# Ethanol free gas



## Tooleman694 (Oct 19, 2019)

Has anyone tried ethanol free gas in their tank? Been thinking about giving it a shot. We have a feed store near the house with gas for tractors and stuff but all the time I see sport cars there filling up.


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## brianbgw (Mar 29, 2011)

I ran a tank of ethanol free 89 oct and saw no appreciable difference in fuel economy. It was $1/gal more expensive though, I did notice that. I think the engineers as VW tuned these engines assuming that we were going to use standard 87 oct with 10% ethanol blended in. 


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## EVANGELIONHD (May 9, 2012)

I dont think ethanol free is supposed to get you better fuel economy but the opposite including more power and better throttle response

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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

EVANGELIONHD said:


> .....but the opposite including more power and better throttle response....


Please explain.


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## zackdawley (Oct 4, 2011)

I've only put 92 octane E0 in my car, I'm over 18k miles. I drive aggressively and average 27 combined mileage, about 32 with the Tig loaded up with the family on the highway.

When real tunes come out it will matter more, but there is also a chance it will have less carbon buildup on the valves... Nothing conclusive.

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## brianbgw (Mar 29, 2011)

EVANGELIONHD said:


> I dont think ethanol free is supposed to get you better fuel economy but the opposite including more power and better throttle response
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


Ethanol has significantly lower energy density than gasoline, the higher the blend of ethanol the lower your fuel economy will be. The fuel economy difference between E0 and E10 should be about 4% all else being equal. 

The corrosion concerns people have regarding ethanol don’t really apply to modern vehicles as manufacturers design them to be both exposed to and resistant to ethanol. Now a classic car or a piece of equipment may be another story.

https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/ethanol.shtml


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## brianbgw (Mar 29, 2011)

zackdawley said:


> I've only put 92 octane E0 in my car, I'm over 18k miles. I drive aggressively and average 27 combined mileage, about 32 with the Tig loaded up with the family on the highway.
> 
> When real tunes come out it will matter more, but there is also a chance it will have less carbon buildup on the valves... Nothing conclusive.
> 
> Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk


Tunes that require another fuel usually demand a higher octane rating. (See knock resistance) 
The easiest way to boost octane is to increase the amount of ethanol (aka alcohol) in the fuel. If you’re running a tune and/or running any kind of race fuel chances are there is MORE ethanol in it than any standard pump gas.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

zackdawley said:


> .....but there is also a chance it will have less carbon buildup on the valves... Nothing conclusive.....



 Said with no backup what so ever....


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## azgman (Aug 16, 2016)

As stated, Ethanol increases the octane of the fuel it is mixed with. Octane raises the temperature at which combustion occurs and this is important in a high compression engine. Ethanol also contains less potential energy than gasoline blended without it, so it will reduce gas mileage. Using ethanol free gas will result in increased gas mileage for those engines that can tolerate it, but not enough to offset the increased price being asked. This is because Ethanol is a cheap way to raise octane. Now, if you can run a lower octane fuel that is not 25 - 30% more expensive, go for it!


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## haunted reality (Apr 18, 2001)

What's the verdict on 93 vs. 87? I know it can run 87, but I've been running 93. I was afraid of buildup issues, is that even a rational fear for this engine? Or am I wasting money?

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## JSWTDI09 (Feb 22, 2009)

haunted reality said:


> What's the verdict on 93 vs. 87? I know it can run 87, but I've been running 93. I was afraid of buildup issues, is that even a rational fear for this engine? Or am I wasting money?


IMHO, you are wasting money. Our engine was designed for 87 and it runs efficiently with 87 octane. The only good reason for running 93 octane gasoline is if you have a tune that demands it. The stock "tune" is perfectly happy with regular unleaded gas.

Have Fun!

Don


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## brianbgw (Mar 29, 2011)

haunted reality said:


> What's the verdict on 93 vs. 87? I know it can run 87, but I've been running 93. I was afraid of buildup issues, is that even a rational fear for this engine? Or am I wasting money?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk


Totally agree with Don, just use 87 but buy it from a Top Tier branded station. The only way to prevent buildup is to use gasoline with PEA as part of the detergent additive package.


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## zackdawley (Oct 4, 2011)

Just to be clear, no detergent in your gas will do a bit of good against carbon could buildup on the valves of a direct injection engine... 

Also ethanol is only "cheap" because you're paying taxes to subsidize corn 

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## brianbgw (Mar 29, 2011)

zackdawley said:


> Just to be clear, no detergent in your gas will do a bit of good against carbon could buildup on the valves of a direct injection engine...
> 
> Also ethanol is only "cheap" because you're paying taxes to subsidize corn
> 
> Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk


The intake valves I agree will not be touched as the fuel stream does not touch them. However, the prevention of varnish buildup on (and inside) the injectors will be helped by using a high quality fuel. 


Yeah the ethanol mandate is one of the dumber policies this country has put in place. We put more energy into the process of growing, harvesting, refining, and distributing than we get out from the usable fuel! 


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## jwvetere (May 12, 2019)

As someone from SouthFL - near the water - you mostly fine ethanol-free gas at Marinas, and (rarely) gas stations near boat launches/near the water. From my understanding, ethanol-free fuel has less of a prepotency to convert their vapors to moisture (water) over time. Important for boats, which store a larger quantity of fuel, which may be more apt to sit for longer periods of time. Regular (ethanol included) gasoline's vapors will convert to water over time. Usually this is less of an issue with cars - who cycle through their fuel supply at a faster rate than a boat would. Speaking from experience, my dad's boat - which wasn't used very often but frequently had fuel issues when it was used - he narrowed the issue down to this fuel/moisture issue. When he started filing the boat with ethanol-free gasoline, his fuel problems went away. (He always kept his boat's fuel tanks full - as it was a reliable source of reserve fuel if there was a hurricane - and the gas stations run out of gas (a common FL problem).


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## haunted reality (Apr 18, 2001)

I am going to try 87 then on the next few tanks and see if I notice any difference. I am going to bet that I won't notice any difference other than being cheaper! I usually fill up with Shell most of the time which is a Top Tier Gas.


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## zackdawley (Oct 4, 2011)

Ethanol absorbs/attracts water.

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## maxeymum (Apr 1, 2019)

I live in the heart of oil country in North Dakota. Ethanol-free 87 is only 20 cents more per gallon here. You can find it at virtually any gas station, along with ethanol free 91 octane. In the interest of full disclosure, yes, I'm employed in the oil & gas industry. Putting aside my obvious bias, if ethanol gasoline were not so heavily subsidized I think it would struggle to compete with pure gasoline if you consider that it would be more expensive due to the onerous, inefficient production method it's produced from. My other gripe about ethanol gas is -- as someone else mentioned, I believe -- that if it sits dormant for too long, it is much more susceptible to condensation buildup and water/fuel separation. If you have any collector vehicles or motorcycles like I do that sit for any extended periods of time, you should avoid it like the plague.


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## EyeNoCars (Jan 26, 2013)

*Ethanol-free Gas Experience*

I always use Ethanol-free gas- two reasons: 1) It's barely more expensive than regular Premium (VW recommends in a GTI), and 2) I've noticed a colossal performance difference. Pure gasoline has more energy than Ethanol, and that's just a fact (lower Octane however). Just recently I did a 250 mile trip out and back (i.e. negating wind effect) and at a steady 75 mph with CC activated for 80% of the trip, the dash indicated 43.7 mpg. That's quite a difference than with Ethanol (upper 30s). "Experts" say it's not possible; I'm just saying what I observe. In my former 911 Turbo it went from 11 - 12 mpg to 15 mpg, which is a massive improvement also. Ethanol is junk and I avoid it like bedbugs. Boo hoo, my GTI just got put into winter storage today (and with a full tank of E-free, let me add), also why I don't use Ethanol.


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## barbados11 (Apr 21, 2014)

I wish ethanol free gasoline were available where I live in NJ. There are many good member posts on this thread so I won't repeat it all except to agree that we are stuck with ethanol in our gasoline supply due to political reasons and it's NOT GOOD for any engine. I have read with horror that the amount of ethanol in gasoline may be going up from 10% to 15% again only for political reasons. I would rather have the government give farmers a bigger subsidy and not ram ethanol down our throats. If ethanol were not mandated for most of the gasoline supply I believe that the price per gallon would be cheaper since there are many other ways to increase octane. I wish that the amount of stinky, highly polluting sulphur should be decreased and leave ethanol out. I have a tune and only use 93 octane Top Tier fuel but it has ethanol. I am envious of you guys that have E0 readily available and totally believe that mileage increases. We are paying twice for ethanol: at the pump and in mileage. Great thread!


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## jurotek (Sep 30, 2015)

I've been using Pure Gas (E0) since I bought my 2015 VW 1.8 TSI 2 door Launch Edition. Maverik gas stations have it all over here in Nevada.
Average MPG (Extended Period) fluctuates between 49.1 and 51.3


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## Tooleman694 (Oct 19, 2019)

At lunch today I filled up with 87 ethanol free. My butt Dyno didn't really feel a change, but my commute home I got 3 MPG better. Shockingly the price of the fuel was only 10 cents more then when I fill up at a Chevron or Shell. So with the increased MPG I should see a bit of a savings, but not a huge savings.

Id probably be better off just waiting in the long line at Costco to fill up and save even more.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Tooleman694 said:


> .....but my commute home I got 3 MPG better......


 Don't plan to be a statistician......


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