Recommended fuel for 03 falcon?

tigertim20, Jan 25, 9:16am
03 Falcon xls - recommended fuel?
Sticker inside the fuel cap says 91 - but is clearly a sticker placed there by someone other than ford.

Id have thought it would require 95 or 96? but a mate suggested that being aussie built, it probably is designed to run on 91?

its the barra 6 engine

franc123, Jan 25, 9:22am
Intended for 91, but that doesn't stop you from using 95 if you want to.

tigertim20, Jan 25, 10:23am
thanks. any benefit in paying the extra for 95?

clark20, Jan 25, 10:33am
Yep, more power (officially from Ford) and better cleaner fuel

3tomany, Jan 25, 9:35pm
they run well on 91 but do go better on higher octane

mad_signtist, Jan 26, 2:00am
I have run them on both for extended periods of time. Didn't notice any economy or power differences.

motorboy2011, Jan 26, 2:46am
95/96 isn't any cleaner than 91.

tigertim20, Jan 26, 4:25am
haha so Ive opened this can of worms again? haha
oh well.

with the price of fuel right now, it isnt so bad I guess

tony9, Jan 26, 4:29am
Not only that, it contains less fuel and more additives. The additives (to increase octane rating) have less specific power than the 91 it is added to.

So if the engine is set up specifically for 91, then it will produce fractionally less power on 95.

jason18, Jan 26, 5:16am
Although in saying that I always run 95 or 98 :)

inkapuka, Jan 26, 7:06am
91 is for lawn mowers

clark20, Jan 26, 7:14am
The other away around I think. Ford quoted different power between low and high octane, it was about 4kw different

smac, Jan 26, 7:52am
Don't confuse "will get by on 91" with "designed to run most efficiently on 91".

melonhead1, Jan 27, 8:44am
Give it a try. My car HATES 91, goes OK on 95 and LOVES 98. I just gave them all a crack.

lusty9, Feb 14, 9:15am
Over 10yrs old probably been sucking 91 most of its life why change? and it would have been 91 anyway unless it is the XR8 but then they were 91 too.

clark20, Feb 14, 9:58am

unclejake, Feb 14, 10:44am
Wow. You'd really feel that extra power.

Just before the intake manifold started to leak, the coils failed, the wiper mechanism seized and the hood lining fell off

tamarillo, Feb 14, 8:12pm
91 as others say. If you want 96 do very precise testing as to whether it get any better economy and whether you feel or need any more power. On some cars I can tell and it's worth it, but the Falcons a low tuned beasty so be a hard call.

tamarillo, Feb 14, 8:13pm
I Challange you to blind test and tell difference.
Falcon uses torque mostly.

clark20, Feb 14, 10:56pm
WTF? I am providing facts from the manufacturer and don't need to prove it. Drive a Falcon? nah. And don't get into torque vs hp. More hp at the same revs is more torque. I challenge you to think.

jubre, May 21, 12:24am
Our cars over here were never designed to run on 91 octane fuel. Too much water in it.
You get more milage out of having 95 or 98 octane in it, and it is much better for the engine.

cammey, May 21, 5:36am
Correct.

Higher octane fuels have less specific energy, per unit volume of fuel.

This makes them more stable, so they have less tendency to pre-ignite.

So, a fuel that pre-ignites is not suitable for use in a high compression engine, as it will tend to light before the spark occurs, which at best robs power, and at worst destroys engines.

An engine designed for low octane fuel will therefore produce more power, and give better mpg than the same engine running on high octane fuel.

On the other hand, an engine with higher compression, will spend more time in the power production part of the cycle, so will wring more power out of each gram of fuel. But it needs a high octane fuel to avoid pre-ignition. So even though there is less energy inherently in the fuel, the motor will still deliver more power.

woodypc, Jan 20, 2:42pm
So basically you can use what ever, I think that the falcons can advance the timing to make use of higher octane fuel. Cars like mine, a Diamante, that has no knock sensor, can not advance the timing so it makes no difference if you give it higher octane fuel, some have done test and found you get worse economy in it.