no ethanol in prem. fuel ?

[JBW]

i heard that lower grade fuel 87-89 R+M/2(USA)is ethanol blend. and that prem. fuel 91-94 R+M/2 does not have ethanol blend. true or false

[Houckster]

Probably false. Ethanol is an easy way to raise octane and environmental mandates for oxygenates mean premium gas must have it.

[BDC]

False. It says it right on the pump. The few stations that still carry ethanol-free premium advertise it and charge you out the nose for it.

[MatrixDom]

Here in NB, Canada our gas prices are all regulate therefore we don't pay more for ethanol-free gas. The ones that do include ethanol will advertise it on the pumps. Most that still do say something like may contain up to 10-15% ethanol.

I stay away from that stuff and fill-up at Shell. Ethanol free and Nitrogen enriched on all 3 grades.

[bill14224]

Where I live, false. I'm in Western NY and most of our gas comes from Canada, not that it matters. It all has 10% ethanol as is required by law since 1995.

[bill14224]

Oh, one more thing about premium gas. The most important thing to remember is this. If your vehicle knocks and pings without it you need it. Otherwise you're just wasting your money and it can make the vehicle hard to start in cold weather. Regular gas ignites easier, and the colder it gets the more true it is. The wise thing to do is run the lowest octane gas that won't make your vehicle knock and ping. (technically called pre-ignition or detonation which means the fuel ignites too early during compression) Those are the basic facts. The rest is just gossip. For some reason after many years of well-written articles on the subject some people hang onto the notion that premium gas contains more energy per volume than regular. It does not! Premium gas has everything to do with preventing pre-ignition and nothing to do with performance! When will the whole population accept this fact? The world may never know!

[laplantebd]

In my state (wi) regular and mid grade is mandated to sell at least 10% ethanol. Premium is not required so most stations do not have premium with ethanol. I always avoid the ethanol. Its terrible for fuel systems.

[bates]

This probably depends on what state and even Air Quality Management District you're in. In California all gas has ethanol in it, but a friend of mine lives in Montana and there isn't any ethanol gas in the whole state because of some transportation and tank issues experienced there. When I travel to other states I actively seek out filling stations that sell pure gasoline as I get significantly better mileage on pure gasoline than I do on the ethanol blended fuels.

laplantebd, if there is a 10% mandate for regular and mid grade then your Premium is going to have ethanol as well since your mid grade is a blend of Premium and regular, mixed in the pump. If the regular is 10% and the Premium was 100% gasoline then the blend would be around 5% ethanol depending on the Octane Rating of the Premium, mid grade, and low test.

[JBW]

how about ohio usa?

[bates]

I don't know about Ohio but you should be able to go to Ohio's AQMD, Energy Department, or EPA site and figure out what your state's requirements are. In most if not all states the ethanol content is supposed to be clearly posted on the pump. CA isn't totally compliant with this since the state's requirement is for all pumps to be dispensing E10 gasohol and sometimes the only mention is that the gas is blended with ethanol or when it is approved to be higher than 10% ethanol ie E15, E85, etc. due to those contents violating some manufacturer's warranties, especially those of motorcycles and boat engines.