Topic: Bought 4 gallons of E85 at last refuel...

[chrisfranklin]

No news or point, really, mentioning this, but recently refueled with a mixture of 14 gallons of regular and 4 gallons of E-85. 

There's a station called "Conserv" in Santa Monica that's the only place in the Los Angeles metro area that sells E-85 -- so, that's where I went. 

Why?  Boredom, really.

Figured I'd try a few gallons of the E-85 and maybe at least clean out the injectors.  Then go back, full-time, to 100% 87 octane.   

Resulting fuel mixture is currently, probably in the E20 - E30 range, I guess.  And the 4Banger seems to run ok on it. 

But, like I kind of said, it was a one-time experiment born of boredom.

 

[VA_YJ]

I prefer not to have any alcohol in my fuel. Alcohol absorbs moisture from the air and causes corrosion in fuel systems.  Many of the older vehicles (aka YJ and TJ 4 bangers) were designed in an era before alcohol fuels were common.  Rubber o-rings and gaskets in the fuel systems where not selected to withstand high concentrations of alcohol.  Even though a vehicle runs smoothly with a higher dose of alcohol does not mean that alcohol is an appropriate fuel over the long term.  If you run a vehicle infrequently, I would avoid alcohol as much as possible, as it seems to make the gas go "stale" much faster.

[neale_rs]

I hate to think about getting rid of my YJ.  Hopefully, they will have o-ring retrofit kits or something.

[VA_YJ]

I don't think 10% ethanol is going to destroy a YJ, as most of us run it all the time.  I'm just saying that I certainly don't want to add "extra" ethanol in my tank.  Here's some interesting reading from the folks that make Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer:

http://www.goldeagle.com/UserFiles/file/Ethanol%20411/Ethanol%20--%20The%20Good,%20The%20Bad,%20and%20the%20Ugly.pdf

[sharpxmen]

i've been running it on and off for a very long time, some stations have only E fuel (up to 10%) - didn't have issues with the way it runs, i don't know if there are any "side-effects" though.

[oldjeep]

Jeeze - there has been 10% ethanol in the gas in MN for 20 years.

[Jeffy]

Most 90's cars were designed to use up to 10% ethanol (E10).  And most of the gas in California has been 10% for a while.  You notice it the most when CA switches over to the 'winter blend' and your mileage drops.  Places like Southern California require 2% more oxygen by weight which results in a minimum of 5.6% ethanol.