I bought gasoline Sunday. Afterwards I passed a Maverik that sold ‘eco 88 unleaded’ for 10¢ less than regular unleaded. I think this is a little too much ethanol for my '87 Toyota pickup. Anyone know anything about it? I didn’t see it at any other station.
I’ve seen it occasionally here in the Northeast. I vaguely recall that the nozzle is usually blue. I don’t pay much attention to it, as my car uses premium.
I agree with this idea. This stuff is 15% ethanol. OK in 2001 up cars but it will likely dissolve things in your '87 Toyo that might otherwise survive the normal 10% stuff. And the 10% stuff is pushing it for an 87 as it is.
The other issue is the 10 cent savings (about 3% or so) will be absorbed by lesser MPG’s from the lower energy content of E15 vs E10.
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In MD the sign on the gas pumps says ethanol content could be as high as 15% even on the usual E10 gas. Royal Farms sells E88 around here. It’s a few cents less, but I don’t think it’s a dime less. I haven’t been there in a while. Gas prices for E10 are generally good, but the fried chicken is great.
Eco 88 is 88 octane E15, not E88, correct?
The eco 88 at the store I mentioned has higher ethanol content. I checked it out once when filling up my car. Once I saw the higher ethanol content, I decided to go with 87 octane E10. The ethanol alone doesn’t bother me, it’s the lower gas mileage I might get from using it. Here’s a link to the eco 88 folks, and they say it’s 15% ethanol, and a whole lot of other stuff that I will call hype.
Edit: yeah, I misswrote it. Eco88, not E88.
Thank you for clearing that up because I was confused. Haven’t seen any 88 octane E-15 around here yet. Closest E85 that I heard of is in Boston. We don’t have any here in NH.
We have some Sheetz that have blue nozzle E15 88 Octane (I actually posted about it almost 5 years ago E15 Fuel vs E10 Fuel, damn it makes me miss my Focus again…). I haven’t purchased a single drop of the E15. I’d have to check my Camry’s manual, but I’m pretty sure my wife’s Escape (2014) is ok with E15. Still the price discount per gallon isn’t enough lower considering the mpg drop.
Some Racetracs in SW Florida sell an E15 fuel with the blue handle. I think it is 88 octane as well. I haven’t looked at the price lately.
Yeah, calling it Eco 88 is a marketing thing because there is a lot of bad publicity about ethanol content over 10%. Higher octane, lower price at the pump, that alone works on a lot of people.
Technically E-15 is 88 octane so it is a form of premium. But I assume you need 89 octane or better. What would happen if you mixed 2 parts Eco 88 with 1 part 91 octane premium. Wouldn’t you end up with about 89 octane?
Like I mentioned in the gas mileage or something discussion, Iowa just voted to require 15% ethanol at most of their stations by 2026. It’s not the octane, it’s the ethanol content and whether your car can handle it. Certainly not good for small engines. You’ll likely see other states doing the same, reduced crop yields or not. There is money in selling corn for fuel instead of food.
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Which is why I thought it so weird the government is promoting more ethanol for gasoline with the Russia-Ukraine war taking so much grain out of the market.
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Sweet corn is still $1 per pound at Costco, has there been a great increase in price for cattle corn?
Planting happens in the Spring. So nothing in the ground yet. Ask again in October.
I doubt there’s an official definition of premium, but I’d say most people consider premium to be 91 and mid-grade to be 89. In any event, my car uses 91, as does my wife’s car.
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The power of Marketing. The word Premium is applied to a gas that’s higher octane. Premium implies BETTER or IMPROVED. It’s NOT. It’s just higher octane. It’s no wonder that a large percentage of people who drive vehicles which only require 87 octane are suckered into buying a higher octane because it’s called Premium instead of Higher Octane.
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I’ve heard that premium had better additives in the old days, although I don’t know how true that was. Today, that’s not the case, as you say.
You can call a grade of gasoline Alfred if you wish but the only thing that matters is the octane rating. All manufacturers tell you the minimum octane rating to use and many recommend higher.
88 Eco is nothing more than marketing.
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Yeah, nothing “Eco” about it. Biofuels range from breakeven maybe (corn ethanol) to environmental disasters (diesel from palm oil).
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