Guys/Gals - Quick question for the SIGForum Brain Trust please.

I currently travel up to my sons home in North MS (140 miles one way) about once a month and about every third or fourth trip I pull a medium size trailer with my 2012 Tacoma V6 truck (I keep it tuned up and keep good quality spark plugs in it). Yesterday I tried something again for the second time, and it worked again…..

Before leaving town yesterday since I was pulling the trailer (has large mesh fold down ramp that DOES catch a lot of wind at higher speeds) my truck tank needed about 6-7 gallons of gas to fill it up so I stopped at one of our local stations and topped the tank off with Ethanol Free gas (tank on truck is about 17-18 gallons so this represented about a 1/3 blend of Ethanol Free to Ethanol gas). Again, this is the second time I tried this with the same results. NO motor “pinging” when I was faced with those slight to moderate road inclines while traveling on cruse control at 62-63 MPH (speed limit is 65) where the truck had to shift out of overdrive.

Am I wasting the extra $2.00 (Ethanol Free is $0.30 a gallon more than Ethanol gas here) by buying the small amount of Ethanol Free gas? As for fuel economy - not a huge difference that I can tell - maybe 1 mpg better - average right at 16.2 mpg vs. 15.3 mpg (average from the last trip and this trip). Thanks Mark

i have no clue what it does good or bad to the motor but simple math says with the Ethanol free you used .51 less fuel.
I think if you realy want to see the mileage benefits you need to keep track of longer intervals with both fuels

For modern road vehicles in frequent use, there isn't enough benefit from non-ethanol gasoline to justify its expense.

Its real value is for vehicles and equipment that may sit for longer periods of time: Boats, motorcycles, lawn mowers, generators, etc....

Is the gas you get pinging with 87 octane?
Is the ethanol free you are adding and then not getting pinging with 90 octane?

Would the lack of pinging and increased mileage be a function of the increased octane rather than the added gas being ethanol free?

Next time, I’d skip the ethanol free, try the 89 octane, and see if the results were the same.

It really shouldn’t be pinging in the first place. How many miles on the engine?

Lastly, since the engine runs better and your mileage increased, you are not wasting $2. Over 400 miles that $2 saves 1.6 gallons of fuel.

Non ethanol gas is like a unicorn in my area. The only place that sells it labels it as Recreational Gas and it cost @$1.50 more per gallon. I use it in an old truck I rarely drive in hopes that it will keep better over time.
On trips out west I’ve used several tanks of non ethanol gas in both the 4Runner and the old TJ. I couldn’t discern any difference in performance or gas mileage.

There is still around 1 or two gallons of whatever the previous person pumped in the hose, unless they station has a separate hose for ethanol free.

When I fill my 5 gallon gas can (with ethanol free) I always put the first couple of gallons in my truck first.

If I fill up with non-ethanol, my Tacoma gets 23mpg highway versus 20 and change.

quote:

Originally posted by Johnny 3eagles:
There is still around 1 or two gallons of whatever the previous person pumped in the hose, unless they station has a separate hose for ethanol free.

When I fill my 5 gallon gas can (with ethanol free) I always put the first couple of gallons in my truck first.

According to the American Petroleum Institute it's actually about one-third of a gallon, or 1-2 quarts. A standard fuel hose contains about 1 ounce of fuel for every foot of length.

quote:

Originally posted by Johnny 3eagles:
There is still around 1 or two gallons of whatever the previous person pumped in the hose, unless they station has a separate hose for ethanol free.

Station where I used to get my unadulterated gasoline had an entirely separate pump for it. Current station has shared pump housings, but, separate hoses and pumps. Same with diesel.

Trapper et al: Great questions that I neglected to provide the needed details (my bad).

The Ethanol gas that is 87 octane and the Non-Ethanol gas I am buying is 87 octane also. Truck has 86,000 miles on it.

I will try your recommendation on my next trip up when I am pulling the trailer. Thanks for your questions and recommendations.

Ethanol free gas is at a lot of stations in our town and surrounding areas because one local family owns the company that manages the gas at over 250 stations and Ethanol free gas is only $0.30 a gallon more than regular Ethanol gas, but we also pay on average $0.20 more a gallon for regular Ethanol gas than you will once you get out of the area where they own the gas rights at stations. There are a couple of other stations in town that they do not manage (Murphy and Loves) but they know the local pricing situation so they just charge 1 or 2 cents less per gallon and enjoy the higher margins at their pumps.

The good news is Ethanol free gas at most stations is pumped from a dedicated hose and nozzle so I think I am getting 100% Ethanol free gas when using these type pumps (like ensigmatic described above).

I personally think ethanol is shit. I think it contributes it issues with fuel injectors and we arent saving money when you factor in the government subsidies and the cost to produce the corn that goes into it.

I would prefer non ethanal all the time but you wont see a big difference in gas milage. especially if you only filled a third of a tank

I had bought a decent amount of ethanol free last year for the generator before we ended up evacuating for Ian. When we returned after the storm, I had about 40 gallons left to use up. I added stabilizer and started filling the cars with it.

Anecdotally, both of our cars idled better and ran smoother on ethanol free. As far as fuel economy goes, I do not believe there was a noticable difference. It surely isn't worth the premium unless you are running lawn equipment or a generator.

Ethanol free will generate a very small percentage more power. Most ethanol free is around 90 octane. I wouldn’t think your engine would be pinging on 87 unless the manual calls for higher.

Interesting that it’s the same octane rating, yet eliminates the pinging in your truck. The ethanol free by me in Florida and Michigan is 90 octane.

I’d keep doing what you are doing.

For $2.00 not really out anything. I wish ethanol in fuel would just go away.

No places close to me sell it anymore.
Have a Bucee’s about 35 miles from me that sells 87 and 90. 87 is usually 5 cents more and sometimes it has been 5 cents less.
They also have 90 but it is usually about 50 cents more than 87.
I make the trip in early spring and get 15 gallons for my year old small engine needs and of course a brisket sandwich.

It’s on the way to and from my cabin. When I drive to the cabin I fill up with 90 ethanol free on the way back as my tank is mostly empty.
Then I do some good old fashioned Italian Tune ups through the mountains on the way home.

The math for the different mileage is interesting. Ethanol has around 33% less energy content than gasoline, so gasoline with 10% ethanol has around 4% less energy content. At local rates of $3.79/gal, buying non-ethanol gas for 20 cents more looks like the break even point with better mileage and buying fuel less frequently.

Another consideration: my mechanic showed me carbon buildup on my Lexus and said it's prevented if I use non-ethanol gasoline. Cleaning up the carbon yielded a significant performance boost, so there's another cost of using ethanol gas.

Ethanol-free gas has more energy than ethanol. In theory you should get about 15% better fuel economy with ethanol-free.

My experience has been mixed. I had a 2004 Audi that required premium, and it indeed got better mileage with ethanol free. My 2018 Subaru did slightly better with ethanol free mid grade than with ethanol blends, but not anywhere near 15% better.

My 2015 Kawasaki motorcycle seems no difference.

The motorcycle has a reflashed ECU by a very scientific pro to run better at lower rpm where that engine is known to be rough, but not for more hp. He states that his remapping was specifically for ethanol blends, so there is no benefit using non-ethanol. I have no idea what the details are, but I assume that there is something about ignition timing or fuel mixture that can be tweaked to favor one type or the other, and then by extension perhaps older vehicles are engineered for non-ethanol and newer for ethanol. Perhaps your vehicle is optimized for non-ethanol.

Or it could be the ethanol free you are using is slightly higher octane in reality than the ethanol you normally run even if both are labeled the same.

You won't hurt anything not using ethanol. If it prevents pinging that is a good thing, and I'd keep using it for those trips.

Modern vehicles are made to run gas with up to 10% ethanol. It doesn't make much difference given the price difference. I only buy nonethanol for small motors such as mowers, blowers, scooters, etc.

I have seen what I'd call significant improvement in MPG and a little more torque in the lower gears (measured by my butt in the seat gauge) with E0. We have a Bucee’s about 15 miles from home and a fair amount just over the Oklahoma boarder. Not close enough to make it worth while as a regular fill up place. So if I happen to be near, I might get a tankful otherwise it's QT's top tier gas supplemented with a bottle of Techron every now and again.