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5.3L fuel usage?


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I've had my 2018 5.3L for a month now and I was wondering which gas do you guys tend to use week to week? I've tried 87, 89, and 93 (still have tried E85 yet) in the truck and I can't quite determine yet what I should be using. I did notice with the premium the truck ran a bid better, but I've heard you don't want to use premium week in week out.

 

Do you guys recommend to use premium once a month and then 90 on the rest of the fill-ups? Just wondering what everyone else has been using for filling their truck up.

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Captain,

I have tried all 3 87,89 and 91 around here with really no noticeable differences in MPG gain/loss or performance.

From about May thru the 1st of October I run E85

Right now it is $.65 a gallon cheaper than 87

My 5.3 Loves the E85. Smoother shifting, idling added performance give or take 20-25hp and torque.

Main benefit with it is no more black soot at the end of the tailpipe. Truck also runs cooler with Ethanol.

Where did you hear that premium was not good to run week in week out in the 5.3?

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E85 is great for power, terrible for gas mileage.  Just stick with 87 octane.  Also long as you are using gas that it Top Tier certified, you are good.  The owner manual recommends 87 too.  Higher octane will not hurt the engine at all, just your bank account.  

 

46 minutes ago, captainzombie said:

I've had my 2018 5.3L for a month now and I was wondering which gas do you guys tend to use week to week? I've tried 87, 89, and 93 (still have tried E85 yet) in the truck and I can't quite determine yet what I should be using. I did notice with the premium the truck ran a bid better, but I've heard you don't want to use premium week in week out.

 

Do you guys recommend to use premium once a month and then 90 on the rest of the fill-ups? Just wondering what everyone else has been using for filling their truck up.

 

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Premium does not hurt anything. It also doesn't help anything unless you are the owner of BP or Exxon, pocketing the extra money.

For your 5.3, just buy the regular 87 from your choice top tier station, like your owners manual states.

 

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I also don't believe that anyone comes out ahead with E85 or ethanol. They can sell it a bit cheaper per gallon, but you are sacrificing power and mpgs in exchange. 

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33 minutes ago, m3n00b said:

Doesn't matter if you use premium or not.  

Cool, thanks!

10 minutes ago, Sierra Dan said:

Captain,

I have tried all 3 87,89 and 91 around here with really no noticeable differences in MPG gain/loss or performance.

From about May thru the 1st of October I run E85

Right now it is $.65 a gallon cheaper than 87

My 5.3 Loves the E85. Smoother shifting, idling added performance give or take 20-25hp and torque.

Main benefit with it is no more black soot at the end of the tailpipe. Truck also runs cooler with Ethanol.

Where did you hear that premium was not good to run week in week out in the 5.3?

I'll have to check out E85 at some point to see how the truck drives since you have had a good experience with it.

 

I was talking with a few friends in the past about premium, they were just saying about using premium in general and had nothing to do with the 5.3L.

1 minute ago, btj_z71 said:

E85 is great for power, terrible for gas mileage.  Just stick with 87 octane.  Also long as you are using gas that it Top Tier certified, you are good.  The owner manual recommends 87 too.  Higher octane will not hurt the engine at all, just your bank account.  

 

 

Totally agree that it does hurt the bank account with the size of these fuel tanks. LOL!

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4 minutes ago, btj_z71 said:

E85 is great for power, terrible for gas mileage.  Just stick with 87 octane.  Also long as you are using gas that it Top Tier certified, you are good.  The owner manual recommends 87 too.  Higher octane will not hurt the engine at all, just your bank account.  

 

 

Sure it is "terrible for gas mileage" but at the price difference per gallon it is a welcomed tradeoff for the results :thumbs:

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I run My 5.3 L83 on 92 "Premium" PEMEX Fuel and my average is around 17 MPG City and 20 Highway.

 

This is driving quite agressively because i like to have fun

 

Engine Mods Are:

-Speed Engineering Longube Headers

-Full Dual Custom 3" Exhaust

-The AIRAID Intake Tube Thingy

-DiabLew Custom Tune 

-Catch Can Fully Vented to the Exhaust

 

I Can HyperMile the truck a bit more but i dont like driving like a learning 15 YO

 

I can Also Blend my own E85 for going racing or something because here in Mexico they sell 100% Ethanol on other service stations (by putting 14 liters of premium and 76 of Ethanol) but my mileage is cut by half and is crap for daily driving

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56 minutes ago, m3n00b said:

Doesn't matter if you use premium or not.  

Unless you tune the truck or modify the engine.

 

Depends on the tune, but for performance you should not run a tuned truck on 87

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20 minutes ago, Sierra Dan said:

Sure it is "terrible for gas mileage" but at the price difference per gallon it is a welcomed tradeoff for the results :thumbs:

So you'd rather spend $40 dollars every 320 miles than $50 dollars to get 400 miles?

At the end of the month the total price is the same but you had to make 1 or 2 more stops at the gas station.

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6 minutes ago, aseibel said:

So you'd rather spend $40 dollars every 320 miles than $50 dollars to get 400 miles?

At the end of the month the total price is the same but you had to make 1 or 2 more stops at the gas station.

By results in performance, you can fall in love with how the truck pulls and drives.

 

In my case, for example, Ethanol in Mexico is way too expensive for the mileage 

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I run 89 in mine only because it tends to knock with 87. My mileage had dropped down to about 15 mpg around town but I had a transmission flush and mileage jumped back up to around 18 mpg. That was around 52-53k miles and I currently have 58-59k.

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Ahhhhh,  the great E85 vs Regular debate! :D

It is all subject to opinions and experiences.

The OP stated he has not tried E85.

I am simply giving the opinion based on my benefits of using E85 over what it will cost in the long or short run.

YES Andy, to answer your question.... it is worth an extra trip to the gas station now and then.

Again, the performance and clean burning aspect of E85 is worth the subtle 2mpg or so loss in fuel economy to me.

In winter I do not run E85 due to longer crank times and more loss in mpg.

The difference to me is negligible in the warmer months.

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4 minutes ago, Sierra Dan said:

Ahhhhh,  the great E85 vs Regular debate! :D

It is all subject to opinions and experiences.

The OP stated he has not tried E85.

I am simply giving the opinion based on my benefits of using E85 over what it will cost in the long or short run.

YES Andy, to answer your question.... it is worth an extra trip to the gas station now and then.

Again, the performance and clean burning aspect of E85 is worth the subtle 2mpg or so loss in fuel economy to me.

In winter I do not run E85 due to longer crank times and more loss in mpg.

The difference to me is negligible in the warmer months.

We should also menction that Ethanol is good if you daily the truck, but not if it sits

 

If theres alcohol in the tank and it sits for a long time, it will begin to absorb the humidity of the surrounding air and then you will have water on your fuel lines

 

Also, i have read (but dont know if its a mith) That burning ethanol on an engine affects the motor oil and you need to get shorter oil change intervals 

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