redrocker55

I found a gas station on this weeks trip for work that offers 93 Octane with zero Ethanol added. I had 1/4 of a tank of gas remaining and I filled up the tank and headed home.

The trip is 200 miles. I drove between 78-80 mph the entire time (keeping up with traffic). And it's very hilly. My GPS was measuring elevation changes between 700 and 1,400 feet. There are at least 15-20 of these elevation changes along this highway. Not much flat land.

On Tuesday, driving from St Louis to Springfield, MO I averaged 24.2 mpg on 93 Shell that contained 10% Ethanol.

On Wednesday, driving from Springfield, MO to St Louis I averaged 27.1 mpg on 93 Conoco that contained Zero Ethanol.

I discovered this gas station at http://pure-gas.org/

Every time I travel to this city I'm filling up at this gas station. By the way...the gas station was PACKED!! I had to wait in line to get an open pump. While I was filling up another vehicle was waiting behind me. I talked to a local man filling up a BMW and he told me this is the only place they buy gas because the MPG are quite a bit better.

The price was $.02 cheaper per gallon in Springfield than St Louis.

So no additional charge for better fuel...no ethanol...better MPG's...I've decided I hate ethanol!!!

S5nirvana

You aren't the only one who doesn't like ethanol!

Good site.

I believe there are a lot of stations in Canada that don't cut premium fuel with ethanol - and your site seems to confirm that. (Shell Canada)

NWS4Guy

Yea Ethanol is teh suq. More power from straight gas.

IAS5

other way around- more power from ethanol/E85, worse mileage.....

NWS4Guy

I could have sworn that even though the added octane is from the ethanol, it's not as powerful.

IAS5

i believe, in short, the engine adjusts timing for the ethanol in the blend, thus making more power, but consuming more fuel.

helix139

This is true. Ethanol can run more advanced timings, but still contains fewer BTUs than gasoline. The timings will offset the power loss somewhat, but it's still there. They just switched from the summer gasoline mix here (10% ethanol) to the winter mix at most of the gas stations and the jump in MPG is noticeable (~2mpg). The same amount of fuel is consumed for each combustion event, it just doesn't provide as much power.

The other thing to consider is "93 with 10% ethanol" may often be 91 or 92 with 10% ethanol added, effectively bumping it to an effective rating of 93, as opposed to 93 with 10% ethanol added, bumping it up even higher.

IAS5

no, not exactly. It may contain fewer BTU's, but by advancing the timing, it allows the car to make more power. And you do consume more fuel- that's why your mpg's go down with an ethanol blend.

Brandonb

Awesome site. Thank you!! I've got some destinations now for this weekend's drive.

I hate ethanol. It's just a corn subsidy at consumers' expense.

helix139

This is only true IF the engine compression is increased and IF the ECU specifically is programmed to adapt to ethanol. With 10% ethanol, neither is true and timing alone can't overcome the decreased energy content. Otherwise, energy per combustion event (aka torque) is less than the same engine on Gasoline.