 15% ethanol & is $.10 cents cheaper/per gallon. Will there be any noticeable difference in performance if'n the 88 octane is used in our '21 F150 Powerboost hybrid?

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[Porpoise Hork]

Performance, unlikely to notice any appreciable difference.
Fuel economy on 88 octane at 15% ethanol will be roughly .6 - 1.0 mpg worse. But this is often offset by the cost of fuel if the price is lower for the higher ethanol blend vs the lower percentage.

 

[HammaMan]

Extra ethanol will get you a little bit more power via the OAR which is always trying to maximize safe timing. There will be a slight range hit but may be offset if the cost is lower. 5% more ethanol requires slightly more fuel to be injected due to its reduced energy content.

 

[Tigmd99]

87 all day and everyday. I am at 58k miles on my 2023 PB. Still running smooth.

 

[Viper]

I have just started using 90 octane non ethanol on my 22 PB and have noticed no preformance differance from 93% but upon fill up, my MTE has jumped from around 680 to 730!
So I am going to go with this to see if it keeps up!

 

[Calson]

Octane is not a power indication but rather the resistance to pre-ignition when the fuel enters the cylinders. Ethanol provides fewer btu's than regular gasoline but it does tend to keep fuel injectors cleaner. I doubt you will see any measurable difference in fuel economy between the two fuel mixes.

Octane is also not linear. Mix 5 gallons of 90 octane rated gas with gallons of 100 octane rated gas and the end result is no 95 octane but something closer to 98 octane in its behavior and resistance to pre-ignition.

 

[dochawk]

note that generally ethanol has 2/3 the energy as the same volume of gasoline. So swapping out another 5% will reduce your mileage by roughly 5%/3 or 1.7%.

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