Is my engine warranty void? engine requires 87

[Vern_in_IL]

87 octane 100% ethanol-free gasoline(E0) is 87 octane, just as the good gasoline engine engineers designed the 87 octane gasoline engine to burn, and it is required per owners manual.

Now, 87 octane 10% ethanol fuel blends(E10) is..... a mix of octanes, the majority of which, IS NOT what the car company recommends.

First, the 10% ethanol has an octane of 114, BUT way out of the design parameter of the 87 octane gasoline engine.

Second, the remaining 90% of the fuel, in order to balance the ethanol octane, MUST be octane 84!!!! Yes, even this remaining gasoline octane is OUTSIDE the design parameter of the 87 octane gasoline engine!!

There is an equation to calculate octane of this remaining gasoline, that can be used For example, 93 octane E10: to balance the ethanol, the remaining gasoline octane, isn't 93, but is 90.66.

So the gasoline portion in 87 octane E10 isn't 87 octane, but is 84, & the gasoline portion in 93 octane E10 isn't 93, but 90.

So using 87 "gasohol" at the pump will void my warranty? Since the manual clearly states I use "unleaded gasoline" of at least 87.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

Go ahead, walk into a dealership and bring this up. Post your results.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Wow... you are way overthinking it. The final mix is measured to have 87 octane, and that is all that matters.

Otherwise, hundreds of millions of cars on the roads would have problems and have voided engine warranties.

Have a happy Labor Day weekend and find something else to worry about.

 

[4wheeldog]

Worry about something important, like saving for retirement, or Whirled peas. How fuel blenders achieve the target octane rating is....Not your problem.

 

[RF Overlord]

The posted octane rating is for the blended fuel...the individual components are irrelevant.

 

[kschachn]

Do you know how a fuel's octane rating is established? If you don't, and by your question it shows you don't, then spend some time looking into it.

As a hint the individual constituents of the fuel are not what is tested.

 

[Vern_in_IL]

Originally Posted By: RF Overlord
The posted octane rating is for the blended fuel...the individual components are irrelevant.


Then why by law is "10% ethanol added" stickers required on gas pumps? The individual components do matter it seems.

 

[HTSS_TR]

No, not in California. There is no "10% ethanol" stickers on gas pumps.

87 Octane is 87 octane. The only different is pure gas has more BTU than 10% ethanol. Since we don't have pure gas in California, we don't worry about finding a station with no ethanol. Only racing gas with 100 octane has no ethanol, but they are about double the price of premium.

 

[Nate1979]

Originally Posted By: Vern_in_IL
Originally Posted By: RF Overlord
The posted octane rating is for the blended fuel...the individual components are irrelevant.


Then why by law is "10% ethanol added" stickers required on gas pumps? The individual components do matter it seems.


The ethanol content is not posted because of octane rating..... It is a material compatibility issue for older systems.

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: Vern_in_IL
Then why by law is "10% ethanol added" stickers required on gas pumps? The individual components do matter it seems.


Wow, OK. Whatever makes it better I suppose.

 

[ecotourist]

Originally Posted By: Vern_in_IL
Then why by law is "10% ethanol added" stickers required on gas pumps? The individual components do matter it seems.

There will be a small reduction in mileage compared to 100% gasoline. Was on vacation in North Dakota earlier this summer; 100% gasoline and "may contain up to 10% ethanol" were not the same price.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: Vern_in_IL
87 octane 100% ethanol-free gasoline(E0) is 87 octane, just as the good gasoline engine engineers designed the 87 octane gasoline engine to burn, and it is required per owners manual.

Now, 87 octane 10% ethanol fuel blends(E10) is..... a mix of octanes, the majority of which, IS NOT what the car company recommends.

First, the 10% ethanol has an octane of 114, BUT way out of the design parameter of the 87 octane gasoline engine.

Second, the remaining 90% of the fuel, in order to balance the ethanol octane, MUST be octane 84!!!! Yes, even this remaining gasoline octane is OUTSIDE the design parameter of the 87 octane gasoline engine!!

There is an equation to calculate octane of this remaining gasoline, that can be used For example, 93 octane E10: to balance the ethanol, the remaining gasoline octane, isn't 93, but is 90.66.

So the gasoline portion in 87 octane E10 isn't 87 octane, but is 84, & the gasoline portion in 93 octane E10 isn't 93, but 90.

So using 87 "gasohol" at the pump will void my warranty? Since the manual clearly states I use "unleaded gasoline" of at least 87.


You are tilting at windmills, in a big and ridiculous way.

ALL truly pure gasoline has a relatively low octane rating. That's exactly WHY additives like, octane itself, benzine, tetraethyl lead (TEL), methyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT), methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), and yes, ETHANOL have been added to gasoline since the 1930s... to increase the effective octane rating. Of all those, only ethanol is relatively non-poisonous. TEL and MTBE are extremely hazardous chemicals.

The resultant fuel (let's not necessarily call it 'gasoline') has an octane rating, and that's what your owner's manual is talking about. Not some nonsense about separate octanes for separate components of the fuel.

 

[Kuato]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Wow... you are way overthinking it. ...
Have a happy Labor Day weekend and find something else to worry about.

Right. As long as your owner's manual allows the use of 10% ethanol, not to worry.

 

[WANG]

Originally Posted By: Vern_in_IL
87 octane 100% ethanol-free gasoline(E0) is 87 octane, just as the good gasoline engine engineers designed the 87 octane gasoline engine to burn, and it is required per owners manual.

Now, 87 octane 10% ethanol fuel blends(E10) is..... a mix of octanes, the majority of which, IS NOT what the car company recommends.

First, the 10% ethanol has an octane of 114, BUT way out of the design parameter of the 87 octane gasoline engine.

Second, the remaining 90% of the fuel, in order to balance the ethanol octane, MUST be octane 84!!!! Yes, even this remaining gasoline octane is OUTSIDE the design parameter of the 87 octane gasoline engine!!

There is an equation to calculate octane of this remaining gasoline, that can be used For example, 93 octane E10: to balance the ethanol, the remaining gasoline octane, isn't 93, but is 90.66.

So the gasoline portion in 87 octane E10 isn't 87 octane, but is 84, & the gasoline portion in 93 octane E10 isn't 93, but 90.

So using 87 "gasohol" at the pump will void my warranty? Since the manual clearly states I use "unleaded gasoline" of at least 87.

 

[KD0AXS]

Notice the sticker on the pump says "Minimum Octane Rating". The actual octane could be higher 87, it just can't be lower.

 

[HerrStig]

Running a higher octane, at least the highest octane pump gas can get to is not likely to hurt anything but your pocket book.

 

[stephen9666]

Has the OP been drinking a little ethanol?

I'm just kidding. OP, check your owner's manual, as others have said. The ones for my vehicles all discuss the issue of ethanol fuels.

And as people have already noted, 87 should be the final octane of the mix.

 

[gathermewool]

What is the octane rating of the nitrogen Shell adds?

 

[MrHorspwer]

Whatever will the OP do when he travels to Colorado and finds this:

Maybe just leave the car at the pump and start walking?

 

[Onefastbob]

Originally Posted By: MrHorspwer
Whatever will the OP do when he travels to Colorado and finds this:

Maybe just leave the car at the pump and start walking?
He will probably freak out not understanding that at higher altitude less octane is required.