Timothyj

Is gas with ethanol o.k.? I like to use BP or Mobil gas, but I filled up with Shell, has 10% ethanol. 04 ES, I use 89 octane but on the Shell I used 93 octane. Just wondering what everyone thought about this. Lots of stuff online, good bad, etc. Car is running great, my concern is long term affect. Thanks.

Tim

brucelee1

iTrader: (2)

My Lexus service manager tells me none of the mechanics will use ethanol in an older car. Apparently, the gas wil lossen materials in an older car. I lost a fuel injector to ethanol and don't use it any longer.

Timothyj

thanks, after this tank of gas I will stay with Mobil or BP.

Tim

KS13

I always fil my 02 ES with Shell V-Power 93 Octane gasoline. Is that bad? Should I switch to another company gasoline? I always thought Shell V-Power Nitrogen Enriched gasoline was the best.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

It's very hard to find a gas station without ehtanol. The reason they add it is because it's cheaper than regular gas, but it's regulated by the goverment so that it doesnt't exceed 10%.

I honesly have not noticed any issues on top of what my car already has.

PFB

There is a current write up in the magazine "Consumer Reports" on the new upcoming E15 Ethanol Fuel Standard that you can read on line for free.

Currently the maximum Ethanol allowed is 10%. The new E15 standard is 15%, and according to Consumer Reports It can cause major damage to older engines. However, they dont say anything about the current 10% Ethanol blend,

So govern yourself accordingly.

You can read the full report at:

WWW.consumerreports.org

Phill

285exp

BP and Mobil are going to be E10 too. You can get a few extra hp and slightly better fuel economy by using premium, but the hp difference is unlikely to be noticeable and any increase in fuel economy will be more than offset by the price difference. Save your money and stick with regular.

Power6

Lucky people who can get 100% gas! The fuel economy is better, Gasoline contains more energy than Ethanol.

But I don't know if the price difference offsets that, MA is all ethanol blend there are no stations that carry pure gas here so I can't compare. The cars all run fine here though. The old cars with carbs and no feedback fuel systems might have trouble but should be able to be tuned, fuel injected computer controlled cars like our Lexus adjust fuel ratio to compensate.

03 ES

Dont use a higher ethanol content gasoline in your ES.Standard gasoline has 10% ethanol and that is fine, but E85 in an ES is a big NO NO. It will blow the motor apart. I have seen 2 1MZ engines that took E85 ethanol and both of them dropped valves.
And you should use premium in your ES. I only use exxon/mobil premium or shell V power in my 03.

mdbrown

Almost all gas contains a 10% ethanol blend. Cars built since the mid-90s are safe with a 10% blend and will probably be just fine with a 15% blend. If there are still places that sell an 85% blend then I'd avoid that. That high an alcohol blend will likely dry out the seals for the injectors and any other seals it comes in constant contact with.

Power6

^^The bigger issue with something like E85 is stoichiometric combustion requires a much higher fuel ratio to air with Ethanol. While 10-15% Ethanol can be compensated by a feedback fueling system, 85% Ethanol blend cannot be, in fact the injectors on most cars are not even sized for such a fuel mix.

The octane rating of Ethanol is high. The turbocharged Subie guys make a ton of power on E85 when tuned properly and right size injectors. They don't have any issues with drying seals in a car not designed to run E85 at all.

285exp

Do yourself a favor, for a few months alternate between regular and premium when you fill up and either reset your avg mpg display each time or, preferably, reset the trip odometer and manually calculate your mpg. Before you start believing folks who tell you how much better mileage or power you get with premium, check it for yourself. You're going to find that the increase is minimal at best and will not offset the higher price of the fuel. For some real fun, have somebody else fill your car a few times and try to guess, just on the way it drives, whether it was regular or premium. It's easy to imagine things that aren't really there, that the engine is running rougher or smoother, stronger or weaker, just by the power of your own preconceived idea of how it should behave when running on premium vs regular. Don't trust a bunch of know it alls on the internet, check it yourself.

99SC42

iTrader: (44)

This guy knows what he's rtalking about. Well said

Op just run your 93 octane and you will be fine.

To run E85 you need more fuel pumps, injectors etc..

Timothyj

Ran the tank down, filled up with 93 Mobil. Been running 89 Mobil or BP most of the time. Check mileage, around 26, round trip to work and back 14 miles one way. i only hit 3 lights, 55-60 m.p.h. Even played race car a little. Car runs great. Thats a rough estimate, thanks for all the input, have a great weekend!

Tim