hey all, i have a 95 ram 1500 with the 360 and 94k miles. i bought the truck in indiana, and drove it on 87 octane until now. i recently moved to colorado and was wondering if my engine will run ok with 85 octane. i figured i would ask because i really dont want to possibly waste a tank of gas.

 

i don't know. i've never heard of 85.
if in doubt, put in a 1/4 tank at a time, so if it starts pinging you could put in some higher octane to re-mix it.

 

its e85 ethanol. its a corn based gas and NO! your truck will not run on it unless you have a conversion kit...trying not to be a dick, but running it will more or less grenade your engine.

 

Yes, there is E85, and he should not run that, but I doubt that is what he is talking about. In most of Colorado (mainly places over 5000ft elevation), 85 octane is the lowest grade fuel that is available at pretty much every gas pump. 87 is mid grade, and 90/91 is premium. This is due to the altitude. The higher the altitude the lower octane you can run. So if you have been running 87 octane somewhere else, and that was the lowest octane you could buy, then buying 85 octane in Colorado is the exact same thing, and will not cause you any problems what so ever.

E85 pumps are easily distinguishable from the regular pumps. If you are talking about 85 octane that is available at just about every pump station in the state, then that is what I am referring to, and is fine to run.

 

thanks silver, i did mean 85 octane, and thanks for the help.

 

He does really mean 85 octane, not e85. Colorado uses gas at 2 octane ratings lower because of the altitude. It will rub the same at 7000' on 85 octane as it did at 1200' on 87 octane.

 

oh wow..i didnt know that. i feel a little more stupid now. my apologies for assuming you meant e85.

 

Yeah I saw 85 Octane in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. As said the higher elevation should make it ok to run.

 

85.5 octane actually. Never tried it in my ram while I was out there though.

 

In the Boise area, we have 87/89/91 octane, but we're only 2200-2500ft elevation. Not sure about the northern cities, but Idaho Falls and Pocatello are between 4200-4700ft, and they run 85 for the same-ish price. I haven't noticed a difference in my truck or the wife's new minivan, but my old Explorer would ping on anything less than 93.