Shoe soles and elbows
 

I gotta deliver my HiLo 200 miles to my daughter Tues (extra beds for her 4th of July company) so decided today to drop the top and hitch it up. As it hasn't travelled far since last fall that also meant getting it cleaned up and road ready.

Tires were all about 40 pounds so that was next. In the process I pulled the cover off the spare tire and then it was Feet do your Job. The hornets weren't happy when I returned with a killer mist.

Later on, in order to attach the sway bar, I needed to pull the propane cover and once again I took flight. Besides the abandoned birds nest there was another hornet nest.

Now that it's hitched and ready to travel (and ribs on the grill) my bride asked me about seeing my shoe soles and elbows.

Happy 4th to y'all.

Dang! That could put me off camping! Sounds like you avoided their "pointy ends"?

Happy 4th back to you too!

- Jack

We all like to imagine ourselves as "manly men," but a darned wasp could chase me for a mile. (You women will have to fill in the appropriate terms)

I'm with you, Jim. One of my "almost phobias" is to find out there's a wasp in the car/truck with me when I'm driving.

- Jack

Another question cropped up today. I delivered my camper then gassed up at about 250 miles. That's about 160 miles pulling and the rest returning empty (short of my destination). I averaged 14 MPG with this V10, driven @ 5 mph under posted speeds while pulling and at the limit returning.

The only difference is I started with a full tank of 93 octane. Normally, while NOT pulling and using 87 octane (principally around town) I get 12 MPG.

Does hi-test really account for this much difference; in-town vs. highway (but remember, towing 4K#); or is there some voodoo magic that I'm overlooking? I'm guessing I'll also try switching gas in my other truck and see what happens.

Note: there was a 40 cent/gal. price difference between 87 - 93 octane.
Note 2: I went with this hi-test to see if my occassional (perceived) hesitation would continue or abate. It continued, I think? No codes pop up on scanner.

From what I have read higher octane gas does more to improve performance that to improve MPG. Your open road travel may have improved the MPG more than the gas. My Ecoboost gets about 18 in everyday driving but goes up to 22.5 on open road driving. Towing the HiLo I have registered 15.3 MPG on trips across PA crossing the mountains on I80. Ford does recommend using higher octane gas in the Ecoboost if more strenuous driving conditions exist. I have never done that.

To get any real benefit from using 93 octane, you need to advance the timing to take advantage of the anti-knock properties of that fuel. You'll need a programmer that works with your truck to do this. They cost around $400 or possibly more. 93 octane gas is not "better", it just doesn't ignite under pressure or heat quite as easily, and the flame front is less explosive. In cold temperatures, an engine burning 93 can be harder to start.

If you're getting hesitation in your truck using regular or hi-test gas, there's something amiss in it. I would not expect 93 octane to have any effect on hesitation though. I'd be more inclined to suspect a problem with fuel injectors, plugs or COPs.

There are a great many things that effect gas mileage though. One of the most under appreciated things is a headwind or tailwind. Wind has an exponential effect on mileage.

You should see a huge reduction in mileage during in-town driving. Remember, you are constantly accelerating that mass from a standing start and, you are idling some of the time.

In my F150, I get around 12.5 mpg in town, and 15+ on the highway when not towing.

- Jack

We have three different trucks with Ford's V-10. Our Excursion got 13.5 on the highway, average speeds) over a 2000 mile trip with regular gas. We swapped to 93 octane for a 2000 mile check and got 13.5. The same truck just returned from Alaska (12,000 miles total pulling our Hi-Lo) and turned over 300,000 miles while we were gone. It uses a quart of oil every 1300 miles and has never had engine work. Any reason we should have used premium? By the way, Memphis to finish we averaged 10.9 towing the Hi-Lo.

Jim, in my opinion, from everything I've read on the subject, there is absolutely NO reason to use premium gas in an engine that is designed to burn regular grade.

If it were blown, like Rich's, I can see possibly using premium when towing, since it operates at a higher compression than a normally aspirated engine and it is under load more of the time due to the increased weight. But, from what he says, the computer in his truck seems to be able to compensate even then.

If you DO use premium (and adjust the timing to make it potentially worthwhile), you should do a cost analysis to see if any increased mileage offsets the higher cost of the stuff. Again, in my opinion, it won't.

Premium gas is really designed for high compression engines. It is not "kinder" to ordinary engines or a "treat" for them (I've heard these justifications from people at times). Unless you have a high compression engine, you really can't take full advantage of the properties of that gas.

- Jack

Jack, I guess you could tell my answer was a little tongue-in-cheek. If we had driven this Excursion the same miles with premium it would have added up to about 8-9000 bucks more in fuel costs.

Yes, I could, Jim. I was really only replying to what I assumed was a "rhetorical question". I'm a moderator on the f150online forum and am still astonished at the number of people who occasionally post about using premium gas in their trucks. I'm blown away by the fact that they often think it is a "better" gas.

- Jack

I remember reading about some vehicles designed to run regular had trouble starting using premium. True?

I'm baaaack. I chose to try premium fuel for two reasons ... one, I remember back in the 60's - when cars were running rough - mechanics would first suggest running a few tanks of premium to see if it helped. Two, Honda (RidgeLine, my daily driver) recommends using 89 octane when towing - with the claimed reason that it'll give about ten additional horsepower.

As I was both towing and experiencing (I perceived) that it may be occasionally missing, I thought a couple of tanks of Tier 3 gas (Shell) would clean any partial clogs in the fuel injectors. I will try a few more tanks of premium as a test and see. I've been guilty of running whatever was cheapest.

However ... a half hour ago I thought of another possible reason that I experienced this improvement - I replaced the air cleaner. It had a K&N installed, and it looked fine, but not knowing its age I decided to replace it. I chose to return to a paper filter (Wix) because if it's good enough coming from the factory that way then it's good enuf for me.

The only problem I'm aware of is cold weather starting, and I'm not sure that's a serious (common) problem.

Jim, I think paper filters are the way to go in that department too. The oiled filters are really very old school things that have made a comeback. If you oil them correctly, they are supposed to be very good, but, if not, they can cause several problems. Maybe even the cause of the "hesitation" you were sensing.

- Jack

There was a Shell station in our area that sold gas without 10% ethanol in it. Your Shell station wouldn't happen to be the same would it. If it is that would account for your better mileage

No, my local Shell only sells the ethanol type. I use a Spirit station (whatever brand that is) for 89 octane ethanol free mower gas.

REF my 7-1-14 posting, I was unable to duplicate my MPG feat on the return trip yesterday. With basically everything the same, except in reverse order of transport, I only got 11 MPG.

Refueled afterwards - with 87 octane - I still feel I have an occasional engine miss.

pull your plugs or put it on a scope.
plugs go bad, wires deteriorate, vacuum lines are the worst

steve

Less than a thousand miles on new plugs (X 10) and a new single COP. That made a significant improvement but still leaves me "feeling" that it's still not running as smooth as a school marms leg (from my grandpa speaking way back when/ RIP, 1966).

My scanner turns up no codes, I'm thinking I'll see if Advance Autos' scanner detects anything. I can live with it, just think it can be improved.

I'm not sure about your truck's engine, but the 8-cyl one used in some of the F150s develops some "flaky" problems when the Mass AirFlow (MAF) Sensor and the surrounding environment in the throttle body get gummed up with varnish and other gunk. Have you ever had that area cleaned? In a 150, it's easy to get to - just under the air cleaner. You have to be a bit careful with the sensor though, the wires are delicate.

Here's a link to a writeup on cleaning the MAF sensor in 97-03 F150s: How to Clean MAF in 97-03 F-150's - F150online Forums

This problem does not seem to ever set codes, and it looks like you've covered the other likely causes.

- Jack