What difference in HP and torque could be caused by using 92 octane instead of 87? Does Ford rate their engine HP and torque using regular or premium gasoline?

If I use 87 octane, am I getting the full 260hp that Ford advertises or less (5.4 engine)?

Thanks.

 

In order to take advantage of 92 oct gase your PCM needs to be altered(timming issues and what not). As your truck rolls off the line it will produce (give or take a few ho) the rated HP of 260 on 87oct at the flywheel. Remember these flywheel HP numbers, at least in my book, arent nearly as important as what is being put down at the rear wheels. Most 5.4L stock dyno runs I have seen have been in the mid 190's for rear wheel HP.

 

Thank you. So it would make no difference in my everyday use if I used 87 or 92 since I haven't yet purchased a Superchip?

 

Hi Ed Welcome!

Your engine is designed to run on 87oct. Running higher oct. could cause problems/maybe not. Would probably be a waste of $$$.

So just use 87oct. Then if you chip it for hp gains.. you would use higher oct.

Good luck...OT

BTW...this is just short reply. Real tech. answers are posted here.
Just look around also try "search" Oh, watch out for the schip bug... bad reputation for bitting people.

 

Hi Ed,

Welcome to F-150 Online!

1.) These F-150's are tuned for 87 octane from the factory, and that is what your vehicle's stock SAE Net flywheel power rating was established on. They are tuned for the lowest common denominator, so to speak, and thus their tuning is compromised so that the truck can run on the cheapest lowest grade fuels without detonating, generally speaking.

2.) There is very little benefit, and a lot of potential for problems, in using premium gasoline with **the factory tuning**, as the fuel delivery tables must be altered to compensate for the effectively longer burn rate of higher octane fuel (higher octane takes longer to ignite, so you don't have enough time to burn it all when not tuned specifically for it in computer-controlled vehicles, in general), which can cause driveability problems, less power instead of more, worse fuel mileage, and even check engine (SES, "Service Engine Soon") lights, and many owner's manuals will specifically warn not to use premium gasoline because of this.

That all changes with the Superchip, which retunes the engine specifically for the use of premium gasoline so you get more horsepower and torque (as well as better driveability, shifting, & other benefits), and when you can keep your foot out of the throttle, a little bit better fuel mileage as well.

On average, we can pick up about 10%-12% more power by retuning these engines specifically for the use of premium gasoline, over what they'll make with the factory tuning on 87 octane.

The automakers are not going to tune these pickup trucks, SUV's, or their mainline cars like the Taurus, etc. for anything more than 87 octane, as that would impact & reduce the sales of those vehicles. This is not just a Ford thing, traditionally, most vehicles have been tuned from the factory (even before computer controls) for the use of regular-grade fuels, and for the most part, it's usually just the the so-called "performance vehicles" that are tuned for premium gas by the automaker.

Using premium gas with your stock factory tuning is generally a waste of money, as the tuning isn't set up for it, so the vehicle cannot take advantage of the higher octane. So you'll generally want to use 87 octane with the stock factory tuning, and premium gas with the Superchip, basically.