E15 and 3rd gens
 

Biden admin says it's going to allow E15 to be sold all summer. Currently I'm forced to buy gasoline with a 10% dilution of ethanol (E10), and the owners manual say that is the max amount of ethanol. Unfortunately, E15 is coming whether we like it or not.

I've seen a lot of places claiming that all vehicle made from 01 onwards are safe to use with E15. That should include the very tail end of 3rd gen 4runners.

Did Toyota have to change anything with the fuel system in those model years to achieve E15 compatibility?

I'm worried that my early 3rd gen will start having issues when I start being forced to use E15. Mines a 4 cylinder, so it was discontinued by 2001 (hope its not too different)

E-15 is more corrosive to rubber and attracts moisture. I would avoid it.

Nearly no one will be able to avoid it.... it will be at EVERY pump that isn't specifically "ethanol free".

But I agree, it's something I'd love to avoid. Like feeling hungry and adding a handful of sand to your food to "feel full". My 2 carbed vehicles are already trouble with the current formulations, soooo not looking forward to what's coming.


Funny, this feels like a planned situation given the Keystone pipeline he canceled on day 1.

I saw when the ethonal first came out. Toyota said the maximum is 10% In the older vehicles. So I expect a lot of people to have major issues with older vehicles if they run 15%

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Time for Stabil or Star Tron, which is my cost-effective choice, about .20cents a tankful from the quart size. I give each vehicle a little splash every tankful or so...

100% gas all things.
Unless you like chasing ethanol related problems.
Those cost time and money.

Rec gas has no ethanol but it is about $.40 - .50 cents higher than ethanol blends so that's an option. I run it in my 72 c10 truck.

The difference between E10 and E15 is negligible. Any 3rd gen, even pre-2001 should run E15 with no issue. Ethanol isn't any more corrosive to fuel systems than gasoline. The only caveat is if it's mixed with water. So just don't put water in your fuel tank and you'll be good. :) There are old arguments that say it will readily absorb moisture from the air, but this is very silly since the fuel systems are sealed.

Ethanol is a good solvent, so if anything it may clean the fuel injectors which will improve performance.

The energy density of ethanol is lower than gasoline, so you may notice a decrease in fuel economy. This is normal. Depending on the price of gas, it may be a wash in terms of actual $$ per mile for fuel consumed.

I've been running E85 for a while (supercharged, larger injectors, etc) and it is considerably cheaper than gasoline even after accounting for the decrease in fuel economy. The price of ethanol has remained relatively stable while the price of gasoline has gone up significantly.

The other bonus of ethanol is the high octane rating (average 105 octane), which is especially nice for supercharged applications.

How about the air in the tank as is splashes around while driving?

You make otherwise solid points about alcohol. I hate that it deteriorates rubber hoses, which by and large do not exist on runners. But they sure do exist on most small engines, atvs, ect. So I just treat every fuel tank I have, since many of my engines don't see daily duty, uggg.

Doing a little research this morning I find that cars made since 2001 will be okay with E15 gas. Small engines like lawnmowers, chainsaws, generators and marine engines should not use E15. BUT, only 1.5% of gas stations in the US have the necessary equipment to store E15 fuel, so E10 should still be readily available. It's estimated that for a 10 pump station it would cost $300,000 to convert to E15, a fuel that cannot be sold in summer because it causes smog. Its sale in some states is banned June to Sept 15.

Biden’s approval of E15 gas will only affect 1.5% of gas stations — Quartz
President Joe Biden and E15: What to know about the renewable fuel

Assuming a typical condition of 50% relative humidity at 70°F, the amount of water vapor in the air is very small.

If the fuel tank was only half full, that would leave about 1 cubic foot of air space containing 0.006312 oz of water vapor. Pretty much insignificant.

There is something to be said for the old rule of thumb to store a vehicle with the fuel tank full. Just to reduce the air volume allowed in the tank. But again these numbers are so small, it's not something anyone needs to worry about.

More government nonsense that we don't need. Woo

The EPA ban and supporting court case is an interesting twist. I was getting a
little crazy about this. My owner's manual says nothing over E10, and the local
dealer service department had no information at all.

Time will tell. I expect issues with it. So additives will help. Being pre 2001 engines where never designed to run ethonal. Lots of testing seems to be done if folks dig around.

Isn't adding more ethonal to the gas going to curb mpg?

As adding 10% dropped the mpg some. Wouldn't adding more drop it slightly more?



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The fuel systems in these trucks are getting long in the tooth. Ethanol is known to degrade rubber, nylon in fuel pumps and lines and effects aluminum. Fuel pumps and injectors etc will surely be effected.