E88 Fuel Okay for 3.6?

[Donp]

We keep seeing E88 gasoline popping up on gas station signs at significantly lower prices than E87. Is it safe to use in 3.6 Jeep engines ?

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[DarthAWM]

I can't imagine 1% more ethanol would be a problem, the main point of gasoline in ethanol fuels is to keep people from drinking it

 

[AFD]

The owner's manual states that gasoline with up to 15% ethanol can be used, which is what E88 has.

I personally wouldn't touch the shit, unless you're looking for even worse fuel economy. If I had more of a choice around here, I'd pay a little extra for ethanol-free "Pure Gas" if I could.

 

[Zon]

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

 

[Kracka]

Unleaded88 (E15) is approved for use in all vehicles 2001 & newer. It's 15% ethanol (vs. 10%) which is how it gets the additional point of octane. I personally use it in all our V6 Pentastars (3) and they respond favorably due to the additional octane.

Alcohol is an excellent knock quench along with running slightly cooler. Alcohol is also a excellent cleaning agent to remove deposits, etc. It will also absorb any water contamination in your tank (think HEET). Fuel ethanol (alcohol) is actually the exact same that goes into hand sanitizers, craft distilleries, industrial cleaners, etc.

 

[Heimkehr]

Unleaded88 (E15) is approved for use in all vehicles 2001 & newer.

That's nonsense language from the EPA.

By way of example, the Owner's Manual for my 2006 Honda specifically proscribed the use of any ethanol concentration exceeding 10%. The manual is the controlling authority here, not a government agency.

OP: Read your Owner's Manual. The related language is what the engineers have determined to be appropriate for the vehicle in question. That's who you should believe.

Note that all motorcycles, which are also legally "vehicles", are prohibited from using E15.

 

[Kracka]

OP: Read your Owner's Manual. The related language is what the engineers have determined to be appropriate for the vehicle in question. That's who you should believe.

Owners manual states up to 15%.

 

[Old Dogger]

Stay away from it, 10% is bad enough!!!!!!!

 

[AFD]

Owners manual states up to 15%.

In the JL, yes. You stated "Unleaded88 (E15) is approved for use in all vehicles 2001 & newer." which is incorrect/misleading.

It's approved by the EPA (or whoever) for use in vehicles 2001 and newer, but not all manufacturers have approved >10% ethanol for every vehicle in their lineup for those years and often have clear verbiage in the owner's manual stating that any engine damage caused by the use of any fuel with over 10% ethanol will not be covered by the manufacturer's warranty.

 

[Kracka]

In the JL, yes. You stated "Unleaded88 (E15) is approved for use in all vehicles 2001 & newer." which is incorrect/misleading.

It's approved by the EPA (or whoever) for use in vehicles 2001 and newer, but not all manufacturers have approved >10% ethanol for every vehicle in their lineup for those years and often have clear verbiage in the owner's manual stating that any engine damage caused by the use of any fuel with over 10% ethanol will not be covered by the manufacturer's warranty.

It's federal law. I'm not trying to be combative, but that is direct from a US Government agency. Both my wife & I are in the motor fuels industry, so take that as you will. She's with one of the TopTier majors and I'm with a smaller outfit.

 

[AFD]

It's federal law. I'm not trying to be combative, but that is direct from a US Government agency.

Just because it's approved for use in those vehicles doesn't necessarily mean the manufacturer is being forced to warranty its use, nor does it mean the consumer is protected if they decide to not follow the manufacturer's warnings not to use it.

Maybe it's 100% safe and the EPA ruling retroactively overrides the manufacturer's clearly written warnings that they will deny warranty coverage for using it, but that is something I personally don't wish to fight in court, let alone fight about with a dealer or regional rep for a costly and possibly unrelated engine/drivetrain repair.

If the manufacturer and their engineers have already decided that a certain model of vehicle is not designed to safely run >10% ethanol and have clearly stated so in writing, I personally see no benefit in saving a relatively small amount of money by ignoring their warnings, nor can I in good faith recommend that others simply disregard those same warnings, regardless of what some 3rd-party wanting to push corn over fossils has to say about it.

And don't get me wrong. We both know the old Evo X was a beast with a proper hardware conversion and tuned to run on E85 (up to 85% ethanol). It can certainly be a good fuel when the vehicle is designed to safely run it.


Anyway, I've come across many of these warnings from several different manufacturers (for certain models) from my 2010 Evo X up to some 2020-era models. Here's one from a 2020 Mazda CX-5..

 

[Kracka]

Good thing this is a Wrangler JL forum. Not sure why you're talking about imports or anything else in this forum. I'm personally not too concerned about some Mitsubishi I owned a decade and a half ago...which I didn't tune to run on E85 (I was tuned for 93 E10).

My C7 & C8 ran best on E30 95-octane, but that's neither here nor there. This thread is about a JL running E15, in which it's fully approved to do so.

 

[Kracka]

Just because it's approved for use in those vehicles doesn't necessarily mean the manufacturer is being forced to warranty its use, nor does it mean the consumer is protected if they decide to not follow the manufacturer's warnings not to use it.

Actually, that are...

 

[Kracka]

Fun fact: most "E15" is actually typically 13% while regular E10 can often times be as much as 11%. Realistically, the difference is minimal while the consumer can save 5-15c/gal for basically the exact same fuel with the exact same additives.

 

[azjl#3]

The owner's manual states that gasoline with up to 15% ethanol can be used, which is what E88 has.

I personally wouldn't touch the shit, unless you're looking for even worse fuel economy. If I had more of a choice around here, I'd pay a little extra for ethanol-free "Pure Gas" if I could.

dont use any eth if possible.

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