Getting away with 87 octane on "tow per" program
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Joined: Feb 2003
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From: Houston, TX
Getting away with 87 octane on "tow per" program
Being that I won't tow and will be putting on electric fans(even less load on the engine) has anyone been getting away with running 87 oct with the "tow Perf" from their 1715 with similiar set up and not getting any ping?
Rob
Rob
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
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From: Virginia
Hello brown,
Welcome to F-150 Online!
Please don't be offended by this, but I am going to make this point EXTREMELY clear - clear enough so that there is no possibility of ANY misunderstanding or of anyone reading this post thinking that would ever be anything less than a really BAD idea - (as if the Micro Tuner's manual weren't already crystal clear about this) and I can only hope that you:
A.) Are not offended.
B.) Will NEVER even think of this again.
C.) Are not offended.
D.) See A & C
So here goes..............
You'll notice that NOWHERE in the Micro Tuner's manual does it say "if you aren't going to tow and you install electric fans, it's perfectly OK to ignore our instructions and use cheap 87 octane gas on the premium gas towing program."
DON'T EVER DO THAT.
That is a very bad idea, and I think you already know that - otherwise you wouldn't be looking for approval/testimonial to do it.
I'd be willing to bet $1 that there will even be someone who responds to this claiming they have done this (or do it all the time, blah, blah, blah.....) and didn't hear any pinging and don't have any problems, and thus it's probably OK for you to go ahead and do it, too............ wrong answer.
Electric fans have NOTHING to do with what octane of fuel to use.
Not towing has NOTHING to do with what octane of fuel to use.
What DOES have EVERYTHING to do with what octane to use is - the octane level the engine is tuned for!!!
If you HATE your vehicle, then by all means, please do go ahead and do it - it's an *excellent* way to damage your engine.
Ever heard of a "knock sensor?" Well, your engine (like most other modern computer-controlled engines) has one, and it has a very limited range. It is NOT infinite - so what will happen to anyone who runs cheap-crap 87 octane gas on the PREMIUM GAS TOWING PROGRAM (deliberately or not) is, the motor WILL DETONATE - PERIOD. And the knock sensor will respond to that - and if you are *lucky*, the PCM will remove enough timing to ONLY ruin the performance - but that still may not be enough to quell the detonation.
Ever heard of "inaudible detonation?"
That's detonation you cannot hear, and it's even more damaging to your engine than the kind you can hear - because you can't hear it!
Forget thinking you will always hear detonation if it occurs, and thus you can protect the motor by backing off the throttle - wrong answer. Once you get up to highway speeds, many times you CANNOT hear any detonation if it occurs - you might hear it, and you might not. Up to about 75-80 mph, IF you are lucky, you *might* hear it - after that, forget it, as chances are you probably aren't going to hear it. There's too much wind noise alone for you to be able to count on hearing "pinging." (And no, that does NOT mean that it's OK to do this as long as you don't go faster than 80 mph, or 70 mph, or 40 mph, etc.............
This is one of the worst things you can do to your engine - and if Ford ever hears of it, they'll immediately void your engine warranty - assuming it's still under warranty. Engine's aren't free - unless you get free engines that none of the rest of us get, and unless you also get free labor, etc. - forget this idea.
If you refuse to use the premium gas that program REQUIRES, then just use the 87 octane program and do your engine a favor - it'll last far longer and give better performance.
Please don't ever even think of doing this, OK?
Now with that out of the way, I think it's firmly established that nobody could ever think this is a good thing to do, and my point is made. And that being the case, we now return to our much friendlier scheduled programming.............
I hope you will hang out here with us in your spare time and enjoy all that F-150 Online has to offer - it's a *great* place to meet other Ford owners and learn a lot about your vehicle - and maybe even make some new friends in the process.
Best of luck Rob,
Welcome to F-150 Online!
Please don't be offended by this, but I am going to make this point EXTREMELY clear - clear enough so that there is no possibility of ANY misunderstanding or of anyone reading this post thinking that would ever be anything less than a really BAD idea - (as if the Micro Tuner's manual weren't already crystal clear about this) and I can only hope that you:
A.) Are not offended.
B.) Will NEVER even think of this again.
C.) Are not offended.
D.) See A & C
So here goes..............
You'll notice that NOWHERE in the Micro Tuner's manual does it say "if you aren't going to tow and you install electric fans, it's perfectly OK to ignore our instructions and use cheap 87 octane gas on the premium gas towing program."
DON'T EVER DO THAT.
That is a very bad idea, and I think you already know that - otherwise you wouldn't be looking for approval/testimonial to do it.
I'd be willing to bet $1 that there will even be someone who responds to this claiming they have done this (or do it all the time, blah, blah, blah.....) and didn't hear any pinging and don't have any problems, and thus it's probably OK for you to go ahead and do it, too............ wrong answer.
Electric fans have NOTHING to do with what octane of fuel to use.
Not towing has NOTHING to do with what octane of fuel to use.
What DOES have EVERYTHING to do with what octane to use is - the octane level the engine is tuned for!!!
If you HATE your vehicle, then by all means, please do go ahead and do it - it's an *excellent* way to damage your engine.
Ever heard of a "knock sensor?" Well, your engine (like most other modern computer-controlled engines) has one, and it has a very limited range. It is NOT infinite - so what will happen to anyone who runs cheap-crap 87 octane gas on the PREMIUM GAS TOWING PROGRAM (deliberately or not) is, the motor WILL DETONATE - PERIOD. And the knock sensor will respond to that - and if you are *lucky*, the PCM will remove enough timing to ONLY ruin the performance - but that still may not be enough to quell the detonation.
Ever heard of "inaudible detonation?"
That's detonation you cannot hear, and it's even more damaging to your engine than the kind you can hear - because you can't hear it!
Forget thinking you will always hear detonation if it occurs, and thus you can protect the motor by backing off the throttle - wrong answer. Once you get up to highway speeds, many times you CANNOT hear any detonation if it occurs - you might hear it, and you might not. Up to about 75-80 mph, IF you are lucky, you *might* hear it - after that, forget it, as chances are you probably aren't going to hear it. There's too much wind noise alone for you to be able to count on hearing "pinging." (And no, that does NOT mean that it's OK to do this as long as you don't go faster than 80 mph, or 70 mph, or 40 mph, etc.............
This is one of the worst things you can do to your engine - and if Ford ever hears of it, they'll immediately void your engine warranty - assuming it's still under warranty. Engine's aren't free - unless you get free engines that none of the rest of us get, and unless you also get free labor, etc. - forget this idea.
If you refuse to use the premium gas that program REQUIRES, then just use the 87 octane program and do your engine a favor - it'll last far longer and give better performance.
Please don't ever even think of doing this, OK?
Now with that out of the way, I think it's firmly established that nobody could ever think this is a good thing to do, and my point is made. And that being the case, we now return to our much friendlier scheduled programming.............
I hope you will hang out here with us in your spare time and enjoy all that F-150 Online has to offer - it's a *great* place to meet other Ford owners and learn a lot about your vehicle - and maybe even make some new friends in the process.
Best of luck Rob,