15% Ethanol Starting May 1st?

[Murphy Slaw]

My brother called me yesterday and said they’re sneaking in more ethanol next month and he’s worried about his old TJ.

Surely there will be options for people with older vehicles, or just don’t want to run it, eh?

Will it be 15% in premium?

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[Ol’ Timey Manual SWB Guy]

https://www.pure-gas.org/

I have one older vehicle. So I do some mental math at the pump each time, trying to keep my ethanol at 10% (E10) and my octane at 90%. My newer vehicles don’t care about E15.

 

[Dadrifle]

My neck of the woods most of the Maveriks have ethanol free, more expensive than premium and 2 octane less but it's an option. Run all my carbureted small engines on it.
My guess is somewhere near you has it if you want to pay for it.

 

[Matt878]

It’ll run just fine.

the only problem is that with higher ethanol fuel like e30,e50, especially e85…the fuel lines eventually corrode due to the corrosive nature of the alcohol and the ECU cannot adjust which makes it run very lean

flex fuel cars have specific fuel pumps and fuel lines that prevent corrosion and allow e85….on top of ECU mapping that takes advantage of the much higher octane rating of e85 vs 87/91/93. Running r85 on a car built for 87 won’t work due to fuel and spark mapping but e15 is fine

btw cars run much cooler with ethanol anyway.

 

[TheGrendel]

My brother called me yesterday and said they’re sneaking in more ethanol next month and he’s worried about his old TJ.

Surely there will be options for people with older vehicles, or just don’t want to run it, eh?

Will it be 15% in premium?

I would not say there are sneaking it in. This has been talked about for a long time. There's negligible difference between e10 and e15.

 

[Heimkehr]

My brother called me yesterday and said they’re sneaking in more ethanol next month and he’s worried about his old TJ.

Surely there will be options for people with older vehicles, or just don’t want to run it, eh?

Will it be 15% in premium?

By way of example, the Sheetz stations in this area have three nozzles at each pump: one for E10 (87/89/93), one for E15 (88) and a third for Flex Fuel (up to E85).

Each handle has a distinct color, with adjacent labeling that is unignorably plain.

Is this an issue in IL, where the unnamed They might be a regulatory authority?

 

[2nd 392]

By way of example, the Sheetz stations in this area have three nozzles at each pump: one for E10 (87/89/93), one for E15 (88) and a third for Flex Fuel (up to E85).

Each handle has a distinct color, with adjacent labeling that is unignorably plain.

Is this an issue in IL, where the unnamed They might be a regulatory authority?

The problem is the vast majority of stations are tanked, piped, and pumped for 3 grades. The local CFN’s I use only 2, no mid grade. So by necessity instead of, not in addition too, and instead of what grade.
or will all go 15% ?

 

[Dusty Dude]

I would not say there are sneaking it in. This has been talked about for a long time. There's negligible difference between e10 and e15.

The negligible difference will be loss of mpg

 

[WillysMeow]

Ethanol reduces MPG while wasting energy converting food grown and then fermented into alcohol, refined, etc. It also corrodes metal fuel components and shortens life of rubber fuel lines etc...all bad.

 

[2nd 392]

Ethanol reduces MPG while wasting energy converting food grown and then fermented into alcohol, refined, etc. It also corrodes metal fuel components and shortens life of rubber fuel lines etc...all bad.

Hey- did you miss the official announcement ? e-15 approved “so we can enjoy it’s benefits” … but benefits not explained.

 

[Oncorhynchus]

Hey- did you miss the official announcement ? e-15 approved “so we can enjoy it’s benefits” … but benefits not explained.

Kinda like a friend with benefits but when you wake up in the morning your Rolex is missing and said friend’s phone is no longer in service. So I’ve heard. Not speaking from experience. Your mileage may vary.

 

[croppz]

Some E is great, it burns cooler but faster which mean reduced MPG but engine should run a little cooler. When I ran an e30 mix in my last tuned turbocharged car, MPG tanked but the car ran amazing lol. I stuck with just 93 after that.

Going from E10 to E15 though may not be as drastic of a change to MPG as some may think though.

 

[gek]

Iowa has had e-15 for years. It is labeled and is usually right next to e-85 on the end of the pump separated from the others.

 

[alphawolff]

READ YOUR OWNERS MANUAL. Many vehicles (such at the JL) are approved up to 15% ethanol.

Some, such as the current generation miata, are only approved for 10%.

If your owners manual states 10%, DO NOT use 15% ethanol. I'm not getting into politics, but whomever decided to release 15% ethanol in place of normal 10% has absolutely no idea the damage this will cause. It's pure ignorance. Ethanol is great but it requires PCM programming, and in some cases flex fuel sensors, to properly run.

JL:

This is from my Miata's owners manual:

edit; older vehicles such as the 3.8l JK also require 10% or less:

This is more of an issue for older vehicles than newer ones, be sure to check your manual.

 

[Oncorhynchus]

Given the prices for e10-87, e15-88, and 91 around SouthEast Wisconsin, it is worth paying for the 91 (no ethanol) grade of gas. Definitely can feel it in the pep of the engine and the miles per gallon.

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