Non- Ethanol gas observation
08-14-2018, 01:40 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Non- Ethanol gas observation
I know - I know....this is as bad as a “what oil should I use” thread....and I did just read a bunch of posts about octanes etc. here on the forum just now. This is just an observation of mine today -
I keep 20 gallons of non-ethanol premium gas stored for my generator for obvious reasons. I usually don’t use much of it. When it becomes 1 year old I dump it in my truck and refill the jugs.
I was down to 1/4 tank after our last trip so thought it was a good opportunity to get rid of 10 gallons of the non-ethanol. So I had approximately 5 gallons of regular 87 in the tank and added 10 gallons of 92 non-ethanol.
I thought no more about it. We went to town today (70 mike round trip) and noticed that my little ecoboost seemed to have some extra pep. Also noticed it would pull some of the hills staying in 6th gear instead is shifting to 5th.
Then about 1/2 way through I remembered about adding that gas. Now I know myself all too too well and I have an inclination to let things like this really work on my mind - kind of like a placebo effect I guess. But I swear all of the above was true.
I am inclined to just use this non-ethanol all the time now. But it’s expensive being it is the only place within 50 miles that has it. Most this summer I have been paying $3.02 per gallon for the regular 87 after my card discount. This other stuff I paid $3.87 for today to refill my jugs. I know I can expect better mileage after a few tanks but still........but I loved how my little ecoboost ran today!
This place that has the non-ethanol is also quite inconvenient as it is off the beaten path a bit. If I still had my 36 gallon tank which I sorely miss I might be able to do it. So instead I might try running premium fuel from my regular station where I’ve been buying my gas exclusivity for the past 25 years.
I keep 20 gallons of non-ethanol premium gas stored for my generator for obvious reasons. I usually don’t use much of it. When it becomes 1 year old I dump it in my truck and refill the jugs.
I was down to 1/4 tank after our last trip so thought it was a good opportunity to get rid of 10 gallons of the non-ethanol. So I had approximately 5 gallons of regular 87 in the tank and added 10 gallons of 92 non-ethanol.
I thought no more about it. We went to town today (70 mike round trip) and noticed that my little ecoboost seemed to have some extra pep. Also noticed it would pull some of the hills staying in 6th gear instead is shifting to 5th.
Then about 1/2 way through I remembered about adding that gas. Now I know myself all too too well and I have an inclination to let things like this really work on my mind - kind of like a placebo effect I guess. But I swear all of the above was true.
I am inclined to just use this non-ethanol all the time now. But it’s expensive being it is the only place within 50 miles that has it. Most this summer I have been paying $3.02 per gallon for the regular 87 after my card discount. This other stuff I paid $3.87 for today to refill my jugs. I know I can expect better mileage after a few tanks but still........but I loved how my little ecoboost ran today!
This place that has the non-ethanol is also quite inconvenient as it is off the beaten path a bit. If I still had my 36 gallon tank which I sorely miss I might be able to do it. So instead I might try running premium fuel from my regular station where I’ve been buying my gas exclusivity for the past 25 years.
08-14-2018, 01:44 PM
#2
Me thinks you should be focusing more on the octane differences than the ethanol. The ECO is well known to pick up quite a bit on higher octane.
08-14-2018, 02:03 PM
#3
Senior Member
I agree. The higher octane is what's been noticed. 93 octane really wakes up my engine compared to 87.
Typically the 2.7L gains 20+ HP and 40+ TQ on premium compared to 87 octane. Ford published HP/TQ rating using 87 octane.
Typically the 2.7L gains 20+ HP and 40+ TQ on premium compared to 87 octane. Ford published HP/TQ rating using 87 octane.
08-14-2018, 02:27 PM
#4
From a pure energy perspective, the ethanol blend actually has more BTUs per gallon than the non-ethanol. That's why people are running E80, E85, etc. in high-performance builds.
Your EB felt better because the OAR compensated for the higher octane fuel, resulting in more timing and thus more performance. That's why both my EBs (F150 and Explorer) run premium, from a top-tier station, all the time.
Your EB felt better because the OAR compensated for the higher octane fuel, resulting in more timing and thus more performance. That's why both my EBs (F150 and Explorer) run premium, from a top-tier station, all the time.
08-14-2018, 02:35 PM
#6
From a pure energy perspective, the ethanol blend actually has more BTUs per gallon than the non-ethanol. That's why people are running E80, E85, etc. in high-performance builds.
Your EB felt better because the OAR compensated for the higher octane fuel, resulting in more timing and thus more performance. That's why both my EBs (F150 and Explorer) run premium, from a top-tier station, all the time.
Your EB felt better because the OAR compensated for the higher octane fuel, resulting in more timing and thus more performance. That's why both my EBs (F150 and Explorer) run premium, from a top-tier station, all the time.
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Syclone Rob (08-14-2018)
08-14-2018, 03:03 PM
#7
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Well I’m glad I posted my observations. I thought it was more the lack of ethanol than the fact it was premium that was making a difference. This makes it easy for me to start using premium from my regular gas station all the time now.
One other observation - as I said I’ve been doing this once a year for many years. With my previous ‘09 FX4 w/5.4l I never noticed any difference. But today is was obvious. My typical 70 mile round trip to town is nothing but hills and bends on a 55mph road. My old 5.4 would constantly be shifting between 6th and 5th the entire way. I would bet it would happen at least 30 times in the round trip. There was no way to lock out gears like my new-to-me Lariat. Even without locking out 6th this truck behaves much more nicely. And today it acted even better holding on to 6th all that much longer.
Thanks everyone for chiming in! Premium it is for me!
rngtntl - my choice for my small engines is non-ethanol fuel. It just so happens that the only non-ethanol available happens to be premium. I am active in a tractor forum where we talk a lot about small engine equipment also. The consensus is that using and storing non-ethanol fuel in carbureted small engines proves to be worth it.
One other observation - as I said I’ve been doing this once a year for many years. With my previous ‘09 FX4 w/5.4l I never noticed any difference. But today is was obvious. My typical 70 mile round trip to town is nothing but hills and bends on a 55mph road. My old 5.4 would constantly be shifting between 6th and 5th the entire way. I would bet it would happen at least 30 times in the round trip. There was no way to lock out gears like my new-to-me Lariat. Even without locking out 6th this truck behaves much more nicely. And today it acted even better holding on to 6th all that much longer.
Thanks everyone for chiming in! Premium it is for me!
rngtntl - my choice for my small engines is non-ethanol fuel. It just so happens that the only non-ethanol available happens to be premium. I am active in a tractor forum where we talk a lot about small engine equipment also. The consensus is that using and storing non-ethanol fuel in carbureted small engines proves to be worth it.
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08-14-2018, 03:08 PM
#8
But I still maintain his butt-dyno improvements were a result of increased octane.
08-14-2018, 03:44 PM
#9
Senior Member
Back story about E10 fuel from the public or "political viewpoint" was that it reduced our reliance on foreign oil. In reality, it takes as many BTUs--whether they come from fossil fuel, ethanol, LNG or electric energy--to plant, harvest, process, dry and convert to ethanol as it produces in terms of BTUs of energy, so the net energy produced is essentially zero. The whole program is fundamentally a nod to the farming community, primarily in the cornbelt of the Midwest, to help stabilize and bolster corn market price as a result of the corn glut. Maybe makes sense politically and for the farmers, but makes no sense from an energy production POV.
As for the benefits of E-gas, there isn't much to be gained from E10 as far as performance or mileage gains, but E85 potentially can produce BIG HP in engines that are designed to take advantage of that type of fuel. The E85 has a higher R+M octane rating because of lower vapor pressure (slower burning than gasoline) so you can run a much higher compression ratio without pre-detonation. Also works well in highly boosted engines like 1/8th or 1/4 mile racers. In addition, the E85 burns much cooler during ignition which keeps combustion chamber temps down and engines can run at greater timing advance than a gas engine. Again, this is true only for engines that are initially designed and tuned to take advantage of the higher ethanol content.
As for the benefits of E-gas, there isn't much to be gained from E10 as far as performance or mileage gains, but E85 potentially can produce BIG HP in engines that are designed to take advantage of that type of fuel. The E85 has a higher R+M octane rating because of lower vapor pressure (slower burning than gasoline) so you can run a much higher compression ratio without pre-detonation. Also works well in highly boosted engines like 1/8th or 1/4 mile racers. In addition, the E85 burns much cooler during ignition which keeps combustion chamber temps down and engines can run at greater timing advance than a gas engine. Again, this is true only for engines that are initially designed and tuned to take advantage of the higher ethanol content.
Last edited by icantdrive55; 08-14-2018 at 09:24 PM.
08-14-2018, 04:05 PM
#10
rngtntl - my choice for my small engines is non-ethanol fuel. It just so happens that the only non-ethanol available happens to be premium. I am active in a tractor forum where we talk a lot about small engine equipment also. The consensus is that using and storing non-ethanol fuel in carbureted small engines proves to be worth it.