I'm on my third F150 and one thing I've noticed is that these trucks love to build up carbon anywhere they can, especially in the throttle body, egr valve, you name it...Was wondering, might it help to pump nothing but super unleaded, it's more expensive but it may help with not having plugs break on my 06 on the next tuneup, my old 99 would knock w/o super unleaded and this one may start if the tbody gets too dirty, OR should i run REG and worry about fixing and cleaning everything later?....Does Super really make a diff on how the truck runs? better fuel economy?.......What do you guys think?

 

How about cleaning the throttle body once in a while and getting that moto vac engine cleaning done once every couple of years. Use fuel with techron or add it. Premium fuel dosent do anything to stop carbon buildup. It can be a benefit in how the truck runs if you get a custom tune for it..

 

Higher octane only serves to stabilize the gas to keep it from detonating until the spark plug fires it.

Spark knock is unstable fuel pre detonating before the engine reaches the proper compression, and piston, crank shaft position.

 

unless your tuned for higher octane it is a waste of money, your truck is factory tuned to run on regular.

 

Run the lowest octane fuel you can get away with.

 

not much of a differance. however on paper as far as fuel economy is concerned buying super isnt really that much more espensive because it has a more stabile, slower, cooler more powerful burn. so you almost make up the extra money spent but in this economic climate you do whats right for you, its almost 6 in one half dozen in the other

 

It is only more powerful if you are tuned for it. Don't waste your money unless you tune for it. I have over 142K miles and have no carbon problems yet. I do routine maintenance. I may pull off my TB in the spring when I do plugs and COPs and see what kind of build up might be there after 9 years.

 

I asked the same question about a year ago, and everyone says that without custom tunes, you are just wasting your money.

 

I work in the oil & gas industry, and a couple years ago I attended a seminar. The speaker had been involved in an engine test, to test various gasolines. After the test they took each engine apart and analyzed the results. His advice was clear. Unless you are running a high compression engine, or your engine is tuned specifically ro run on higher octane, the super grades are unnecessary. Most of us are fine with the low octane stuff. The big difference they saw in this test was in the quality of gas. Only buy name brand gas with cleaning agents in it, such as Techron. He said the difference in the buildup in the engines between running treated gasoline and "cheap" gasoline was remarkable. I always get the low octane fuel from name brand stations, I personally prefer Chevron and Texaco (both use Techron).

 

Use the octane you are tuned for, normally 87, but use one with a good detergent, such as Chevron, Shell, Texaco or Conoco.

 

I've used Shell in my 97 for over 200,000 miles, and still using the factory fuel pump. I wonder, should I change it just for good measure?

 

if you're not tuned for it, then don't run it

 

Shell gas FTW. Here is the analogy I use. You're body functions better on healthier food, so how is spending a bit more on a quality fuel any different? Trucks run better on it too