Anyone switched to 87 octane?

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Juice17

Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2022
Posts
52
Reaction score
17
Location
Nj
Ram Year
2019
Engine
3.6
2019 ram 3.6. I have used 87 since the truck was new. Seems to do ok. The one thing I can say is that if I use a non name brand station in town the truck definitely does not like it. Very sluggish and uses gas quicker.
 

Sturoc

Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2020
Posts
41
Reaction score
22
Location
Colorado
Ram Year
2005
Engine
5.7 HEMI
Holy Cow that debates here are mind boggling and endless. I wont get into what i use etc, it doesnt matter. If you get a ping and can sort it out by changing Octanes then great . If ya dont have a ping, Great. Everyone drives different and puts their truck thru different uses and environments with varying mileage . There will never be one method to rule them all. Pretty simple.
 

farout75

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2020
Posts
272
Reaction score
246
Location
Laurie, MO
Ram Year
2017
Engine
5.7 L
That's not exactly correct. The computer will adjust yes, but you can/may definitely notice the engine pinging, especially under load. My engine did it since the day I picked it up new, it doesn't have a "problem", it doesn't need a tune, it's just the way these hemi's are.

Even Ram says in the manual (paraphrasing): "some amount of pinging is normal". And yes it pings far less on 89/91.

So while it's fine to tell people to run 87 if they want, factually it's incorrect to say they won't notice. Many of us do notice the sound. Keeping in mind what pinging actually is, and that's it not exactly good for your motor, you may want to run 89 anyway even if you don't notice it as "not noticing" doesn't mean it's not happening. One possibility is that you might just be deaf ;)
I have had 3 RAM 1500 trucks, MY 17 has 107,000 and I 've always used 87, never had a ping or anything. Just constant good power and 17 to 19 mpg. I use mainly Shell or Cemex or any gas which says its TOP TIER
 

Gr8bawana

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2015
Posts
1,274
Reaction score
1,059
Ram Year
2017
Engine
6.7 CTD
White Paper on PEA everywhere, if you actually felt like knowing that. Not to mention the three engines that were boroscoped after running redline si=1. but hey you got feelings and jokes apparently you think you won? Corey Ram Forum senior member ran his own boroscoped test after he saw this video...

https://youtu.be/SkiQmG-cQXM?t=254
Wow that is amazing. Not. Shaky video of a UFO nice.
So by your logic my '97 that now has over 300,000 miles on it and has NEVER been given ANY additives and always burned the cheapest gas I could find would have the cylinders completely full of gunk.
It still runs nice and smooth with zero knock.
You keep believing what ever you want.

a-fool-and-his-money-are-soon-parted-.jpg
 

62Blazer

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2019
Posts
1,067
Reaction score
1,255
Location
Midwest
Ram Year
2016
Engine
6.4
Just to add some information about how this works for those that may not be familiar.

Most traditional car and truck engines have a fixed compression ratio. This is basically set by the mechanical design of the engine in the piston to head clearance. There is also an optimal ignition timing setting for that engine, which means the engine can compress the air fuel mixture the optimal amount and it's in the best rotational area before the spark ignites it.

So let's start with this example. An engine has a certain compression ratio and you set it at the optimal ignition timing. If it can run with little to no pre-detonation (pinging) with 87 octane in that condition you will NOT gain any power or mileage running higher octane fuel. In this case you are already running at the optimal timing and advancing (adding) timing will actually start losing power, therefore absolutely no benefit from higher octane fuel.

Next example. You have an engine with a slightly higher compression ratio and you set it at the optimal ignition timing. In this case if you run 87 octane it will start getting some pinging. Therefore the ECM starts pulling a few degrees of timing to get rid of the pinging, and therefore you lose a little power. In this case putting a higher octane fuel will allow the ECM to go back up to the optimal ignition timing and regain the power.

Now some comments.....you can only adjust the timing up and down a relatively small amount and keep the engine running decent, or even at all. Timing adjustments are not infinite in either direction. This means that in the second example the difference between 89 octane at optimal ignition timing and 87 octane with slightly reduced timing is a very small difference and I would argue anybody could tell the difference unless they were looking at dyno numbers. You can't just dump 110 octane race fuel in any engine and it magically makes a ton more power. That is because once you get to the optimal timing settings that is it, and once you get to the octane that allows that going any higher in octane does nothing. The ECM is not going to keep advancing/raising the ignition timing past the optimal setting. For example, if the engine can run at the optimal timing on 87 octane you can actually start losing power with higher octane fuel because you are not changing the engine settings any, but only adding fuel that is "harder" to burn. On the other hand you also would start running into problems with putting really low octane fuel....this is all theoretical simply because really low octane fuel like maybe 75 octane isn't around, but the ECM can only pull so much timing out in an attempt to reduce pinging before you run into other issues.

In the grand scheme of things, the difference between the commonly available pump gas octanes are pretty small. Here at lower elevations it is 87, 89, and 91. The difference between 87 and 89 is 2.3%. If you went to the truck shop and looked at a part made by two different companies with one being $100 and the other $102.30, would you base your decision on which one is better simply on the price difference? Along with the octane difference being small, that also means the difference in optimal timing between them is really small, and therefore the power difference is really small. Not saying there is no difference at all....just that it is small. One thing I found on the internet is that everything gets turned into the "big fish story", where everytime the story is told about the fish a guy caught it gets bigger..........
 

caulk04

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Posts
871
Reaction score
1,498
Ram Year
2018
Engine
5.7 Hemi
...The difference between 87 and 89 is 2.3%...

Man, I wish it was that close. My local prices are 9% higher for 89 vs 87.

That said, I've been using 88 E15 in one Hemi or another for several years now. It's cheaper than 87 and my mileage over 30k in this truck is 17.9. I don't expect anyone to care.

My workaround for gas prices is currently orange, two-wheeled, has 103ci and makes lots of noise. Rather weather dependent though, sadly.
 

62Blazer

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2019
Posts
1,067
Reaction score
1,255
Location
Midwest
Ram Year
2016
Engine
6.4
Man, I wish it was that close. My local prices are 9% higher for 89 vs 87.

That said, I've been using 88 E15 in one Hemi or another for several years now. It's cheaper than 87 and my mileage over 30k in this truck is 17.9. I don't expect anyone to care.

My workaround for gas prices is currently orange, two-wheeled, has 103ci and makes lots of noise. Rather weather dependent though, sadly.
There is a 2.3% difference in octane rating between 87 and 89, not what the price difference is.
 

caulk04

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Posts
871
Reaction score
1,498
Ram Year
2018
Engine
5.7 Hemi
Duh. Reading comprehension is not my friend today. Mea culpa.
 

Hemi395

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2013
Posts
8,965
Reaction score
15,598
Location
Cape Cod MA
Ram Year
2013
Engine
5.7 Hemi
I'm gonna give 87 a shot for my next tank. I definitely will be watching the ST and LT Knock for the tank. Should be interesting.
 

Burla

Senior Member
Military
Joined
Apr 28, 2012
Posts
23,107
Reaction score
44,443
Ram Year
2010 Hemi Reg Cab 4x4
Engine
Hemi
I'm gonna give 87 a shot for my next tank. I definitely will be watching the ST and LT Knock for the tank. Should be interesting.
you never ran 87?

My truck didnt ping ever, just hesitated on it, plus 91 cleared hesitation and ran better in low rpm's. I'm not sure of much difference in high rpm's. Like I said, I still use it on occasion I'm not religious about it, but when I do it will hesitate everytime.
 

Hemi395

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2013
Posts
8,965
Reaction score
15,598
Location
Cape Cod MA
Ram Year
2013
Engine
5.7 Hemi
you never ran 87?

My truck didnt ping ever, just hesitated on it, plus 91 cleared hesitation and ran better in low rpm's. I'm not sure of much difference in high rpm's. Like I said, I still use it on occasion I'm not religious about it, but when I do it will hesitate everytime.
Nope, never ran 87. I always ran 89 and then 93 when I got my custom tuning...
 

GGlaser

Junior Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2022
Posts
6
Reaction score
7
Location
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Ram Year
218
Engine
Hemi 5.7
Since gas prices have gone up my truck has become mostly a driveway decoration, while I drive my other fuel-efficient cars. Because of that I've switched from 93 down to 87 octane (only 2 options at Sams Club). I notice a huge difference in performance and a little more knock on startup, but other than that it runs just fine. I am trying to wait out the fuel surge instead of trading in on a more economical vehicle since I only use it for weekend warrior projects.
 

Jeepwalker

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2017
Posts
3,136
Reaction score
3,329
Location
WI
Ram Year
2012 Reg Cab, 4x4
Engine
5.7 Hemi
I've only ever been running 87 ...around here. Every once in a while I'd fill up with Premium (93 around here) ..and for my normal driving I never noticed any improvement in performance. Maybe if I track-tested it premium would show a boost, but I don't drive like a maniac as it is. Obviously min Octane a guy runs depends on where ya live (altitudes, etc).
 

Jeepwalker

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2017
Posts
3,136
Reaction score
3,329
Location
WI
Ram Year
2012 Reg Cab, 4x4
Engine
5.7 Hemi
As for Top Tier gas, that's pretty much all I buy. However, lol ....however, I've read MANY forum threads that all the gas in local stations comes from the local fuel depot's in your area and it's not different from one station to the next. The fuel delivery truck guy adds a bottle of whatever station's 'Dr Good' additive (e.g. Techron, etc). So....IDK. I still buy from Top Tier stations bc they sign on and want to encourge that.

Buying gas from a cheaper local station probably doesn't matter.
 

armallard

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2018
Posts
110
Reaction score
34
Location
North East Arkansas
Ram Year
2017 SLT CC 4X4
Engine
5.7 Hemi
2 questions will this work on 5.3 liters as well? and will it be ok on my lawn mowers and utv's. Mainly because I use non ethanol in all of these and its crazy high now or I'm I looking at this wrong appreciate it..
 
Top