maxim14212

Hello. Want to ask the people on the forum what are the benefits of using 93 grade ethanol free gas. All comments will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Slamrod

iTrader: (11)

I know ethanol famously attracts water, which i believe in the long term can degrade the gas, IF it sits for like a year or two.

Beyond that i dont think theres any meaningful difference. I know it is benefitial to run 91 octane to avoid engine knock but im not aware of anything concerning benefits from gas that contains no ethanol being run in your car.

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

Ethanol, made from corn, is not as powerful a fuel as gasoline. A while back there was a push to have only ethanol as a car's fuel but then reality stepped in. Vehicles were built that could run on either gasoline or ethanol and gas stations had pumps for ethanol. In general, vehicles that ran on ethanol got 25% less gas mileage. This was verified time and time and again by the people that owned the dual fuel vehicles.

Production of ethanol had a nasty backlash on the general public. Refiners were paying more money for corn than the farmers could get from the food processors. So there were shortages and the price of food went up.

The final reality was when the truth came out that the production of ethanol required more energy to make it than the ethanol produced when burned. To a country trying to reduce its energy consumption, this project was a failure. In fact, Europe had been on the same ethanol kick, but 5 or 10 years before us. They discovered the same thing we did. When Europe was shutting down its Ethanol crusade, the politicians in the US were passing laws to build ours.

Why we still blend it with gasoline, I'm not sure. I think it helps with the pollution so the reduced gas mileage is tolerated. But if you bought Ethanol free gasoline, you would probably feel a performance difference.

max ride 41

iTrader: (4)

unfortunately, cars our age have the biggest loss in gas mileage. it rots our engines and causes engine knock and i stay away from high ethanol gas. i wish they'd get rid of it altogether.

Fakie J Farkerton

iTrader: (51)

Tc-w3

maxim14212

Thank for the great input. I did actually use it in my car which is a 98 gle. Right after filling it up I noticed a slight increase in throttle response. Was amazed that even 10% ethanol in regular gas deprives us of some power. My friends from the middle east told me to use ethanol free gas to get good results. Still waiting on the results.

Turbobink

iTrader: (2)

Unlike MTBE, ethanol is hygroscopic which leads to its relatively quick degradation and can create notable performance and economy issues in many engines especially those in the pre-1998 production years.

Ethanol alcohol fuel blends typically expire in 90 days.

When exposed to excessive moisture, they will expire even faster.

Studies report that in less than 100 days, alcohol fuels can absorb enough moisture to phase separate.

Ethanol is an excellent solvent and therefore degrades, sometimes rapidly, plastic; rubber; and other petroleum based materials.

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, the old cars from the 70's and earlier would have the fuel hoses rot out rather quickly after they started using 100% Ethanol. And because Ethanol didn't contain lead, the valve guides in older cars also wore out quickly. It seems that the designers of those old engines relied on the lead in the gasoline as lubricant for the valve guides.

Turbobink

iTrader: (2)

Tetra ethyl lead (TEL) worked as a buffer against micro-welds that would form between the hot exhaust valves and their seats. When the valves would reopen, the micro-welds would pull/tear apart and leave the valves with a rough surface that would, over time, abrade the seats, leading to valve recession.

When (TEL) began to be phased out the auto makers began specifying hardened valve seats and upgraded exhaust valve materials to prevent the fomraation of the mico-welds and valve recession.

jfactor

Where do you get ethanol free gas from? All the gas here in Texas has that crap in it now.

Turbobink

iTrader: (2)

http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=TX

carsnwomen91

shell 91 v power is the only gas i know to be ethanol free, its the only one at the gas stations that doesn't say "up to 10% ethanol added"

at least thats whats here in canada... i thought they add ethanol for cleaner burning but it burns quicker.

6cyl-97maxima

I'm in New Brunswick, CA. and it was my understanding that at almost any gas station as long as you fill up with "supreme" gas, (usually 91 octane around here), then your getting ethanol free gas, whether there is a 10% sticker on the pump or not. The sticker pertains to the "regular" (81 Oct), and "pluse" (apx. 85 Oct.), gas. If a staition can't offer ethanol free gas then they simply don't offer superme. Have I had it wrong all these years? However, Its common knowledge around here with people who work in the woods running a 2-stroke chain saw all day, that you use supreme to mix your gas/oil mixture, as the regular has ethanol and Burns too hot pluse supreme has a higher octane.
Shell has 93 octane, cool, I'll have to check it out, there is only one or two shells in Fredericton so I don't usually get gas there. Irving and Esso are all over though.
Sorry for my poor punctuation I'm typing on this stupid phone.

mista0406

iTrader: (22)

Ethanol is basically a filler for the gas stations, kinda like skimping you... you get 90% of the 100% you pay for(that may contain 10% ethanol sign) and places like shell and chevron add other additives to "clean" your internals on top of that 10% ethanol./Rant

FYI, I only use premium 100% gas... Theres a few places here where I live that sell it.

ShocknAwe

iTrader: (3)

numerous smaller stations around here sell ethanol free. Its not a conspiracy with the mixes that do have it though, it enables stations to sell the gas for cheaper as it has less gas.

6cyl-97maxima

Is "supreme" 91 octane gas the same as premium? I'm just trying to determin if I've been putting ethanol gas in my car when I thought I was putting in pure gas all these years. I asked at an Irving one time and they told me that the supreme does not have ethanol in it.

dpoglide

Are there any harmful effects of using ethanol mixed gas?

mista0406

iTrader: (22)

Kinda... down here in New Orleans our highest octane is 93 but it all depends on the station on how they call it, where I go they call it "Premium". Just think of it as low grade/mid grade/high grade, and I put high grade non-ethanol gas.

TravisCadello

where did you find ethanol free gas? of course its much better and would have more power, less gunk build up and better gas mileage! how much was it a gal?

mista0406

iTrader: (22)

It all depends.... Alot of newer vehicles work better or don't get affected with the mixed gas/ethanol, but like mentioned earlier vehicles before 1998 (i'd say 2000) tend to notice a drop in performance and/or a fuel efficiency problem, and even worse.... fuel line disintegration and detonation.

carsnwomen91

there is no 81 and 85 octane wtf? its regular, mid grade and premium 87,89,91 and at some petro canada's they have sunoco's old 94 octane that would be considered super premium. 91 octane is not all ethanol-free except certain regions like yours (http://pure-gas.org/) i was just reading on petro's website today and all their grades gas contain up to 10% ethanol and the higher grade gas the less the mixture (including 94 octane). husky and esso also have ethanol in their 91 octanes. i have never seen shell have 93 in ontario

its a filler to promote better/cleaner combustion by oxygenating (sure?) but lessen mileage, i'm not sure what outweighs what but we spend more on gas either way... anyways the pump will tell you which gas is mixed with ethanol, the way we use cars imo such a blend wont harm it but i would avoid ethanol mixed gas in equipment like mowers/chainsaws etc and in powersports dirtbikes/atv's especially 2 strokes

mista0406

iTrader: (22)

Not at all saying its a conspiracy but kinda like consumer control of the fuel. Much of the newer vehicles run just fine with the mix, its the older vehicles that are having the issues.

mista0406

iTrader: (22)

FIXED but THIS IS TRUE^^^^^^^^

carsnwomen91

ok so 4th gens were desgined for ethanol-free for best mileage and no knock at 91 octane... could you get 94 octane with say 5% blend and still retain anti-knock properties and negate the loss in gas mileage? or should we all be looking for shell v-power and other non ethanol premium stations?

6cyl-97maxima

Yeah sorry, I don't use regular or pluses gas so I guess I got the octane wrong with those blends. But your right regular is 87 not 81, thanks for the correction. Damn, I have to stopp talking out my ****, LOL.
At ever gas station where I am, the supreme is usually on the same pump station as the regular an pluses blends, I asked the clerk, ( if you can believe what they say), and was told that the 10% pertains to the regular gas, there is a little less in the pluses and none in the superme.
Edit: I just reread your reply, and checked out the link. So its only in my region that the gas is sold in that manner. Thanks

6cyl-97maxima

OK good, I always use high grade.

carsnwomen91

no worries man i know they sell 92 or 93 octane here or there but never seen or heard anything lower than 87 thats why i was trippin...you're lucky that your region all 91 octane is ethanol free, here its only shell and a few no name brand stations that even though they have ethanol free i don't trust them.

the sales clerk is right about that blend though. its a solid 10% for 87 and less as it goes up so 5% would be 89 and 91 0% for you. in high polluting areas most if not all gas has ethanol added, it works the same way as in less ethanol in higher grades but still contains some. i would think in ontario 87 has 10%, 89 7.5% and 91 has 5% and petro 94 is somewhere 0-5%. that last sentence is a guess on percentages but whats true is higher grade gasses have SLIGHTLY less ethanol mix

6cyl-97maxima

Wow, I guess I am lucky, I though the supreme was ethanol-free everywhere, But I guess its not. That sucks man, I glad I don't have to hunt around looking for ethanol free gas!

stromm

iTrader: (1)

Here in aphid, ethanol is added to all gasoline. The state now allows for up to 20% and I think it actually requires at least 10%.

Totally screws with my 1994 Impala SS. Much more than my Maxima.

T_Behr904

Ethanol is garbage. If you can find gas without it in your area, use it. There's a reason why ethanol and ethanol blended gas is not and will not ever be approved for aviation and marine use. Because it's garbage.

6cyl-97maxima

+1! Being around boats all my life all boaters stay away from ethanol gas. anyone running 2-stroke engines do too. One problem is ethanol Burns hort! On the pluses side, if you have an all ethanol vehicle, one could easily destill you own person fuel, and have a few drinks while you were at it...

ShocknAwe

iTrader: (3)

I wouldnt say it is garbage but it is not ideal if you can get gas without it. A lot of fillers in gasoline nowadays. I put in lucas injector cleaner every now and again to make sure nothing builds up

6cyl-97maxima

It works but I was always told to avoid using ethanol blends in older cars and to not use it at all in 2-stroke motors. But if you understand what is and what isn't OK to run on ethanol blends on, then not it's not garpage petsay. But I don't like it and wish they would do away with it. But still have it as an option for engines that are designed to run on ethanol

ShocknAwe

iTrader: (3)

People want cheap gas. Thats the only reason.

Fakie J Farkerton

iTrader: (51)

Was it mentioned here already that gas stations get a tax break as an incentive to carry ethanol..?

carsnwomen91

something was mentioned it was cheaper for the government to blend it but not individual companies or stations

jfactor

Ethanol also boosts octane. This means they can produce gas at lower octane ratings and rely on ethanol to boost it. I don't see any real benefit to using E10 gas, the mileage is worse, it doesn't produce as much power or mpg as the old gas and it really doesn't reduce emissions much.

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

It's a 15+ year old vehicle. I put gas in it, it drives fine and gives me great mileage for a V6. Sometimes I use regular too. The placebo effect is frightening.

6cyl-97maxima

maybe its placebo, maybe its not. Many of my friends claim that when they burn supreme/ethanol free gas it goes down slower, therefor you make up for the extra cents per liter because the gas last longer.
I've run regular a couple of times and didn't have a problem, but everything just seems better with supreme

maxgtr2000

iTrader: (29)

Ethanol has less energy than straight gas, it just burns cooler. It is good for competition/track runs, but not really for daily driving. E85 plus high compression+turbo=win. Gas mileage, not so much.