Yesterday while filling up at the local CITGO station I noticed a sticker on the pump that read; “CONTAINS 10% ETHANOL”, (90% Gasoline and 10% Ethanol).

Curiosity got the best of me and I wondered if this fuel mixture was suitable for the HEMI engine. With all the discussions on FFV, (E-15) or 85% Gasoline and 15% Ethanol, I decided to do a little digging and here’s what I came up with.

You know me, first step was to the owner’s manual. The owners manual covered in great detail which vehicles can run on E-85. Also mentioned were the pros and cons of E-15 and how to identify which Dodge vehicles can run on E-85. Apparently Dodge approved FFV vehicles are identified by a label on the fuel door. (According to the owners manual one can expect a 30% drop in mileage with the use of E-15).

No where could I find anything on E-10 or perhaps I didn’t read through the manual enough. I was now beginning to wonder about the full tank of E-10 sitting in the fuel tank of my new 2006 Ram.

After many calls and searching, to my surprise I find out E-10 is perfectly suitable for the HEMI. In fact, E-10 is recommended by EVERY car manufacturer in the in existence! E-10 has been in use over 25 years.

E-10 Unleaded is a blend of 90% ordinary unleaded gasoline with 10% ethanol—a high-octane, clean-burning fuel made from corn and other grains. Every major car maker in the world approves the use of 10% ethanol blends (E-10 Unleaded) in their engines.

The ethanol in E-10 Unleaded adds two to three points of octane to gasoline—helping improve engine performance while keeping engine parts cleaner. E-10 Unleaded also helps reduce toxic exhaust emissions.

More information regarding E-10 can be found at http://www.e10unleaded.com/whosays.htm

Anyway, I thought I would post this in case anyone else finds themselves pondering over the ethanol debate the way I have.

Hope this helps.

H.H.

 

Here's a question for some of you rocket scientists,

The owner's manual recommends the use of mid-grade fuel, 89 octane with the 5.7 HEMI. It also states the this engine will run fine with 87 octane.

Since ethanol raises the octaine level, would it still be suitable to use 89 octain as the owner's manual suggests or should 87 octane be used when using E-10 fuel?

Hmmmmmmm,
H.H.

 

Lol... *I'm anything but*
I don't know about there in Texas, but, where I come from in Illinois, *and I believe down here in Arkansas* they have been using 10% ethonal for sometime.
I also believe the pumps say "minimum XX octane."
With that stated, I believe the 87 octane gas is 87 octane whether you buy 10% or 0% ethonal, 89 octane gas is 89 octane whether you buy 10% or 0% ethonal, 92 octane... you get my point.
I would think they would balance the higher octane ethonal with lower octane fuel. Remember, these are multi-billion dollar oil companies, why would they give YOU an extra octane point without charging you? lol.

 

Excellent point!

Thanks for the feedback.

H.H.

 

http://www.epa.gov/orcdizux/rfgecon.htm

 

Hmmm, not sure why you posted that website?

Was it a rebuttal to disprove or agree with my initial thread?

H.H.

 

I think what he was getting at with the link is that if you were to compare e-10 89 octane with regular 89 octane, you would get slightly higher gas mileage with the regular. So although the ethanol blend burns cleaner, you lose a little in mpg (1-3% according to the link). I'd say use whatever fuel you want, both e-10 and regular will work. I personally use e-10, because 1) where I live it is cheaper that regular 87 octane, and 2) I'd rather send some of my fuel money to local farmers than overseas. Hope this helps you out.

 

I've been running E-10 in my Hemi since I purchased it, almost 3 years ago. Recently, however, E-10 at 89 octane, which traditionally here in Iowa, has been about 10 cents per gallon cheaper than regular 87 octane, is now 10 cents more expensive. So, with the Superchips tuned for 87 octane, I've cheaped out and have been running non-E-10 87 octane. I have noticed a slight increase in fuel economy running the straight 87 octane regular vs. the 89 octane E-10.

 

I hear ya, I thought 30% was a little excess myself but check out your owners manual, pages 351 to 361. On page 359 under "Crusing Range" it states,
"You can expect your MPG and your driving range to decrease by about 30% compared to gasoline operation".

Bare in mind they are talking about vehicles using E-15, not E-10.

H.H.

 

yeah, E-10 (or as it used to be called, Gasohol) has been used in Illinois forever. Many places have 87 "regular' gas and 89 (E-10) priced the same (thanks to government subsidies that make ethanol feasible to use). So naturally many people opt for the 89, thinking that it's better, whether their vehicle really 'needs' it or not. Funny thing is that you really should choose the straight gas 87 octane if that's all you vehicle needs, as using the 89 E-10, as mentioned you'll get worse MPG due to less energy per unit with ethanol than gasoline, although also as mentioned, ethanol inherently is higher octane. Again, to confirm the earlier response, the octane number is the octane number whether it's 100% gas or E-85 or anywhere in between. Some places such as BP-Amoco have the 87 (or is it 89?), 91 and 93 available and I think it's only the 93 that states 10% ethanol. I too would rather divert some of the ridiculous amount of money it takes to fill up the Ram to the rich American Farmer instead of the obscenely rich mid-eastern oil sheik.