Is non-Ethanol premium better than regular Premium?

[Four-Play]

Simple question... Searched on here and everything I found was 4+ years old..

ALL the gas stations around here have seem to have posted a sticker on their pumps stating that it 'may' contain up to 10% ethanol.. Seems to be the new standard. This I know.

BUT I just started a new job, & the gas station right here in front of work has a special pump, off to the side, that says "Ethanol Free Supreme".
Is ethanol bad? Would ethanol-free be better? Is ethanol the devil? These are things I do not know.

[jacobsen]

Ethanol is bad. It contains water, water and oil don't mix, water 'could' harm your fuel pump since it's metal. Will 10% hurt your fuel pump? Not likely. What is the octane rating of this stuff your speaking of? Higher the octane the better, you shouldn't go less than 93octane (premium) There is also something called non oxygenated gasoline which sounds like what you are seeing, it's available for any one to fill up with and I personally saw better mileage on that in my 2.4 liter jap car. The federal government has stated it is ending it's subsidy of corn ethanol, I doubt that will ever happen. They've been trying for years and years to keep south american corn/ethanol out of america (because they can make it much cheaper than we can)...Call it preventative maintenance to keep farmers growing corn. I don't eat the crap, corn is a genetic freak. The government spends billions and billions to subsidize it and they put it in your gas to make some money back. Short answer no it's not good for your car, is it bad for your car? Not in moderation, any higher than 10% and things could suck. But non corn gas (non Oxy) is all petroleum and burns hotter I believe. Ethanol is good for dragsters and some people mod their cars to run high hp mods. Not sure if any b6's here have done it. I'm insane, I only get bp 93.

[LINDW4LL]

Simple question...
BUT I just started a new job, & the gas station right here in front of work has a special pump, off to the side, that says "Ethanol Free Supreme".
Is ethanol bad? Would ethanol-free be better? Is ethanol the devil? These are things I do not know.

They make the same power and ethanol is not bad for your car. You should get 2-3% better gas mileage with the non-ethanol, so assuming it's the same price, I'd take it over the 10% ethanol every time.

But realistically, it doesn't really matter either way.

[Spike00513]

Ethanol is bad. It contains water, water and oil don't mix, water 'could' harm your fuel pump since it's metal. Will 10% hurt your fuel pump? Not likely. What is the octane rating of this stuff your speaking of? Higher the octane the better, you shouldn't go less than 93octane (premium) There is also something called non oxygenated gasoline which sounds like what you are seeing, it's available for any one to fill up with and I personally saw better mileage on that in my 2.4 liter jap car. The federal government has stated it is ending it's subsidy of corn ethanol, I doubt that will ever happen. They've been trying for years and years to keep south american corn/ethanol out of america (because they can make it much cheaper than we can)...Call it preventative maintenance to keep farmers growing corn. I don't eat the crap, corn is a genetic freak. The government spends billions and billions to subsidize it and they put it in your gas to make some money back. Short answer no it's not good for your car, is it bad for your car? Not in moderation, any higher than 10% and things could suck. But non corn gas (non Oxy) is all petroleum and burns hotter I believe. Ethanol is good for dragsters and some people mod their cars to run high hp mods. Not sure if any b6's here have done it. I'm insane, I only get bp 93.

The highest octane you can get in many US states is 91...

What's wrong with corn? Why not eat it?

[jacobsen]

The highest octane you can get in many US states is 91...

What's wrong with corn? Why not eat it?

I've lived in America for almost 30 years lol. Most stations in the country sell 92 or 93 octane for premium, 91 is usually found in rural areas. Lots of stations have race gas, 96,105, 110 octane... Corn doesn't exist as it does on the cob in stores -in nature. You might find a couple black/multi colored kernels but certainly not a full yellow cob! It's 100% gmo, don't eat it, you'll sprout a 3rd nose.

[Four-Play]

"High" octane fuel around here is 93, with 91 being mid-grade and 89 being "regular", I guess a perk of living on the east coast..

I guess I was kinda vague/joking in my OP but I know what ethanol is, and I have have been running 93 octane since I've owned the car. And then with 10% ethanol for at least a couple years I suppose.. Hard to find gas around here without it..


Was just the sign that said "ethanol free premium" that caught my eye.. Didn't know it was an option.

Also didn't walk over to it last night since it was 40 degrees and raining heavily.. but I will next time, I'm also very damn curious of the octane & price..

[Spike00513]

I've lived in America for almost 30 years lol. Most stations in the country sell 92 or 93 octane for premium, 91 is usually found in rural areas. Lots of stations have race gas, 96,105, 110 octane... Corn doesn't exist as it does on the cob in stores -in nature. You might find a couple black/multi colored kernels but certainly not a full yellow cob! It's 100% gmo, don't eat it, you'll sprout a 3rd nose.

In CA, NV, and AZ, 91 octane is the highest you can get at a regular gas station. I hear 76 offers higher octane, but idk if that's true.
Otherwise, I believe you have to go out of your way to find it, such as by going to a wealthy area, which usually has at least one high octane gas station for the local supercars.

[imnuts]

You'll get better fuel economy and probably a little bit better power, so if the cost of the ethanol free gas isn't that much different, I'd get it. The ethanol can potentially cause some issues with the fuel system, but given that it has been in the fuel for the past 5-10 years anyway, you would have seen any ill effects by now.

[MikTip]

Ethanol is alcohol. Someone figured you add it to fuel...like 10%, car burns it and pollutes slightly less...makes oil companies money.

Ya figure the oil companies sell 25 million gallons of gas a day...minus 10% for ethenol, yet charge the same price...

Its like watering down the gas....

Most "modern" fuel injected cars car burn it with zero issues.

I have run it in my B6 since 2004...zero issues.

Does it pollute less? Does it increase performance?

It gets me to work and back!

[ADCS]

Not sure if it is the same in the US but in Canada (at least near Toronto) Shell 91 octane is ethanol free. That is all I use. You don't need higher than 91 unless your tune calls for it. Even then that's what knock sensors are for.

[walky_talky20]

The Ethanol Free is not as important for modern EFI cars (although it might increase the life of fuel pump and sender unit, possibly injectors), but it is really necessary for other stuff. Ask any small engine repair shop what they do all the time. They clean out orange gunk and rust out of carburetors, fuel tanks, lines, etc caused by ethanol in the fuel. Weed Wackers, lawn mowers, ATV's, snow blowers, etc. You let that crappy "E10" gas sit in the tank for 9 months it does all kinds of damage. Not to mention it takes on water like mad while it's sitting in there so your widget barely runs next season.

Basically, if you are driving the car often - E10 is not ideal, but acceptable. If you have a garage queen that you only drive for 3 weeks in the summer time (or a lawn mower that sits most of the year) or anything that doesn't have a modern EFI system (ie: carb, CIS/Jetronic, etc), you should not let it sit with Ethanol in the tank or, preferably run ethanol-free all the time.

[B6A4Dave]

Ethanol free will improve MPG....

E85 however, its awesome go-go juice rocket fuel for fun power cars..Oxygenated fuel = good. Also, roughly speaking a true E85 fuel will be about 105oct.

[Four-Play]

Thank you all for the replies

Stopped by there after work tonight & walked over to the pump.. The ethanol-free is the same octane as their normal premium (93) but 24 cents more per gallon, which is almost on-par with the staggered increase in price from Regular > Mid-Grade > Premium. An entire tanks worth would only cost ~$4.50 more than a usual fill up, and a full tank lasts me quite a while (4 or 5 weeks).

I don't know.. I think i might run the car dry, then fill her completely up with the e-free & see what happens. Doubt I'll notice a difference while driving, but I'll be sure to keep track of how many miles I get out of that particular full tank.

Thanks again

[walky_talky20]

I would do an average across a few tanks, with an A-B-A method. So average mpg across 4 tanks of E10 93. Then average mpg across 4 tanks of E-Zero 93. Then average mpg across 4 tanks of E10 93 again.

If you really get a month on a tank of gas, the E-Zero might have a nice benefit. E10 can degrade quite a bit, even in a couple weeks. With that little usage, I guess you may want to modify the A-B-A test to just 1 or 2 tanks of each. That way it won't take you all year!

[fyremanpat]

Ethanol (alcohol) is polar solvent...which means it attracts water/moisture and mixes with it. Ethanol is a renewable resource and oil companies love that. They "water" down gas with ethanol and say its cleaner burning. Ethanol burns hotter than gas but does not burn as long. Ethanol wreaks havoc on rubber (which is found all through our fuel systems). Modern vehicles were designed with that in mind. Next time you are at the pump, look at the nozzle...they have an expiration date. Or better yet if you live or drive by a fuel farm, chances are all of the storage tanks will look clean and then there will be a few that are covered in black crap....those are the ethanol tanks that attract all that moisture. Ethanol does the same thing in your fuel tank...

[PreciseD]

Ethanol in gasoline is bad. Not so much for your car but, in a over all way.

1. It takes more energy to produce Ethanol which means its actually less energy efficient and pollutes more.

According to Cornell University professor of agriculture David Pimentel, producing ethanol actually creates a net energy loss. According to his calculations, producing corn and processing it into 1 gallon (3.7 liters) of ethanol requires 131,000 BTUs of energy; but 1 gallon of ethanol contains only 77,000 BTUs [source: Health and Energy]. And since farmers are using fossil-fuel-powered equipment to plant, maintain and harvest the corn and are using fossil-fuel-powered machinery to process that corn into ethanol and then, in almost all cases, to ship the product to collection points via fuel-powered transport, the ethanol industry is actually burning large amounts of gasoline to produce this alternative fuel. That ethanol could end up containing less energy than the gasoline consumed to produce it.

2. Corn Crops are subsidized, which means farmers will want to grow it instead of food crops (seen the increase cost of produce lately?)

Energy efficiency aside, powering a car for a single year using ethanol would require 11 acres (44,515 square meters) of corn, space that can be used to feed at least seven people. Since corn fields in the United States take a while to replenish themselves, due to both soil erosion and irrigation issues, those acres would ultimately be out of commission for an extended period of time, meaning no corn for ethanol and no usable land for other food crops. To sustain an ethanol-based fuel industry, more and more farm land would have to be set aside for corn alone. The ultimate result could be a shortage of domestically grown food and higher prices at the supermarket for all sorts of produce.

3. Ethanol deteriorates rubber.

Our cars were not designed to run it and that is why we are having to replace fueling components faster than if we ran 100% gasoline.


This is what you get when the EPA puts regulations on the oil industry to "clean" up emissions. This is not a trick by the oil industry to make more money. It actually cost them more in the long run. This is why people that believe driving a hybrid is helpful but in reality when they only lease it for 2 years, its actually not doing dick squat for emissions.

[Thumper3]

Ethanol is a renewable resource and oil companies love that. They "water" down gas with ethanol and say its cleaner burning.

This is just ignorant. First of all, the oil companies didn't invent ethonal, nor did they push for it's use. The EPA and the faux environmentalists came up with the brilliant idea that we can replace oil. Their brilliant plan was to take corn (food) and even though starvation is still rampent around the world we should BURN food to drive our cars instead of oil. Same morons that talk about powering cars with water, cause clean drinking water is SO pleantiful as well and last I checked, a lot cheaper than gas....oh, wait.......

Oh, it's cleaner.....but wait, it isn't because you get shitty mileage since ethanol has less power per volume than gasoline, and the farmers have to use gas and diesel powered equipment to grow the corn.

You want to hate on someone try the Ethonal growers unions and co-ops, the ones that beg for subsidies from our tax dollars to A) propr up their product and B) actually get paid NOT to grow too much and bring the price down.

Ethanol in gasoline is bad. Not so much for your car but, in a over all way.


This is what you get when the EPA puts regulations on the oil industry to "clean" up emissions. This is not a trick by the oil industry to make more money. It actually cost them more in the long run. This is why people that believe driving a hybrid is helpful but in reality when they only lease it for 2 years, its actually not doing dick squat for emissions.

+1

This guy gets it.

[fyremanpat]

This is just ignorant. First of all, the oil companies didn't invent ethonal, nor did they push for it's use. The EPA and the faux environmentalists came up with the brilliant idea that we can replace oil. Their brilliant plan was to take corn (food) and even though starvation is still rampent around the world we should BURN food to drive our cars instead of oil. Same morons that talk about powering cars with water, cause clean drinking water is SO pleantiful as well and last I checked, a lot cheaper than gas....oh, wait.......

Oh, it's cleaner.....but wait, it isn't because you get shitty mileage since ethanol has less power per volume than gasoline, and the farmers have to use gas and diesel powered equipment to grow the corn.

You want to hate on someone try the Ethonal growers unions and co-ops, the ones that beg for subsidies from our tax dollars to A) propr up their product and B) actually get paid NOT to grow too much and bring the price down.

Ignorant? Easy tuffy...Yes the oil companies did not invent this technology...BUT who do you think owns and runs the majority of the ethanol production plants now?...hint... Kinder Morgan.

Im not hating on anyone. This is Capitalism at its finest!