05-22-2016, 10:29 PM
Markintosh wrote:
If your cheaper gas is because it contains ethanol, then it may not be so cheap. We find that putting the 10% ethanol blends (found in most cheap gas) into our Matrix gives us about a 10% reduction in MPG (from 31 to 28). So that 30 cents saved per gallon becomes somewhat of a wash when we're filling the car 40 miles sooner.
The Chevrons and a few local independents rely on a local wholesaler that seems to have the best gas around for MPG, ethanol free.
How sure are you that your gasoline is ethanol-free? Ethanol labeling is not required in California and very few US gasolines are ethanol-free these days. Also, a number of states (mostly corn belt states) require ethanol in gas. Most premium gasoline has extra ethanol in it to help raise the octane level. Also, it's impossible to reduce your gas mileage by 10% by using 10% ethanol blend since ethanol burns at 75% of the efficiency of gasoline. The worst reduction in gas mileage you could get would be 3.5%. You'd need to be running 10% water to get a drop that big.