Gas Mileage - Ethanol

OK, so 13K miles on the truck. Gas mileage has been disappointing. I can usually get published mileage or better, but this Taco eats the sauce. (Results are on Fuelly - avg 17.9)

I was reading about Top Tier gasolines, but the local stations around here look like holdouts from the 80's. On my regular trip to visit M&D, I decided to give Shell a try. I could not find the usual "may contain up to 10% ethanol" sticker on the pump. I get back on the highway and shazam - I'm getting 25mpg. Managed to eek out 24mpg for the first hundred miles. After my visit and in-town traffic, I'm only down to 23.5mpg at the 200 mile mark, and managed to gain a bit over the last 100 miles, ending at 23.8mpg at 300 miles. And I was only just below a -half tank- at that point.

Anyone else notice a difference between the ethanol and non-ethanol blends? (I know this was just the one trip, but I will try the same gas station again and check the results.)

[Normal gas is 87 octane from Sheetz, Shell was also 87 octane.]

Excuse the dust...

 

Yes, ethanol burns hotter and faster than non, so non should get a little bit better mileage, but very little. I personally use nonethanol cause it's easier on things in the long run.

 

I would kill for 23.5 mpg's.

 

I wouldn't be complaining with those numbers,,,, but yeah ethanol is da poo-stick

 

I’ve always used 91E0 or higher after dealers fill. At the moment running chevron 94E0 and truck runs amazing. Premium SFOB tune.

Best I got was 24.5MPG driving no faster than 60 when I was stock. Now with slightly bigger tires, lift and constant weight, I’m still able to get advertised MPGs. Driving conservative of course.

I do believe E0 gas does make a difference.

 

Non-ethanol is better but not 6mpg better. A gallon of E10 fuel has 2.2% less energy contained in than a gallon of non-ethanol.

 

Your 5 MPG increase is likely due to driving conditions. Ethanol blended gasoline will cause a MPG hit but not that much.

 

Yes - would prefer the non-ethanol, but not too many stations around here carry it.

Me, too! I haven’t seen over 20 mpg since last November.

 

Definitely. Head winds are MPG killer on our brick shaped trucks.

 

Some Wawa's have ethanol free. More expensive, but whatever.

 

I bet if you do the math, for regular driver it’s like 300$ more per year, if that. Definitely way less then Starbucks coffee or an occasional burger/fries.

 

I always fill non-ethanol gasoline in my personal 4x4 Tacoma. I really don’t pay too much attention about my gas milaege. Driving conditions causes mileage issues. Also, I don’t drive like “Fast and Furious” crap.

 

I might try it on my next fill-up as a treat for my truck, lol. I'll see if it makes a difference

 

You must have a 2wd truck. I miss my 2wd access cab V6 gas mileage. With ethanol free and coasting the right lane in traffic I achieved 27mpg a couple times. 22mpg was my around town average with regular gas, but I didn't drive the truck aggressively.

I do the same with my 4x4 because fuel with ethanol causes my high pressure fuel pump to chirp egregiously loud. Terrible gas mileage though, 4x4 quad cab long bed is heavy and it kills the MPG. I rarely break 18mpg. Ah well. At least the engine tune and ethanol free fuel gives it an increase in horsepower and torque. Before the tune the truck was a dog. No change in MPG to report with the tune. The extra power is great though.

 

Must have been all the Memorial weekend traffic. It’s a regular trip to visit the parents, so not sure about driving conditions being that different.

At least I should be able to ‘repeat’ the experiment.

 

I guess that depends on your average fuel economy.

Are you basing that on the $0.60 difference between regular and ethanol free mid-grade? Or the difference between mid-grade and ethanol free mid-grade?

An extra $.60/ gallon would cost me about $775/year, based on 17mpg and 22K miles average. I'm definitely not a typical driver, though. Especially considering that those 22K miles are in addition to the 25-30K/yr I've been putting on my work vehicle.

 

Could be a combination of things. Winter blend vs summer blend. Warmer weather increases fuel economy. If traffic was heavy, your average speed may have decreased.

Ethanol free definitely has potential to increase fuel economy. I just don't see it causing such a huge difference on its own.

 

23.5mpg seems difficult to achieve. I see about 18 to 20mpg using regular gas with Ethanol.

 

That's crazy, same as paying for premium gas.

 

I switch between REC 90 pure gasoline whenever my Tacoma will be sitting for a while, and the cheapest regular 87 octane with whatever amount of ethanol they are putting in it. I don't see any real difference in MPG.




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