Anyone running E15 88 Octane Gas?

[Dr Awesome]

Does anyone run E15 88 octane gas on a regular basis?  I know it is at stations in MN, not sure how widespread it is, but it's a 15% ethanol blend (vs 10% normal) and is a little bit cheaper.  It says its OK for all vehicles and trucks 2001 or newer.  Just wondering if anyone runs it on a regular basis or has evaluated the mileage they get with it vs other gas options.

 

http://mnfuels.com/e15.cfm

[damnthetorpedoes]

I’ve ran it a few times in my DD Equinox. Didn’t notice a difference in performance or mpg. My Equinox is rated for e85 so I wasn’t worried about compatibility. I’ll usually throw e15 in it if the savings is .05 or better per gallon vs e10. I’ve never ran e85. 

[GrumpyAeroGuy]

Never run that fuel. Generally speaking, alcohol "enhanced" fuels are a false economy unless they are waaaaaay cheaper per gallon.

The heating value of the fuel is inversely related to fuel economy.

Therfore, lower mileaage.

Sent from my STV100-1 using Tapatalk

[Grumpy Bear]

Since 2001 all cars sold in the USA are E15 friendly. 

[joshc64311]

I run it, been running it for 20k. I've had no problems at all

[Black02Silverado]

I run it and a mix of E85 in my 2002 Silverado.  No issues in the past 4 years of using it.

[QuantumRift]

On 5/5/2018 at 8:07 AM, GrumpyAeroGuy said:

Never run that fuel. Generally speaking, alcohol "enhanced" fuels are a false economy unless they are waaaaaay cheaper per gallon.

The heating value of the fuel is inversely related to fuel economy.

Therfore, lower mileaage.

Sent from my STV100-1 using Tapatalk
 

You are kinda, well, wrong here - and here's why:  

 

Do the math, look at the BTUs per volume:

1 gallon of gasoline is approximately 114,000 BTU.

1 gallon of ethanol = 76,000 BTU. Therefore, gasoline has 1.5 the BTUs available by volume than ethanol.

Start with 10 gallons of gasoline. 114K x 10 = 1,140,000 BTU.

REMOVE one gallon of the gasoline (10%) and replace 114,000 BTU with 76,000 BTU. Now that 10 gallons of E10 fuel has:

(9 x 114,000) + 76,000 = 1,102,000 BTUs available by volume - SO you are reducing only 10% of your volume 50% in BTU.

1,102,000 / 1,140,000 x 100 = 96.7%. so 1 gallon of E10 fuel has 96.7% the BTU content of "pure" gasoline.

Extrapolating - if you know your vehicle, when running on PURE gasoline, can get 20 miles per gallon, that 10 gallons will take you 200 miles.

Reduce the BTU content by volume and that drops to 96.7% of 200 miles, or 193.3 miles. SO you drop mpg down to just over 19 mpg.

You can use the price per gallon etc to calculate the rest.

Calculating E15 would be similar, just replace 1.5 gallon of that original pure fuel with ethanol.....

Now with a FLEX fuel vehicle, you can utilize any blend as there is a sensor that tells the fuel how to adjust the timing, injection etc. E85 delivers a 25% loss (on average) of mpg as the ethanol in an 85% ethanol/15% gasoline blend has substantially less BTUs available for combustion) on mpg and only saves 20 - 40 cents per gallon, which does not offset the loss in mileage.

 

Around here (Central Ohio), a good station "Sheetz" sells E15. Today, the price of their 'regular' E87 octane fuel (E10) is $3.899. Their 88 Octane E15 sells for $3.599 a gallon, and if you have a SHeetz card you get an additional 3 cents off ($3.569 a gallon). For a NEGLIBILE loss in mpg, and getting 88 octane (for my 6.2L 2017 Silverado), it's a no-brainer. I saved $6 on a FILLUP today and that adds up. 

 

[swathdiver]

Mine gets better mileage on E15 to E20 or so compared with E0 and E10.

[16LT4]

On 5/7/2022 at 11:16 PM, QuantumRift said:

You are kinda, well, wrong here - and here's why:  

 

Do the math, look at the BTUs per volume:

1 gallon of gasoline is approximately 114,000 BTU.

1 gallon of ethanol = 76,000 BTU. Therefore, gasoline has 1.5 the BTUs available by volume than ethanol.

Start with 10 gallons of gasoline. 114K x 10 = 1,140,000 BTU.

REMOVE one gallon of the gasoline (10%) and replace 114,000 BTU with 76,000 BTU. Now that 10 gallons of E10 fuel has:

(9 x 114,000) + 76,000 = 1,102,000 BTUs available by volume - SO you are reducing only 10% of your volume 50% in BTU.

1,102,000 / 1,140,000 x 100 = 96.7%. so 1 gallon of E10 fuel has 96.7% the BTU content of "pure" gasoline.

Extrapolating - if you know your vehicle, when running on PURE gasoline, can get 20 miles per gallon, that 10 gallons will take you 200 miles.

Reduce the BTU content by volume and that drops to 96.7% of 200 miles, or 193.3 miles. SO you drop mpg down to just over 19 mpg.

You can use the price per gallon etc to calculate the rest.

Calculating E15 would be similar, just replace 1.5 gallon of that original pure fuel with ethanol.....

Now with a FLEX fuel vehicle, you can utilize any blend as there is a sensor that tells the fuel how to adjust the timing, injection etc. E85 delivers a 25% loss (on average) of mpg as the ethanol in an 85% ethanol/15% gasoline blend has substantially less BTUs available for combustion) on mpg and only saves 20 - 40 cents per gallon, which does not offset the loss in mileage.

 

Around here (Central Ohio), a good station "Sheetz" sells E15. Today, the price of their 'regular' E87 octane fuel (E10) is $3.899. Their 88 Octane E15 sells for $3.599 a gallon, and if you have a SHeetz card you get an additional 3 cents off ($3.569 a gallon). For a NEGLIBILE loss in mpg, and getting 88 octane (for my 6.2L 2017 Silverado), it's a no-brainer. I saved $6 on a FILLUP today and that adds up. 

 

 

1st post resuscitates a thread 4years dead.  Nice.

 

Now that we're back on life support, a couple other data points:  87 by me is $4.27/gallon.  93 is $4.97/gallon.  The truck has about the same cost/mile regardless of fuel because it seems that octane and fuel efficiency share a direct relationship.  My BMW requires 93.  Since we crossed the Vernal Equinox (my arbitrary date for the switchover), I've been running E85 on the truck.  On my local commutes, economy suffers a 13-15% loss using E85, but I buy E85 from $2.85-3.25/gallon, depending on the station I use at either end of my longer 150 mile commute.  That is a savings of 29% per gallon over 87, amounting to over $1/gallon, and a whopping 49% savings over filling the BMW with 93.  Considering highway mileage on the truck, with E85, is 24% lower than the BMW on 93, the truck is currently my version of a fuel-saving Prius , and my detailed Excel spreadsheet data logs consistently show that the truck on E85 is $0.05-0.07 cheaper per mile.  The only things I own that would be cheaper are 1) my '78 Honda PA50 that I keep in FL and 2) my '70 Beetle that I need to re-stuff and upholster the seats, replace the steering box, and replace the oil cooler seals before it sees consistent highway duties.

[16LT4]

On 5/8/2022 at 12:02 AM, swathdiver said:

Mine gets better mileage on E15 to E20 or so compared with E0 and E10.

 

I've also used E0 91 in the vehicles and don't particularly like it on the ones with VVT; I notice a definite loss of [the perception of, to be accurate] power without the additional octane boost of ethanol.  The carbed vehicles don't seem to care either way, and no, there's been no damage to the fuel systems or carb seals/gaskets running E10.

Edited May 11, 2022 by 16LT4