2nd Gen Ram Tech 1994-2001 Rams: This section is for TECHNICAL discussions only, that involve the 1994 through 2001 Rams. For any non-tech discussions, please direct your attention to the "General discussion/NON-tech" sub sections.

ethanol free gas

  #1  
Old 03-24-2013, 01:01 PM
chromed95's Avatar
chromed95
chromed95 is offline
Captain
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Washington
Posts: 606
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Default ethanol free gas

Have any of you ever put ethanol free gas on your truck? There's a gas station in my town that has it and I was curious if any of you had or if it would cause trouble. It's more expensive i know. Benefits or disadvantages?
 
  #2  
Old 03-24-2013, 01:10 PM
stewie01's Avatar
stewie01
stewie01 is offline
Legend
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Fredericksburg, Virginia
Posts: 8,914
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
Default

My truck loves ethanol free gas.

Buy it and don't look back. You might even see a small mpg increase.....
 
  #3  
Old 03-24-2013, 01:19 PM
chromed95's Avatar
chromed95
chromed95 is offline
Captain
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Washington
Posts: 606
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Default

Originally Posted by stewie01
My truck loves ethanol free gas.

Buy it and don't look back. You might even see a small mpg increase.....
You sir, just sold me on it! I'm going on a road trip with it today so I'll see if it really does get a tad better...although I have 1/2 tank in it now so it won't be pure ethanol free just yet
 
  #4  
Old 03-24-2013, 01:28 PM
gdstock's Avatar
gdstock
gdstock is offline
Legend
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 8,259
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
Default

I always get ethanol free if I can find it. But it is getting harder to find.
 
  #5  
Old 03-24-2013, 01:45 PM
jasonw's Avatar
jasonw
jasonw is offline
Site Moderator
Dodge Forum Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Sioux Falls, SD
Posts: 8,374
Likes: 0
Received 21 Likes on 11 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by gdstock
I always get ethanol free if I can find it. But it is getting harder to find.
+1. When I had my 2001 Ram with the 5.9L V8, I would see at the minimum a 1 MPG increase in town, and a 2 MPG increase on the highway when I ran with ethanol free gas. I cannot guarantee you will see the same results, but my Dakota is the same way.

Ethanol laced stuff always seems to lower the gas mileage. Yes, you spend less per gallon, but you end up spending more often, so it negates any potential savings.

People often get confused why that is, especially since ethanol supposedly has a higher octane that gasoline. The problem is that ethanol achieves higher energy levels at a higher compression than gasoline does. Naturally aspirated engines will rarely, if ever, have a high enough compression to utilize ethanol's full potential. The result is that ethanol usually has about 66.7% or so the energy of gasoline in most cars/trucks.

Butanol will be interesting if they can get it off the ground. It is around 92% the energy of gasoline, and doesn't cause problems with vehicle's fuel systems like too much ethanol can cause in non-E85 vehicles.
 
  #6  
Old 03-24-2013, 02:58 PM
Scooter78's Avatar
Scooter78
Scooter78 is offline
Captain
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Olympic Peninsula, Wa.
Posts: 608
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Default

Thats funny... "Have you ever used ethanol-free gas..." It wasnt all that long ago, that there was no such thing as ethanol-laced gas. So, yes... Most of us have driven many thousands of miles on ethanol free gas. That is what our trucks were designed to run on.
 
  #7  
Old 03-24-2013, 03:16 PM
crazzywolfie's Avatar
crazzywolfie
crazzywolfie is offline
Legend
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: orangeville ontario
Posts: 8,023
Received 71 Likes on 67 Posts
Default

i am starting to run ethanol free gas now that summer is coming back around again. most people notice just running higher octane gas in there truck makes a bigger difference because the gas at least starts out as ethanol free 87 or higher octane gas where as the 87 octane gas with with 10% ethanol starts out as something like 84 or 85 octane gas and the ethanol bumps it up to 87 octane.
 
  #8  
Old 03-24-2013, 03:52 PM
redneck_ram's Avatar
redneck_ram
redneck_ram is offline
Champion
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Rochester, NH
Posts: 4,081
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Default

only places around here that sell ethanol free gas, is airports, and marinas.
 
  #9  
Old 03-24-2013, 03:58 PM
ReadRam's Avatar
ReadRam
ReadRam is offline
All Star
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: fargo, n.d
Posts: 794
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

I've been using higher octane /ethanol free since 1986, after doing 2 or 3 carb kits within a years time on my 84 and 86 gmc's. My mechanic finally asked me what gas I was using and recommended to stay away from ethanol. Fuel system repairs went away thereafter!

Up here in Both Dakota they are ramming ethanol down our throats and highest ethanol free gas is 91 octane, which I use because my trucks seem to run better and mileage is usually a little better. They are also growing a ton more corn all the way to Canada because of subsidized ethanol in gas. A gallon of E-85 is around 3.05.

America has more oil and natural gas than all the middle east combined, if they(fed) would let drilling open up, and quit wasting our tax dollars on 100,000.00 electric cars that nobody can afford, and that put out more carbon footprints from mining operations to get the precious metal required for said batteries.
 

Last edited by ReadRam; 03-24-2013 at 04:10 PM.
  #10  
Old 03-24-2013, 05:14 PM
gdstock's Avatar
gdstock
gdstock is offline
Legend
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 8,259
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by ReadRam
.....America has more oil and natural gas than all the middle east combined, if they(fed) would let drilling open up, and quit wasting our tax dollars on 100,000.00 electric cars that nobody can afford, and that put out more carbon footprints from mining operations to get the precious metal required for said batteries.

You are missing who is behind this and why. The corporate AG lobby (ie, corn farmers) got this going a number of years ago, and had their first legislative win over Big Oil, and they have a "wink and nod" agreement now because they are both prospering so much.

Our ol production is the highest in our history, and one of the reasons that fas is so high is because we are exprting gas (tankers full of it) out of the country (most through Port of Houston), creating a false sense of shortage. And they are charging more for the export gas!

One of the great falacies of the Keystone Pipeline is that it will provide oil, hene gas, for the US. It is all being planned for export!

Corporate lobbyists always win!

(And you are probably correct on carbon footprint on the battery thing!)
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
Quick Reply: ethanol free gas



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:16 AM.