More than half of new light duty vehicles recommend premium fuel..

Fightnfire

Moderator
I didn't realize the number had gotten so high. I run premium in my truck and it's gone from .30c per gallon (pre-covid) to the 1.00 more per gallon I paid yesterday to fill up. It's been consistently around the .50-.80 above regular since COVID.

The unintended cost of vehicles trying to meet EPA regulations, more cost passed on to the consumer. Just another avenue of Inflation.


 
I didn't realize the number had gotten so high. I run premium in my truck and it's gone from .30c per gallon (pre-covid) to the 1.00 more per gallon I paid yesterday to fill up. It's been consistently around the .50-.80 above regular since COVID.

The unintended cost of vehicles trying to meet EPA regulations, more cost passed on to the consumer. Just another avenue of Inflation.


I hadn’t realized it was that higher either.
 
I hadn’t realized it was that higher either.
The regulations that have ended up requiring smaller fuel efficient engines are driving up prices for consumers. Similar to EV's, vehicles for the wealthy subsidized by the lower to middle class.

I think there's a story here.
 
The regulations that have ended up requiring smaller fuel efficient engines are driving up prices for consumers. Similar to EV's, vehicles for the wealthy subsidized by the lower to middle class.

I think there's a story here.
We've covered which trucks require premium fuel for years now. Here's our latest post: https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2022/08/which-2022-full-size-trucks-recommend-or-require-premium-fuel/

This sentence from the EPA's Face of the Week is completely inaccurate: "In pursuit of efficient performance, manufacturers have increased their use of turbocharging and higher compression engines that require higher levels of octane."

There are many turbocharged engines that don't require premium fuel. Period. That's not a direct correlation.

Frankly, I find the EPA's information suspect at best reading through the actual report: https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicle...urers?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
 
We've covered which trucks require premium fuel for years now. Here's our latest post: https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2022/08/which-2022-full-size-trucks-recommend-or-require-premium-fuel/

This sentence from the EPA's Face of the Week is completely inaccurate: "In pursuit of efficient performance, manufacturers have increased their use of turbocharging and higher compression engines that require higher levels of octane."

There are many turbocharged engines that don't require premium fuel. Period. That's not a direct correlation.

Frankly, I find the EPA's information suspect at best reading through the actual report: https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicle...urers?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

It may not be a direct correlation but it could be an indirect correlation. I would be curious to know why the percentage of light vehicles requiring/recommending premium fuel has shot through the roof in the last few years. Is it EPA requirements drove the manufacturers towards Turbo charging and away from V8's/V6's and as that move was made vehicle manufacturers found they needed to recommend premium fuel for reliability concerns? If you don't use premium fuel are you forgoing the benefits from the smaller the displacement engine? Are you potentially causing more money to come out of your pocket with repair fees and maintenance costs associated?

The 3.5 Ford Ecoboost now recommends premium fuel, requires mid-grade, did it always? (It's not listed in your article from 2022 but it's been recommended for a while.)


Page 253.
 
We've covered which trucks require premium fuel for years now. Here's our latest post: https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2022/08/which-2022-full-size-trucks-recommend-or-require-premium-fuel/

This sentence from the EPA's Face of the Week is completely inaccurate: "In pursuit of efficient performance, manufacturers have increased their use of turbocharging and higher compression engines that require higher levels of octane."

There are many turbocharged engines that don't require premium fuel. Period. That's not a direct correlation.

Frankly, I find the EPA's information suspect at best reading through the actual report: https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicle...urers?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
I drove 2 different 2011 ecoboost pickups with the 3.5 twin turbo engine for several years. I ran 87 octane, but if I really romped on the throttle to pass, they would spark knock like crazy. It took a few seconds for the knock sensors to catch up. I don't know what the newer trucks are like, but the older ecoboosts really weren't tuned for 87 octane even though they said it was okay.
 
I drove 2 different 2011 ecoboost pickups with the 3.5 twin turbo engine for several years. I ran 87 octane, but if I really romped on the throttle to pass, they would spark knock like crazy. It took a few seconds for the knock sensors to catch up. I don't know what the newer trucks are like, but the older ecoboosts really weren't tuned for 87 octane even though they said it was okay.
I've never noticed anything like that in the truck's I've bought with turbos.

One thing to keep in mind is all press cars come with premium. The press fleet companies don't want to bother with keeping track of which vehicle needs which fuel type. Also, it reduces mistakes if someone puts the wrong octane level in. That's why you don't hear much about spark knock from reviewers.
 
I've never noticed anything like that in the truck's I've bought with turbos.

One thing to keep in mind is all press cars come with premium. The press fleet companies don't want to bother with keeping track of which vehicle needs which fuel type. Also, it reduces mistakes if someone puts the wrong octane level in. That's why you don't hear much about spark knock from reviewers.
Since the 2011's were the first model year, Ford might have improved them by now. I drove a 2020 ecoboost work truck for a couple months, but any highway driving I did was mostly on the interstate and never needed to floor it to pass anyone on a two lane road that I can remember. If it still had any spark knock problems with low octane fuel, I don't remember them.
 
For those who have TikTok. I did a 2.5 min clip on TFL's criticisms.

I've never even heard of needing to turn on the brake controller. It's bizarre to me they would set it up like that. Especially from Toyota when for years they wouldn't even let you open your door without turning off the engine after remote start for "safety" reasons. I'd think accidentally towing without brakes is a much bigger safety issue. All this stuff is why I mentioned before that it seems like towing was an afterthought for Toyota on this one. It's pretty bad really.
 
I've never even heard of needing to turn on the brake controller. It's bizarre to me they would set it up like that. Especially from Toyota when for years they wouldn't even let you open your door without turning off the engine after remote start for "safety" reasons. I'd think accidentally towing without brakes is a much bigger safety issue. All this stuff is why I mentioned before that it seems like towing was an afterthought for Toyota on this one. It's pretty bad really.
Same. I can't imagine a scenario where you'd want the trailer brakes to be off.
 
Yesterday’s fuel prices here; diesel $2.86/gal, mid grade gas $2.61/gal. Both cheaper than a gallon of milk.
Don't have the diesel price but when I filled up the other day gas was $3.49 for reg and $4.49 for premium. Diesel usually floats around premium price.
 
Gas up here in Canada is $4.21 for regular, $4.91 for 91 premium, $5.61 for 93 and $4.75 for diesel. This is after converting from CAD$/L to US$/Gal
 
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