Topic: Ethanol Free Gas, Yay or Nay?

[jssgbsn]

'85 4runner, 22RE

There are several stations around me that advertise selling 'Ethanol Free Gas' - probably 'cause I am on the coast and there are boats everywhere.
Not sure if they sell for 'auto' fills, or if I would just fill a tank and then fill my truck.


What are the advantages/disadvantages of ethanol free vs. ethanol?  Does it combust faster/slower?  Better mileage? More efficient?

Any reason I should use it?  I been using Shell (99% of the time) for years.  Just curious what anybody knows about this.

[old runner]

If you have the option run the real gas. I get slightly better mileage, it runs noticeably better and has better power. The closest station near me is 35 miles away and I always fill up there on my way out of town. I keep it around for my small engines too since it doesn't screw up the carburetors if it sits in them for more than a week.

[jrock]

Well for one, your 85 Yota, wasn't designed to run on Ethanol gas. This new stuff isn't as strong. Help that 22re get as much power as it can

[79coyotefrg]

the ethanol ruined my engine twice.  I'll spend 40 cents a gallon more for ethanol free REAL gasoline to keep from having to rebuild an engine.
 My Aunt has replaced the engine on her big Craftsman lawn tractor (Briggs 22hp v twin) 8 times. then I told her about ethanol, she replaced it again and the last engine has lasted longer than the first 7

OH,  my sisters suburban gets 9mpg on 10% ethanol,  16 mpg on pure gas.
my 79 gets 11 on ethanol and runs like crap and has busted the tops of pistons before and on pure gas gets 16-17mpg. 

[old runner]

Exactly. It makes my worn out 22re with the auto almost bearable. I can hold a small hills in o/d on real gas but have to downshift the same hill with ethanol.

[emsvitil]

Figure out your cost per mile for each type of gas.

No ethanol will give you better mileage, but cost more.......

Then pick cheapest.

[79coyotefrg]

http://pure-gas.org/

[jssgbsn [OP]]

I'll give it a go then.  I track my mileage after every fill and have a running average.  Let's see how much it goes up by.  In CO, I was averaging 23.5-24.5 mpg.  It's slowly dropped down to 19-20mpg.

I figured it would run more efficient at sea level.  Been trying to figure out what else has changed.  I never even thought about the ethanol ratio.

[jssgbsn [OP]]

Few more quick questions.

The stations near me are either 'unbranded' or are 'BP Branded'.  Do the brand name options for E0 have detergenst/additives or anything else that makes a difference or is it just the station is partnered with (BP in this example) a brand and so they can advertise with their logo?

Regardless of branding, it appears I can choose 87, 89 or 91 octane.

I would assume I should to stick with 87 octane.

[ryantowry_81]

ethanol has a lower BTU/Gal rating that Gasoline does that is why you see lower performance and MPG.

It is only added to gasoline for emissions reasons, as previously stated some older vehicles seals are not compatible with ethanol and that can cause ill effects.

As for the additives, most of my experience is from diesel studies i did when i lived in Alaska but the way it was up there is all the stations buy from distribution hubs that all get their supplies form the big oil companies in the same trucks and trains. the additives are added at the distribution hubs for the specific customer specs. all the gas stations have their won additive specs which consist of alot of the same chemicals with different trade names for advertising. I have not seen any firm 3rd party studies showing any of the additives being vastly superior to others. i personally would not pay more for a specific companies additives but that is my personal views from my personal experiences.

[toyodaaddict]

I cant say for certain right now but it seems like I read in my 80 pickup owners manual not to run fuel with ethanol , fuel with more than 5% ethanol, or something like that. I remember thinking It was funny considering gas is all 10% ethanol where im at.  I know of two stations that sell ethanol free but they are both 20+ miles away in inconvenient directions 

[jssgbsn [OP]]

Here are my options:

A.) Most Convenient    - BP, 89 Octane, $4.15
B.) Most Affordable      - Unbranded, 87 Octane, $3.95 (RaceWay Station)
C.) Most Octane           - Unbranded, 91 Octane, $4.04

I don't have any predetonation going on so 87 Octane should be fine.  And it's the most affordable. 

I'll prob use that, but when I can't be bothered I'll pony up to the BP for convenience.

[jssgbsn [OP]]

On second thought I think I should use the 89 BP.  I plugged all my numbers into this calculator to figure out if driving further for gas is worth the cost.  The most affordable is 10 miles further away for $0.20 less per gallon.

The calculator below says I am saving $0.41 in total (assuming a full 12 gallon refill).

The time it takes to drive those 10miles is worth more than $0.41  On top of that I am rarely ever on that side of town, so I'm actually driving more than 10 miles to get the lower price.

Oh well, I guess I will get a little higher Octane and whatever 'higher quality' detergents BP puts in.

http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/auto/gas-price-calculator.aspx?MSA=1692&MSA=6080&MSA=6080&MSA=6080&MSA=6080&MSA=6080

[jssgbsn [OP]]

Using the round trip miles driven difference says it will actually cost me $1.58 to drive further to get gas at $0.20 less per gallon. 

Clear to me buying gas in route will always be more affordable.  If I'm on that side of town and passing by I'll  take advantage.  But I don't really see that ever happening.

[2manytoys]

I wish I could get real gas. Nothing but oxygenated stuff here in most of AZ. Found some good stuff way up north near father in laws place. Put in in the wife's FJ Cruiser.

She told me, "Damn, my trucks running good, and I got better mileage!" "What did you do to it?" It DOES make a difference.

[79coyotefrg]

pretty sure the ethanol did this

[old runner]

A couple of the reasons it was forced on us was to help reduce dependency on foreign oil and to help protect the enviroment. I'm not sure what idiot bought and sold the idea but adding 10% ethanol and then having to use 10% or more fuel to go the same distance doesn't jive in my mind, never mind the untold millions of small engines that ended up in the landfills.

[twistedtoy92]

I pay the extra for non ethanol, its well worth it and your engine will appreciate

[Rockcrawlintoy]

Your engines must be temperamental. Mine run great on whatever I put in there. I even forgot to drain my lawnmower over winter and fired right up with the gas I got 1.5 years ago.

[Rockcrawlintoy]

pretty sure the ethanol did this

I thought that was walmart oil that did that

[79coyotefrg]

I thought that was walmart oil that did that

no, the walmart oil burned up the bearings in that one moto.  and I might have thought at the time it was walmart oil that did this but ethanol would be much higher on my probability scale