Regular vs Premium Fuel: An Answer (Opinion?) To The Age Old Question

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/11/s...=headline&te=1

[steelblue5505]

If you drive like the car is stolen you are going to want 91 or better. Otherwise if the car doesn't knock under your driving habits than less octane value probably will work fine.

[EllisonCal]

The computer in your Thunderbird will adjust the timing if it senses pre-ignition and reduce the power of the motor. So if you are demanding the full (280 horse power) that our 3.9 V8 can make and you are using 87 octane fuel, you won't get it. Ford says 91 octane on the gas filler door and it also says it in the owners manual. There is a mid grade gasoline available at some gas stations that is 89 octane. If you wanted to keep 91 octane in your fuel tank, you could fill up with premium 93 octane and then when the gas gauge shows 1/2 fill it up with 89 octane. But is that worth the effort? I just fill mine with 93 and I usually buy it at our local Costco which has the lowest prices most of the time.

[Gobird]

Used nothing but high test from day one back in 2002. Use whatever makes you happy .I tried reg. one time and car stumbled when getting onto the interstate.

[Cards]

The question has changed a lot over the years. Back in the early 70s, before unleaded gas, lead content could cause lead to foul spark plugs prematurely. Regular gas had about 1cc of tetraethyl lead/gallon while Premium had up to 3cc of tetraethyl lead/gallon. Needless to say many chose to retard the spark so that plugs would last longer.

Now with electronic ignition, knock sensors, and variable valve timing in 2003 and later birds. The big question now is whether or not you place a higher value on octane rating or fuel freshness. In short, because regular gas represents about 90% of production it should be obvious that it is a lot fresher than Premium gas. Stations in the Austin area report that average Premium product is well over a month old in the tanks. Back in the days of bulk terminal gas, both Premium and Regular were even older. With the slow turnover of Premium it takes even longer to switch tanks in the ground to Summer blends. If I were taking my car to the track I would inquire about the date of the last shipment of Premium and buy accordingly. If not racing, I make the decision based on freshness.

[Seńor Gar]

Didn't read the article but the title is not relevant to out cars.
Unless one knows more than the engineers who built their car it seems pretty clear that one should follow the manufacturer's recommendations.

If the rising price of gasoline is a burden then It's not likely that one would own a Thunderbird.
Premium in my area costs $5/US gal (that's $6.70 CDN) LoL. In Texas it's half that !
Just across the border in WA it's US $3.70.

So, Fill it up while you still can, LoL.US Gas Pricees.JPG

[BLACK BEAUTY]

ETHYL all the way..

[Cards]

Price of gas does not seem to be relevant to our cars, especially when they are driven so little that the additional cost of Premium is irrelevant. The garage queens will encounter a lot more damage from stale gas than any other issue. The engineers that built our cars designed them to be driven and not parked. They never designed a car to be parked most of the time. There are observations that owners of 2002s really can’t get by on Regular gas and they need to be encouraged to only use Premium and if that is not possible an octane additive. The one fact that few would dispute is that most of the damage to garage queens is stale gas.

[HKS]

Pure 91. No alcohol or Gasahol.

Go ahead and put 87 in your 2003 bird. I will use 91 with Borla exhaust plus K&M CAI and my 252 HP+.

Line up at the ace track and start. I might just win the 0-60 race.

HKS

P.S. wear earplugs. You don't want to hear your engine making scary sounds.

[007Cruiser]

No such thing as pure gas here in NJ. I go with premium and only from a top tier station.

[AZTB]

ETHYL all the way..

Snip20190417_2.png ...loved her on I Love Lucy!

[11TH GEN]

Snip20190417_2.png ...loved her on I Love Lucy!

Yeah, that Fred was one lucky dude to have her all to himself.

[65TBSTEVE]

On our 4th Retro and have always used regular with absolutely no problems.

[AZTB]

Yeah, that Fred was one lucky dude to have her all to himself.

Considering that Fred was William Frawley, I think you're right!

Snip20190417_3.png

[HKS]

On our 4th Retro and have always used regular with absolutely no problems.

Regular 89 or 87. pure or gasohol.