In my area the E34 is about $0.50 per gallon lower than regular E10 fuel will this harm my older cars like my 96 Grand Marquis or 2001 Mercury Sable I am driving nearly 300 miles per day so using a lot of fuel
E30 Fuel in older cars
- Thread starter spk2000
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I wouldn't use more than e10 in something old enough that it's not designed for it.
Take weight out of the car and drive carefully, will equal the 50 cent difference without the potential harmful side effects.
Take weight out of the car and drive carefully, will equal the 50 cent difference without the potential harmful side effects.
I would not because of the potential to cause problems with fuel system elastomeric parts. Ed
Unless you have a flex-fuel vehicle, don't use it.
There's less energy in alcohol too so you won't get the same mileage as regular gasoline.
To avoid potential (expensive) repairs I wouldn't use it in any vehicle not designated for it.
To avoid potential (expensive) repairs I wouldn't use it in any vehicle not designated for it.
I wouldn't use it in any thing older than 2002. I have been running E85 in my 02 Silverado with no issues. Runs great and has been for the past six months since it became available. Fuel economy sucks but when E85 is $1.50 a gallon and 93 is $2.45 the cost per gallon is still better running E85.
Another advantage to running it is my UOA's have improved on it and our 2011 GMC Acadia.
Another advantage to running it is my UOA's have improved on it and our 2011 GMC Acadia.
I wouldn't worry so much about damage to the fuel system components since those cars are new enough that their systems should have been designed with E10 in mind. However, E30 is probably going to put them out of range of the computer and injectors' trim range, so you might run lean and burn a valve, or wind up stuck with a no-start situation in cold weather. Flex-fuel vehicles like my Ram don't just rely on the 02 sensors to trim the mixture for ethanol, they have an additional sensor that detects and estimates the ethanol percentage in the incoming fuel (I believe using the refractive index of the liquid) and that tells the computer to alter the base calibrations to match. Waiting for the o2 sensors to trim the mixture in a system not designed to "look for" high ethanol percentages in the fuel is just asking too much, IMO.
Has anyone seen this? Very informative.
Wow. E34. All I have ever seen in my area is E10, E15, E20, and E85. Makes one wonder why they settled on E34 and not E30 or E35. Kinda like those rare speed limit signs that say something like 21 mph.
As crazy as it sounds, there are drivers of older cars like yours, using E85 with acceptable results. Except during extended full throttle operation, where it runs too lean. Even so, no engine damage results in non turbocharged, lightly loaded engines.
If I were to guess, the E34 would run acceptably in your car, and return about 10% lower fuel economy. Put another way, the ethanol contains roughly 33% less energy than conventional gasoline. So the MPG loss is somewhat proportional to the amount of ethanol.
A 34% concentration of ethanol equals a 10% reduction in energy. So, I'd expect your MPG to go from (for example) 17.5 to about 15.5. But since you save 40 to 50 cents per gallon (about 20+ %) you may come out ahead.
Your car won't have any fuel lines incapable of dealing with ethanol. It's already in our fuel. The concentration does not matter much with regard to rubber degradation.
If I were to guess, the E34 would run acceptably in your car, and return about 10% lower fuel economy. Put another way, the ethanol contains roughly 33% less energy than conventional gasoline. So the MPG loss is somewhat proportional to the amount of ethanol.
A 34% concentration of ethanol equals a 10% reduction in energy. So, I'd expect your MPG to go from (for example) 17.5 to about 15.5. But since you save 40 to 50 cents per gallon (about 20+ %) you may come out ahead.
Your car won't have any fuel lines incapable of dealing with ethanol. It's already in our fuel. The concentration does not matter much with regard to rubber degradation.
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I tend the think the fuel line problem with ethanol was exaggerated. I ran a 1974 Pontiac Catalina with E10 from late 70's on thru till the car itself died of body cancer in the mid 90's. Never a fuel related problem and engine was still good. Same for all my vehicles that were of 70's/80's origin, primarily Ford and GM. Never had a fuel line or carburetor problem. 90's vehicle on, and they are designed with ethanol in mind.
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