Stupid question, but will lower octane gasoline hurt the engine on an L? reason asking is i doubt theres any brand new L's left over out there still, and buying a used with low miles will be my only option, But you never know how previous owners have treated their vehicles before you bought it. and i know alot of dealers wont tell you it takes 91 or up octane, So will using a lower octane hurt the engine or just make it ping like hell?

 

Higher octane will make more power, Ford owners manual for the sc lightning calls for 91, basic flue will meet basic needs, but in a lightning, you need the higher octane, you would be foolish to try any thing less...they away's say to reed the owners manual.

 

i know it needs 91 octane, but im asking if it would hurt the engine if someone used 89 or 87 octane fuel, reason being if i were to buy a used L....and the previous owner was using 87/89 octane fuel the whole time. Would that be harmful to the engine? because why would i want to purchase a truck someone was basically abusing and causing harm to the engine. Alot of people just buy it because they like the looks, and without knowing really what an SVT is. and to save a few bucks they put in the cheaper grade fuel

 

What the end result with a lower octane is the dreaded "detonation". This is what causes extremely high cyclinder pressures(up to 400%) which causes nice things like broken rods or ring damage to name a few. Higher octane does NOT increase H.P. It just suppresses detonation so that you can run more timing and fuel to increase power. In a word: all octane does is control detonation and it is offered in different quantities wich is shown as an octane rating at the pump. If your truck has the factory tune , then stay with the recommended octane (never go below) If its re-tuned then a higher octane is needed. Sometimes over 100 depending on how aggresive the tune is. This info should be provided by the tuner of the chip. Hope this helps.

 

Run away!

 

Thanks guys that helps alot..... Thats why it sucks to buy a used L, you never know what the previous owner put in it to maybe save a few bucks! I guess the only thing you could do would be to ask for the previous owners number to call and ask them... but how would that sound? eh erm yea sir(or ma'am) i'd like to know what grade pump gas you put in the Lightning you used to own.

Hi, Coo-coo, Coo-coo

 

Unfortunatley there are not a lot of new L's available. So used may be your only choice. I would look to buy one from a current owner as opposed to the dealer. At least you can get a feel for how a person treats there things that way. On the other hand if you can get a great deal on one at a dealer do it, and put a built motor in it and nothing to worry about.

 

No kidding

Please explain how.

--Joe

 

They put more of the good stuff that makes gasoline fast in the premium. And it costs more, so it must go faster. Plus, my friend's neighbor said it, and he knows a lot about cars and stuff.

 

 

Anyone who puts 87 or 89 octane fuel in a L, should not own one, unless they cannot get higher octane where they live.

 

Don't listen to these people. They think INSIDE the box.

Run 87 octane in it, just make sure you remove the s/c belt first.





If you must have that s/c belt installed, run 93 octane.

 

we only get 91..... Love the midwest

 

 

93 octane is in almost all the stations up here in Michigan.

100 octane is a little more difficult to come across., but it's out there.