Ethenol free gas

[IROC U]

Ethenol free gas is very difficult to find in my area. What kind or brand of gas are you guys running in your Z's?

[fielderLS3]

This has helped me somewhat in my state. Here is a link for GA.

http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=GA

[IROC U]

Thanks for the link.

[strych9]

Cool link! Unfortunately, there are no gas stations in Nebraska that sell ethanol-free 93-octane juice. Corn state!

I'm stuck using 93-octane ethanol fuel from a nearby Phillips station. Meh, ethanol doesn't bother anything, but it would be nice to have a choice.

[joes407]

im not sure if we have ethanol free either. i think it all has it

[Supercharged SS]

In CT our ethanol free gas is 94 octane, only comes in 5 gallon can and is $13.50 a gallon. I never even knew it existed until I was getting race gas and Ted asked me to grab some for him.

[joes407]

according to the chart there is some pure fuel near me but theyre all lower octane. 1 in bithlo was 91 octane but all the rest were 90 and under. i usually use the hess nearby as they have separate nozzles for each octane and its 93. i dont like using the 7/11 by me cuz it all comes out 1 hose and just feel like im getting a hose full of cheap stuff the guy before me bought.

[coloeb]

While I do not drive a zl-1 I do work in the oil and gas industry. Some things you might be able to do to get pure gas are:

Buy from a marina if there is one close enough. Marine engines can be severly damaged by running fuel with ethanol. Ethanol will actually remove moisture from the air and put water in your fuel.

The ethanol may be mixed in the gas locally at the fuel distributer ( where the station buys its truckloads of fuel. Ask them who thier distributer is and call them, you might be able to buy the blend you want depending on the EPA regs for your area.
In New orleans for example you can buy fuel just off clearview parkway by the Huey P. Long bridge.
The local fuel distributer will be the BEST source for who sells what since they all buy thier fuel from the same guy.

[rjansen]

Why all the worry about finding Ethanol free gas? The ZL1 is designed to use premium unleaded gasoline, 91 to 93 Octane rating (preferrably 93), with up to 10% Ethanol added. This is stated in one of the owners information video clips released by Chevrolet, and posted elsewhere on C5.
Refer to time line 2:57 in the following clip.

[fielderLS3]

Originally Posted by rjansen

Why all the worry about finding Ethanol free gas? The ZL1 is designed to use premium unleaded gasoline, 91 to 93 Octane rating (preferrably 93), with up to 10% Ethanol added. This is stated in one of the owners information video clips released by Chevrolet, and posted elsewhere on C5.

They pretty much are forced to say that with the government mandating the use of the ethanol, and the limited availability of pure gas. However, pure gas is better for your fuel system, engine, and emissions system, and E10 fuel will accelerate wear and deterioration of those components. It is particularly problematic in northern climates, both because of cold temperatures, and for longer term winter storage. At the very least, it will decrease fuel economy to the point that it cost more per mile to drive using E10 than pure gas, even if pure gas has a 20 cent price premium. I keep track of my mileage on my Olds, and any time I have to buy E10, my fuel mileage decreases 6 to 8 percent, every single time.

The EPA claims that E10 fuel has no effect on durability over the car's "useful life," but as I understand it, the definition of "useful life" has not changed since the 70s, when 100-125K miles was considered such high mileage, that odometers didn't even count that high. So yeah, you'll get past 100K without anything breaking down, but finding pure gas vs. E10 fuel could be the difference between making it past 200K without major issues for those of us who keep our cars, and starting to have big problems around 150K.

[htron50]

Check gas stations around LAKES. Marine engines do NOT like Ethanol at all. So many stations get ethanol free gas around lakes.

I talked to a tanker driver making deliveries in my area. He told me exactly how he gets his tanker loaded, who gets the good stuff, who gets the bad stuff, etc etc..... And, it was a mom & pop store getting the good stuff, NOT a major brand. He loads his tanker at the distributor and various ingredients are added or not added to each tank section depending on the station/brand it is going to. He may even deliver some to competing brands off the same truck from diff sections of the truck. Interesting learn I got from him.

[8cd03gro]

Originally Posted by fielderLS3

They pretty much are forced to say that with the government mandating the use of the ethanol, and the limited availability of pure gas. However, pure gas is better for your fuel system, engine, and emissions system, and E10 fuel will accelerate wear and deterioration of those components. It is particularly problematic in northern climates, both because of cold temperatures, and for longer term winter storage. At the very least, it will decrease fuel economy to the point that it cost more per mile to drive using E10 than pure gas, even if pure gas has a 20 cent price premium. I keep track of my mileage on my Olds, and any time I have to buy E10, my fuel mileage decreases 6 to 8 percent, every single time.

The EPA claims that E10 fuel has no effect on durability over the car's "useful life," but as I understand it, the definition of "useful life" has not changed since the 70s, when 100-125K miles was considered such high mileage, that odometers didn't even count that high. So yeah, you'll get past 100K without anything breaking down, but finding pure gas vs. E10 fuel could be the difference between making it past 200K without major issues for those of us who keep our cars, and starting to have big problems around 150K.

I have run E85 on both my current vehicle and the previous one. I change my oil more often and don't leave it in my tank for more than a week(ish), but other than that I have never had any problems. Of course, I never keep my cars to 150k+, but searching for pure gas seems a little overkill. Especially considering the stock tune is probably for pump gas in Milford.