Ford F150 - Does the ecoboost run on 87 octane or something else?

Just wondering if the ecoboost can run on 87 octane or do you need to go to 89 or 91 octane?

It runs on 87. If look at the specs on fords site, you'll see it says regular unleaded.

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2002 Ford F-150 FX4 --- 2007 Yamaha VX Cruiser

I had looked up the same thing at one point and found this comment on Wikipedia:

"Through the use of direct injection, the engine needs only regular-grade gasoline to run, though premium fuel is recommended"

I have not found anything on Ford's website to support this comment. If it needed premium fuel, that would be a significant cost difference at 16 mpg!

Back in Oct/Nov when Ford put the 2011 specs on their site, it showed the Ecoboost requiring Premium gas, but then they changed it to regular about a month later.

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2002 Ford F-150 FX4 --- 2007 Yamaha VX Cruiser

It doesn't say anything about premium in the Ford site, if you download the manual from flmowner.com it says that regular fuel (87) is required, not to use E85, and to use 91 octane or higher for increased performance

That makes you wonder if the HP and Torque numbers they publish are with regular gas or premium. I know that my flex fuel 5.4L has higher performance numbers with E85 than 87 octane gas. Just a thought.

they have to use the reccomended fuel when they do HP ratings... if not everyone would use race fuel for the test.

Back when they first put the 2011 specs on the site, it did say premium recommended for the ecoboost. The numbers were also the same as they are now. Someone probably made a typo.

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2002 Ford F-150 FX4 --- 2007 Yamaha VX Cruiser

A debate for another day! Let's just say based on a background in racing that I don't entirely agree with that statement. That being said, no two dynos are going to give you the exact same readings. Too many variables involved.

From the owner's manual:

3.5L V6 EcoBoostTM engine
Your vehicle is designed to run on regular fuel with an octane rating of 87 or higher. For best overall performance, premium fuel with an octane rating of 91 or higher is recommended. The performance gained by using premium fuel will be most noticeable in hot weather or in severe duty applications such as towing a trailer.

Very interesting...makes you wonder if the engine really wants preminum fuel, but Ford isn't willing to say you should use it due to the cost difference. For the most part an engine that has been tuned for regular fuel will not see significant gains from premium fuel. You can run regular fuel in a vehicle that is tuned for premium, but it won't run as clean and you would likely see a decrease in performance. Kinda what ford is saying here. Hmmmm....

I would bet that it can tell if its running off 87 or 91 octane fuel, and probably has a preprogrammed tune for either type of fuel. Remember it's completely computer controlled, and can completely retune itself for a different fuel type.

I know this is a different engine, but look at the specs for the 2011 Mustang 5.0.

Regular: 402hp-377ftlbs
Premium: 412hp-390ftlbs

...even though it says regular recommended.

Then the Taurus SHO, 91 octane recommended. The regular V6 for the Taurus says 87 minimum.

Also, like I posted before. When the 2011 F150 specs were first put on the site, it said premium recommended for the ecoboost. Then a few weeks later, it said regular recommended.

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2002 Ford F-150 FX4 --- 2007 Yamaha VX Cruiser