Forum Discussion

saboken's avatar
saboken
Explorer
Dec 19, 2016

Ethanol vs Non Ethanol Gas While Towing

I am on my 5th full tank of Non Ethanol Gas in My 01 Yukon and have seen a 2-4 Mpg increase in MPG! In town also it seems to start quicker and just over all Run Smoother than on the Popular gas everyone is Buying, I found a Station close to me that sell it on the Main Island at about $.25 more I was skeptical if it was legit at first but I found a way to test it! I use a Mason Jar and put about 3" of water in it then Mark the water level with a sharpie, put enough NE Gas in to double the volume, Cap Tightly and Shake, then let it separate, if the water level stays the same then there is no Ethanol in the Gas If Ethanol is present some water will have been absorbed into the Fuel like what Dry gas does, My Question for everyone about the non ethanol gas? has anyone used it while towing did they see any improvements over using the Ethanol Fuel? I should find out soon If I wind up towing my TT from NJ too SC I will try to use a App to locate NE selling stations on my route,

I guess this wont tell me much till I try the Ethanol fuel later?
Tow Vehicles
  • agesilaus's avatar
    agesilaus
    Explorer III
    Dec 19, 2016
    Ethanol added to gas reduces the energy content of the fuel, so yes you should see better mileage
  • Turtle_n_Peeps's avatar
    Turtle_n_Peeps
    Explorer
    Dec 19, 2016
    With E10 (if that is what you are talking about) you will lose about 3 to 4% in mileage. Ex: If you get 10 towing you will get about 9.6 to 9.7 towing.

    You will lose a lot of mileage with E85 but gain a small amount in power in cold weather and quite a bit in hot weather.
  • Johno02's avatar
    Johno02
    Explorer
    Dec 19, 2016
    Gas with ethanol costs more to produce, costs in power and performance, and is one of the biggest ripoff ever forced on people by the US government. If you can afford it, always use non-ethanol.
  • azdryheat's avatar
    azdryheat
    Explorer
    Dec 19, 2016
    And ethanol drives up the price of corn used for feed and such making other things more expensive.
  • ScottG's avatar
    ScottG
    Nomad
    Dec 19, 2016
    Ethanol does nothing good for our vehicles. If possible, I avoid it at every chance even if I have to pay more.
  • old_guy's avatar
    old_guy
    Explorer
    Dec 19, 2016
    I use it in my lawn mower and any other small engine I have. around here the difference is almost a dollar per gallon, so we use ethanol gas in the cars and trucks
  • Turtle_n_Peeps's avatar
    Turtle_n_Peeps
    Explorer
    Dec 19, 2016
    Johno02 wrote:
    Gas with ethanol costs more to produce, costs in power and performance, and is one of the biggest ripoff ever forced on people by the US government.


    You need to tell that to the people that I race against with alkie in their tanks! The rest I can't argue with unless you want to talk air quality. :B
  • T18skyguy's avatar
    T18skyguy
    Explorer
    Dec 19, 2016
    Johno02 wrote:
    Gas with ethanol costs more to produce, costs in power and performance, and is one of the biggest ripoff ever forced on people by the US government. If you can afford it, always use non-ethanol.


    X2 We have more oil than Saudi Arabia in shale etc, but instead of a middle eastern oil cartel(Opec), we now have a Mid West Corn cartel which is totally unnecessary. It's just another subsidized, useless bureaucracy that exists because it exists, and needs to be eliminated. Ethanol does up the octane a bit, but the oil companies took advantage and lowered the quality(octane) of the gasoline. The quality of the fuel is just junk, but I'm old enough to remember the Chevron 100 octane white pump. I'm not advocating to bring back lead, but to just get back to using corn for it's original purpose in life.
  • saboken's avatar
    saboken
    Explorer
    Dec 19, 2016
    T18skyguy wrote:
    Johno02 wrote:
    Gas with ethanol costs more to produce, costs in power and performance, and is one of the biggest ripoff ever forced on people by the US government. If you can afford it, always use non-ethanol.


    X2 We have more oil than Saudi Arabia in shale etc, but instead of a middle eastern oil cartel(Opec), we now have a Mid West Corn cartel which is totally unnecessary. It's just another subsidized, useless bureaucracy that exists because it exists, and needs to be eliminated. Ethanol does up the octane a bit, but the oil companies took advantage and lowered the quality(octane) of the gasoline. The quality of the fuel is just junk, but I'm old enough to remember the Chevron 100 octane white pump. I'm not advocating to bring back lead, but to just get back to using corn for it's original purpose in life.
    I remember he Cam2 racing fuel Some Sunoco's sold up north it was around $3.20 a gallon when regular leaded gas was around $1.00 a gal but if you had a real muscle car with 10-1 to 11-1 compression it was the way to go since real Octane booster was hard to get. Those days are over I had a 1970 Dodge Coronet 500 during those days with a 383 I pulled out of a Super Bee in it with a bullet proof 727 Torque Flight trans, I miss that car real raw HP it could have towed my TT even being a Mid size car in those day.
  • Ski_Pro_3's avatar
    Ski_Pro_3
    Explorer
    Dec 19, 2016
    It only takes a very small amount of water to pull the alcohol out of gasoline. Per gallon, just a few drops will do it. No need to fill the mason jar all the way up. In fact, leave an open mason jar out for a few hours to absorb some moisture in the air. Over night outside for example. In the morning, look and see; there will be a stratus of alcohol sitting on the bottom of the jar.

    This is especially bad for 2-stroke motors that rely on oil mixed in the fuel for lubrication. If a few drops of water gets in the gas tank, the alcohol is pulled out, settles to the bottom and the engine is subjected to a 'dry' charge of fuel that is without oil and the motor can seize.

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