Top tier or ethanol free

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I was always taught to use good gas. When I first got my MINI I learned about top tier cert and started using it. Around here Phillips 66 is the only top tier option and is close. My wife’s 14 Lincoln Navigator only needs regular. There is a locally owned station (with a very good rep) that sells ethanol free. It’s a couple of mikes further away

Which do y’all think would be better?
 
Unless you're storing the car for a while, I wouldn't bother with ethanol free in any vehicle that's less than 20 years old. My '93 Toyota 22RE would barely run with E10, ran perfect with E0.
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All of my current fleet does just fine with E10, top tier or not.

Save the E0 for the OPE. My
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Just FYI, top tier has nothing to do with regular vs premium. It has to do with the amount of detergents are in the gas. Top tier will have more detergents in the fuel to help keep things clean. Honestly, in a new engine, I would just use the top tier. Nothing advantageous will come from using E0 vs TT.
 
ah I see what you're saying. Still, the effects will be essentially un measurable in a new vehicle.
 
My Tacoma gets about 2 mpg better on average on the highway on E0; tested/tracked many times on a 380 mile one-way trip to central Kansas. I have made that trip about 3-4 times a year for 7+ years. E0 is available at home and in Salina, KS so I don't mind the upcharge. When my mileage id good, the cost per mile is about a wash. Throttle response is much better as well.

My honest opinion...with modern vehicle fuel efficiency what it is, there is no rational reason for ethanol blended fuel. The tradeoff in cost to refine the ethanol is not cost effective. Sorry corn farmers, but we really can do better things with that corn.
 
Try it. I have some good gas here and it is not top tier. I run two thanks of that and then 1 tank of the EXxon. If I keep using the high detergent the car starts to run finiky and I go back to the cheap gas for awhile.

For sure, Keeps the ECU busy relearning LTV lookup!
 
Originally Posted By: fenixguy
Unless you're storing the car for a while, I wouldn't bother with ethanol free in any vehicle that's less than 20 years old. My '93 Toyota 22RE would barely run with E10, ran perfect with E0.
21.gif
All of my current fleet does just fine with E10, top tier or not.

Save the E0 for the OPE. My
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This.
 
Originally Posted By: 86cutlass307
My Tacoma gets about 2 mpg better on average on the highway on E0; tested/tracked many times on a 380 mile one-way trip to central Kansas. I have made that trip about 3-4 times a year for 7+ years. E0 is available at home and in Salina, KS so I don't mind the upcharge. When my mileage id good, the cost per mile is about a wash. Throttle response is much better as well.

My honest opinion...with modern vehicle fuel efficiency what it is, there is no rational reason for ethanol blended fuel. The tradeoff in cost to refine the ethanol is not cost effective. Sorry corn farmers, but we really can do better things with that corn.


Well it's a pointless debate now. Ethanol was mandated by Congress. Til the laws get changed, we're stuck with it. Your better MPG is just because ethanol has less BTU's per gallon than gasoline. It's about 114,000 btu's for gasoline and 76,100 for ethanol. There's just less energy per gallon in E10 than E0. However if you factor in the cost per btu, E0 is probably still more expensive than E10.
 
Ethanol Free and use a proper fuel system cleaner just before your oil changes. It's what I do and never had any fuel related problems with all the miles I drive.
 
My F150 gets 1.4 MPG better on E-0, but it's 30 cents a gallon MORE!

There's only one place in Waco that sells E-0....
I use it in all my outdoor power equipment.

It smells just like AvGas - which never goes bad.

The E-0 is NOT "Top Tier" gasoline, though.
I run normal 87 E-10 top tier 99% of the time.
 
QT ( Quik Trip ) introduced the ethanol free 89 octane in metro Atlanta recently. Tried a few tanks of it in my wife's car and yeah it liked it, got about 1.5 mpg on the average better mileage, but not $0.30 a gallon higher worth it. My bike, on the other hand, loves it and gets upwards of 5 mpg better ( slightly more on the highway ) with it. It's something of a wash on the bike, but rolling on that throttle tells me all I need to know.

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( these emojies are fun )
 
Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Originally Posted By: 86cutlass307
My Tacoma gets about 2 mpg better on average on the highway on E0; tested/tracked many times on a 380 mile one-way trip to central Kansas. I have made that trip about 3-4 times a year for 7+ years. E0 is available at home and in Salina, KS so I don't mind the upcharge. When my mileage id good, the cost per mile is about a wash. Throttle response is much better as well.

My honest opinion...with modern vehicle fuel efficiency what it is, there is no rational reason for ethanol blended fuel. The tradeoff in cost to refine the ethanol is not cost effective. Sorry corn farmers, but we really can do better things with that corn.


Well it's a pointless debate now. Ethanol was mandated by Congress. Til the laws get changed, we're stuck with it. Your better MPG is just because ethanol has less BTU's per gallon than gasoline. It's about 114,000 btu's for gasoline and 76,100 for ethanol. There's just less energy per gallon in E10 than E0. However if you factor in the cost per btu, E0 is probably still more expensive than E10.


I get better mileage in my work truck with e10 than e0. Not every vehicle and driving habits can be treated the same.
 
Is you E0 85 octane? If not then you have a Lambda control issue on your truck. The chemistry dicates you certainly WILL get better fuel mileage with E0 all things being equal.

So, something askew is going on with your work truck and it isn't driving habits.
 
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