Ethanol free gas hurts?!?!

I have a 2008 2.7 regular cab automatic. It has 60,000 miles and runs great! Today I decided to put ethanol free 87 octane gas from QT in it. (I use it in all my small engine yard equipment)

I had a guy next to me say I'm hurting my engine by using ethanol free since my truck was designed to run with ethanol. I searched here and on google but can't figure out what I could be hurting!

Any advice?!

 

Bullshit.

/thread

 

They guy is incorrect, ethanol isn't that great for your engine and fuel lines. If it was why wouldnt there be higher percentages in fuel.

 

100% Gas is GOOD!!

 

That guy is insane, you need new car guys to talk to.

 

Would be odd that if the gas is worse then why is it more expensive? Tell him to add some sugar to his gas tank it really helps out the MPGS

 

Simply put, he's confused.

Beyond E10-15, fuel systems and drivetrains have to be specially modified or calibrated for the higher EtOH content of the gasoline. Although having a higher octane number, EtOH has less energy per gallon than naphtha/gasoline and is hygroscopic, hence the requirement for special modifications and calibration. This is where your FFV come in: they can use up to E85.

Ethanol was initially used as an immediate alternative to MTBE when MTBE was phased out.

TL;DR

Your engine can use E10 gasoline without issue as it requires the ethanol for the correct octane* and the ethanol percentage is low enough as not to cause issues with your vehicle.

*the gasoline was blended this way at the refinery. There are other ways to obtain the needed octane number using other refinery blendstocks, which is the type of gasoline you bought from QT.

But there are. Case in point: most gasoline is considered E10, but we as consumers can purchase up to E85 (50-83% EtOH).

 

Not all vehicles were set up for E85, and yes I agree the fuel systems have to be set up to accept higher ethanol percentages. I know Ford has E85 vehicles, but does Toyota offer any yet?

 

Several manufacturers offer FFV, but to be honest I'm not sure if Toyota does or not. If they did, they're probably Tundras and the like. I'm certain Tacomas aren't, which is what I think you were alluding to in your original post.

 

No just general a question.

 

Just googled it. Looks like the 5.7L offered in the Tundra and Sequoia can be Flex Fuel.

 

That is correct there is flex fuel option for 5.7. Im glad mine is not.

 

Not hurting anything but your wallet. I'd might be concerned about a steady diet of E85 in a truck even if designed for it. But we've been using gas with 10% ethanol for quite some time now. I can't see that it helps or hurts, lots of high mileage vehicles that have run it. My truck runs just fine with regular gas and it is a lot cheaper. Never had any issues with it in my lawn equipment, generator or ATV either.

 

Ethanol is actually good for your engine. It will help prevent or even clean carbon deposits. It isn't great for older lines as they were not manufactured using materials designed for ethanol. Clearly that is no longer an issue. The biggest problem switching from one to another, and this is where people complain, is tuning. Eth or eth free may perform differently depending on said tuning which leads some to conclude one or the other is bad. The cause is the tuning not the fuel. Actually, more power can be made by ethanol. Ask any alcohol drag car guy about it. There are numbers across the net claiming there is less available chemical energy in alcohol. That is true on the surface. But it isn't the whole story. Alcohol has a superior mechanical energy output under combustion. Gasoline has higher losses to heat energy.

So why not go to higher alcohol content and tune accordingly? Supply and demand. Gasoline is readily and quickly available. More so than ethanol. Current eth content is a happy medium of the availabilities vs supply and costs.

 

He's probably a corn farmer

 

Wat.

 

Would you take advice from 'a guy' at the pump next to you regarding your next stock purchase?

For goobers like that one, I'd just smile and say thanks for the tip man!

Just like I would the stock advisor.

Like most political speeches, there are just a couple of nuggets of truth mixed in here which could make the rest of the misinformation seem plausible. However, my glasses are fogging from the steam off the pile.

Says the guy that's familiar with the E85 race boys. Which has absolutely 0 to do with a factory street vehicle, like our untunable, unboosted trucks.

 

No, no it isn't.

No.

They use methanol.

At the end of the day gasoline has more energy per volume then ethanol, no two ways around it.

 

Ok gentlemen. Post numbers to prove mw wrong.

 

How about this:

I am a consultant to refiners, and specialize in crude units and finished fuels, which includes gasoline.

You can't break chemistry and physics, bro.