Should the 2.3T Mustang use 92 or 95 octane gasoline?
1 Answers
According to the official vehicle manual recommendation, the 2.3T Mustang should use 92 octane gasoline. In addition to checking the appropriate gasoline grade in the vehicle manual, the 2.3T Mustang can also check it on the fuel tank cap, which will also be marked. Usually, the gasoline grade can also be determined based on the engine's compression ratio. Cars with an engine compression ratio between 8.6-9.9 should choose 92 octane gasoline, while those with a compression ratio between 10.0-11.5 should choose 95 octane gasoline. However, with the use of some new technologies nowadays, the gasoline grade cannot be solely determined by the compression ratio. High compression ratio engines can also be tuned to use lower octane gasoline because, apart from the compression ratio, other factors such as ignition timing, turbocharging technology, and Atkinson cycle technology also play a role. Generally speaking, the higher the gasoline grade, the higher the octane number and the better the anti-knock performance. 92 octane gasoline contains 92% isooctane and 8% n-heptane, while 95 octane gasoline contains 95% isooctane and 5% n-heptane. If the 2.3T Mustang occasionally uses the wrong gasoline grade, simply switch back to the correct grade after use. However, long-term use of the wrong gasoline grade can have the following effects: For vehicles recommended to use lower octane gasoline, using higher octane gasoline by mistake will not cause damage, but the increase in octane number will change the fuel's ignition point, leading to delayed combustion in the engine. This means both the engine's power output and thermal efficiency will decrease, and the actual feedback experience is reduced performance. For vehicles recommended to use higher octane gasoline, using lower octane gasoline can cause engine knocking. Because the octane number is too low, the gasoline's ignition point decreases and it may ignite prematurely during the compression stroke. If detonation occurs before the spark plug ignites during the compression stroke, resistance will appear in the upward stroke. This resistance will make the engine run very unstably. If it's just mild knocking, the noise will increase, but the damage to the engine is not significant. If there is obvious knocking, it indicates the engine's condition is already very severe. The vibration not only affects driving stability but can also cause abnormal wear of the piston and cylinder, and in severe cases, even cylinder scoring.
