| Author | Message | ||
     Brown_e |
Driving through Iowa on my ride to New Mexico and back I noticed that many of the gas stations in Iowa have octane of 87 and 89. I am thinking the 89 may be high in ethanol but I could not find anything on the pump saying what %. I tried to avoid these stations but it was hard. Here in Wisconsin the ethanol is 10% and listed on the pump. Does anyone know anything about Iowa's ethanol content in their fuel? How about other states? | ||
| Teeps |
Not sure what % of ethanol is used in their "regular" fuel but for sure; stay away from E85 (85% ethanol.) The Buell should be fine using anything other than E85. | ||
| Chas1969 |
89 in Iowa is 10% EToh so Stay-Away!! This summer I tried 89 because it was cheaper or the highest octane at small stops, but BMW at the time hated ethanol. IMHO Chas | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I use the 10% ethanol exclusively and have over 10,000 miles on my ULY. The owner's manual says no problem using it. I buy it because it is way cheaper per gallon than premium. It's subsidized in the corn belt states of NE an IA. I won't pay upwards of 30 cents more per gallon for premium when it's benefits haven't borne out to me. My bike runs and idles well using it. Always has. (Message edited by electraglider_1997 on October 14, 2007) | ||
| Bertotti |
I think mine runs better on ethanol the regular at those low octane levels. I think it runs cleaner and hotter but it does lower the mpg enough that I notice the difference when riding my Uly. I found some 90 with 10% ethanol and it was the best running gas I have had yet. Bike just seemed a bit peppier. A lot of things could of caused that and I can't remember where I got it so I haven't tried it again, yet! 89 octane 10% was $2.55 yesterday. 91 wat almost $3. (Message edited by bertotti on October 14, 2007) | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Condensation in the gas tank is not a problem when you use gasahol as it just goes into solution and then just burns during combustion. At Bertotti's prices a person could by 5.1 gallons ( $13.00 ) of Gasahol to go 40mpg times 5.1= 204 miles. For the same $13 you'd only be able to buy 4.4 gallons of premium and you'd have to get 204/4.4= 46.4 mpg to break even. Can you get 6.4 miles extra per gallon on premium?? I doubt it. | ||
| Scooter808484 |
I've discovered that mine won't ping when using the 10% Ethanol 92 Oct up here. Pings everytime when using straight 92 octane. May be other differences in formulation as well, hard to say. | ||
| Arcticktm |
I do not believe any state in the US allows more than 10% ethanol in "gasoline" (E85 is whole 'nother animal, of course). I have heard the state of MN is trying to get a law change to allow 20%, and most engine OEM's are against it. I don't understand what the bike would ping less with 10% ethanol 92 vs 0% ethanol 92, but would like to know. Seems almost counter-intuiative, since the ethanol adds in oxygen with the fuel, which makes the motor run a bit leaner. Note that official data (USDA) says you will get 20-25% worse fuel mileage on E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline). This is why most folks using E85 to save money are just fooling themselves. That would seem to show that you could expect about a 2-3% drop in fuel mileage with 10% ethanol. The thing is that you really don't know what you are getting all the time, because some states do not require 10% ethanol to be labeled differently than 100% gasoline anymore. | ||
| Hootis29 |
Less pinging, because the motor runs cooler. I'm in MN so its 10% or nothing. I like it though, especially because it comes from my neighbors. I ran my 2005 FLTRI on E85 (85% corn) for over 10K miles, and it worked pretty good. | ||
| Bertotti |
I have not been in a state yet that didn't have a 10% label somewhere. I understand that ethanol will run hotter then the equivalent octane gas with it out. I was told it burns cleaner because of that but I have not done any searching to see if that is true. There are some many different points of view and papers regarding this on the net it is incredible. I have the impression they are mostly slanted to the writers goals and not always to the facts. My leg tells me my 80 ethanol is as hot as my 91 octane straight. My trip gages tell me it doesn't get me as far but at the cost I don't care and considering it is made her in the USA I will pay more to help out our farmers and local manufacturing locations. Knock on wood I have never had a ping with it on down to 87 in 100 degree weather. | ||
| Scooter808484 |
Arcticktm, Seems almost counter-intuiative, since the ethanol adds in oxygen with the fuel, which makes the motor run a bit leaner. That's kind of what I thought, but then I don't know exactly how the O2 sensor "sees" the O2. There could be numerous other differences, as the ARCO gas with 10% Eth is generally made at a refinery with a considerably different process for cracking than most. Then again, you don't necessarily know where the gas comes from either, once it goes in the pipe. | ||
| Arcticktm |
Yes, I have certainly learned that gas with the same rating is not always the same to your motor. Not sure how much is due to less consistent fuel vs engines running closer to the edge and being pickier (which certainly describes the Buell). I still don't get how the 10% ethanol blend would run "cooler", so if anyone has any facts on that I would like to hear them. As for the O2 sensor, I was assuming that the sensor would see some higher O2 in the exhaust when you switched to ethanol, and that causes the ECM to put in more fuel, which would also account for the the slightly lower MPG. Just an educated guess, not based on actual calibration experience with O2 sensors. | ||
| Bertotti |
I've never heard of ethanol running cooler, cleaner I have heard. |
