why do a bunch of gas stations have 88 octane cheaper than 87?
I figured it was a marketing gimmick to get you to buy 88 and then they would finally raise the price, but it's been years. are they adding extra ethanol or something?
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Both. Ethonal is still corrosive and the majority of fuel systems these days are compatible with E15. That said, check your owners manual.
Just finished restoring an old Jeep and had the brand new fuel pump give up within the first tank of regular gas. Everyone I talked to the first thing they asked was, "Did you use ethanol free gas?" Like it was some street smarts thing I should have known.
I would have thought by now any component built in the last decade would be built to withstand modern gasoline mixes. Joke's on me.
Problems with ethanol in gas usually happen over a longer time, not within a single tank of gas. That pump was probably faulty to begin with. I would recommend lower ethanol fuel for older vehicles though, so it's not bad advice. But it isn't like pure acid that will dissolve the car within no time.
Appreciate your perspective. Makes more logical sense than the "shouldn't have used ethanol" responses I got. Thanks!
Depending where you live, it can be really hard to find ethonal free gas. As an added bonus, carburators hate having ethonal sit in them. They'll develop a varnish. Carbs also don't like sitting partially dry and getting all the fuel out of them is a massive pain. Yay lawn equipment.
My dad thought it was silly for me to replace my gas powered motor with an automatic throttle control that doesn't really work with an electric one, but having no knowledge or desire to rebuild a carburetor (like him), I think I made the right move.
My electric chainsaws and weed whacker always start. Eventually our lawn tractor will kick the bucket and I'll either convert it to electric or buy one.
They're so much quieter, too. Not as easy to notice when you're the one using the tool, but compare how it sounds to be nearby someone else using one and it's a biiiig difference