Ethanol or Non-Ethanol?

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BamaDrewski

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Ethanol or Non-Ethanol

For as long as I have been able to purchase non-ethanol gas, I have. I have hunted down various gas stations to find it. I have always felt it was better for my rig with 260K+ miles.

Ethanol (E10) is anywhere from 20-40 cents cheaper (per gallon) in this area. The other day, I was in an area with no non-ethanol and I filled up with E10. I was surprised my gas mileage with that tank of gas was 17.97mpg in the city. It was not far off from my non-ethanol mileage. (I track every tank, every gallon, every MPG, cost, vendor, etc.)

I have heard the stories/rumors of our older rigs having problems with the moisture build-up from using ethanol (rust in fuel lines, tank, etc.) as ethanol/alcohol absorbs moisture. Moisture in gas and engines is not good.

Where does everyone stand on the use of ethanol versus non-ethanol. What are your experiences?
 
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BamaDrewski said:
Ethanol or Non-Ethanol

For as long as I have been able to purchase non-ethanol gas, I have. I have hunted down various gas stations to find it. I have always felt it was better for my rig with 260K+ miles.

Ethanol (E10) is anywhere from 20-40 cents cheaper (per gallon) in this area. The other day, I was in an area with no non-ethanol and I filled up with E10. I was surprised my gas mileage with that tank of gas was 17.97mpg in the city. It was not far off from my non-ethanol mileage. (I track every tank, every gallon, every MPG, cost, vendor, etc.)

I have heard the stories/rumors of our older rigs having problems with the moisture build-up from using ethanol (rust in fuel lines, tank, etc.) as ethanol/alcohol absorbs moisture. Moisture in gas and engines is not good.

Where does everyone stand on the use of ethanol versus non-ethanol. What are your experiences?
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I use premium only with 10% ethanol had no problems for as long as I can remember the moisture build up from what I have delt with is from vehicle that are not driven for long periods of time. A simple cup of a fuel additive clears that up pretty well to
 
I do my best to avoid ethanol if I can.....especially in small and marine engines. Lowest I try to use in the truck is mid grade and that's because it's my daily.
 
SilverRidgeRunner1 said:
I use premium only with 10% ethanol had no problems for as long as I can remember the moisture build up from what I have delt with is from vehicle that are not driven for long periods of time. A simple cup of a fuel additive clears that up pretty well to
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If I am running a small engine (Pressure washer, leaf blower, chainsaw, etc.) I will NEVER use ethanol. I have had the best performance out of non-ethanol in these applications. (Less varnish, clogging, sputtering, etc.) For my truck, I always add 4-6 ounces of MMO to the tank when I fill up. (Still on the same injectors and fuel pump after 260K+ miles) MMO is much cheaper than SeaFoam and it has served me well for 5+ years in my rig.

I am thinking the MMO is off-setting the poor performance qualities in ethanol enhanced gas. Maybe I am way-off-base but the 17.97 MPG really surprised me in this tank of ethanol gas!
 
I run the cheapest swill I can find in my 4Runner, small engines, farm equipment, etc. Been running fine for several years and 220k on the original pump and injectors. Car gets premium but just because I religiously beat on it and it's high compression. Brother in law runs it in his boat with no issues. Run it in a 1977 bronco with no issues. It's really not as big of a deal as the Internet makes it out to be just like 90% of the rest of the problems the Internet blows out of proportion.
 
Ethanol (10-15%) won't harm fuel lines, injectors, etc. in your 4Runner. Vehicles made since the 1980s have fuel components that can handle ethanol. Moisture is usually not a big problem either, unless you run E85 (85% ethanol) and let it sit for months (maybe years) at a time in storage. I ran E85 in my 65 Mustang and let it sit for 5 months in storage each winter (for 3 years) and had no problems at all. The horror stories about ethanol in cars are usually overblown (and most of the problems due to other things). In older vehicles it can be a problem, mainly because the rubber hoses and gaskets (especially in carbs) were not designed for ethanol and it dries out natural rubber.

I have burned regular gas with 10% ethanol in my John Deere garden tractor (17 HP Kohler) for the last 11 years (since new), stored it over the winter (never drained the fuel) and haven't had any problems at all. Starts right up in the spring when it's time to mow again.

You will get slightly lower mileage with 10% ethanol but not much, maybe 4-5% (maybe 1 mpg). With E85 you get about 20% less mileage (but it's usually 20% cheaper than premium gas too).
 
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No ethanol for me please! I would buy non-ethanol fuel but it is over 200 miles away from me in Texas.

So, I use this: Star Tron Enzyme Fuel Treatment

on Every engine i own (porsche, bmw, 3 toyos, 2 quads, riding mower & other small engines) consistently.

Besides the the anti-enthanol properties and carbon cleanup, I find the engines just fire up much more easily, especially those sitting for weeks/months at a time. I find it in quarts on ebay for $30 shipped (wallymart has it but 8oz for $10), mixes with 512 gls of fuel. Luck.
 
87 octane ethanol would produce a very slight knocking in my 1997, audible only when driving next to a concrete lane divider. I would fill with 89, no knocking. About 200k miles on the 89 ethanol, because it was near impossible to find gas in Seattle without E. My mileage would go up 5-10% with non-E gas (also tracked every gallon, every tank.) My 1999 doesn't have that knock.
 
As has already been stated, it's not a big deal unless you're planning on storing it for a while, and even then not much of one. You'd want to use fuel stabilizer whether the gas had any ethanol or not.

It WILL decrease your fuel mileage a little, depending on the concentration.

My car will get about 26MPG on premium with no ethanol and gets less than 17 running E85. I have to switch it back to 93 maps to do a road trip in it because the range is so bad (and I can't count on getting E85 everywhere).
 
Tomsea999 said:
87 octane ethanol would produce a very slight knocking in my 1997, audible only when driving next to a concrete lane divider. I would fill with 89, no knocking. About 200k miles on the 89 ethanol, because it was near impossible to find gas in Seattle without E. My mileage would go up 5-10% with non-E gas (also tracked every gallon, every tank.) My 1999 doesn't have that knock.
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This is strange, because ethanol raises the anti-knock properties of the fuel. That's one of the reasons it's become so popular for high performance applications. I can increase the timing in my car a shitload just going up to an E30 mix instead of 93.

I wonder if the Toyota ECU is doing something strange. :shrug:
 
E10 should cause less detonation. Not more. U will lose a little fuel mileage. If vehicle sits months at a time add fuel stabilizer.

Jay Leno had multiple e10 vehicles in his garage. He ended up dropping tanks and replacing multiple fuel pumps because they sit so long.
 
I run just regular E10 87 octane in the 4Runner, but in small 2 stroke engines I won't run anything but ethanol free. It really does eat up the rubber fuel lines and carbs in those 2 strokes.

I would spend a lot more filling up with the non ethanol fuel in the 4Runner too, but maybe I'll try it a few times and see what it does for my gas mileage. It's about a dollar more than the regular E10 87 octane since it only comes in premium 93 octane around here.
 
all the gasoline sold here in mexico is ethanol free (so far) and folks that do travel both sides of the border do report an increase of 2mpg with mexico gas.
cost wise its a wash, these folks are masters at cheating you at the pump!:trophy:
 
Ethanol DOES destroy engines. Minimizing this as overblown is as ignorant as running it and assuming its ok.

Ethanol was diagnosed in every seal failure I had all over my 2003 4runner by 3 different mechanics including Toyota in the end, including messing up my OEM jets.

Try putting Ethanol in ANY amount into a Sthil chainsaw and then come at me with that "overblown" comment when it gums up everything and wont start again unless you run non ethanol back through it.
Thats a micro scale of what happens all over your car. Doing it for years will cause the final issues. It ruins sensitive engines. EVEN TOYOTA WARNS ABOUT IT AS WELL AS OTHER ADDITIVES LIKE MMT. It destroys Toyota motors. Its WELL KNOWN.

Ethanol since its beginning has been a complete tax & money green scam for climate change hoaxes worldwide. Its not good for engines anymore than Co2 is "bad" which its not. Argue all you want for the world economic forum tyranny and eat ze bugs all you want. Dont sell that crap to me.

STAY AWAY FROM ETHANOL if you want your 4runner to last.

stick with 87 or higher octane. Preferable Non-Ethanol. This is what I buy and there is a massive difference in power and MPG (avg +2 gallons MPG better) in my own 4runner. stop feeding the WEF and their stupid corn scam. Its a cheap shitty scam they sell you. Even AI knows better.
 
Never put anything but the cheapest 87 octane (and sometimes lower) in my 2 1997 toyotas, never any additives (except in small engines) we're at 650,000 miles combined.

So yeah I'm not worried. :sleepy:
 
I run the cheapest I can find and in 26 years and 240k miles that engine starts beautifully every time. I have never had to fix anything other than leaks. I spend three months in Brazil every winter, and throw Sta-bil in on the last fill-up before I leave. Starts just fine when I get home. I do clean MAF and TB every 30k so that may help.

My small engine tanks get the non-ethanol and Sta-bil all the time.
 
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