15% ethanol

[kayjo]

Where are we on this. Doesn't sound like much of solution. If mileage drops because less energy in the ethanol, we'd probably be better off just putting in less gasoline, Its not like ethanol is cheaper than gasoline. It sounds like yet another gas price hike to me. not a solution. Further, you have additional pollution, unknown about vehicle damage, as most vehicles are tested to just 10%. repair and replacing vehicles is not a green initiative. No logic with the tree huggers. I am sure they hate us for driving our gas guzzlers, but the truth is 90% own trucks not because we want them, because we need them for business and other reasons.

 

[fireflymedic]

My 2015 is rated for 85% ethanol so wouldn't be to worried abot 15. But I here the 15% is only at a few select locations.

 

[tidefan1967]

I ran 88 E15 a few times in my 2017 Ram with the 5.7 Hemi a few times and didn’t notice any difference in mileage or performance. The only good thing is here it’s .05 cents cheaper a gallon than 87.

 

[392DevilDog]

We have E15 88 Oct year round here. Not sure what the rulers are planning. Par for the course to me.

I have run E15 88 Oct for 2 years now exclusively in my 392 HEMI and have run it in my Jeep Cherokee.

It is 30 to 80 cents cheaper than E10 87 and has performance similar to E10 89.

I will never use 87 again when 88 is available.

All(unless you are a strict follower of your owners manual) RAM trucks are completely safe to run on E15

Disclaimer: all 5th Gen Ram truck engines are rated up to 15%

Most RAM trucks are rated up to 15%, some owner manuals list up to 10%...so please consult it if worried.

E15 has been approved for all 2001 and newer vehicles

Make your own decision. Good luck.

 

[mcarey]

It's typically only available in the winter, and this recent lift is on par with the lift in 2019. But there are only like 2000 stations across the nation that sell it, anyways. So unless you've currently had access to it, and have likely been running it, not much is going to change.

 

[mikeru]

The number I heard was closer to 2300 stations that carry e15. All I know is I haven't ever seen it where I live. Not that I'd be too worried about using it. The difference in fuel economy is negligible. I seriously doubt anyone would be able to notice a difference. You'll probably see more of a difference from one day to the next based on ambient temperature or wind speeds.

My beef with it is the political aspect. Ethanol used as fuel is not more environmentally friendly. It never has been and never will be unless a lot of things change in the way it's produced and in what it's made from.

 

[sandawilliams]

The number I heard was closer to 2300 stations that carry e15. All I know is I haven't ever seen it where I live. Not that I'd be too worried about using it. The difference in fuel economy is negligible. I seriously doubt anyone would be able to notice a difference. You'll probably see more of a difference from one day to the next based on ambient temperature or wind speeds.

My beef with it is the political aspect. Ethanol used as fuel is not more environmentally friendly. It never has been and never will be unless a lot of things change in the way it's produced and in what it's made from.

But using it in our autos drives the price up on every other staple that uses corn. That includes pork and beef.

 

[Docwagon1776]

All RAM trucks are completely safe to run on E15

My 2012 says otherwise. The 4.7 flex fuel can, but the 5.7 says:

CAUTION! DO NOT use gasoline containing Methanol or gasoline containing more than 10% Ethanol. Use of these blends may result in starting and driveability problems, damage critical fuel system components, cause emissions to exceed the applicable standard, and/or cause the “Malfunction Indicator Light” to illuminate. Pump labels should clearly communicate if a fuel contains greater than 10% Ethanol.

 

[Docwagon1776]

Where are we on this. Doesn't sound like much of solution. If mileage drops because less energy in the ethanol, we'd probably be better off just putting in less gasoline, Its not like ethanol is cheaper than gasoline. It sounds like yet another gas price hike to me. not a solution. Further, you have additional pollution, unknown about vehicle damage, as most vehicles are tested to just 10%. repair and replacing vehicles is not a green initiative. No logic with the tree huggers. I am sure they hate us for driving our gas guzzlers, but the truth is 90% own trucks not because we want them, because we need them for business and other reasons.

Nobody is changing 10% to 15%. If you aren't buying 15% now, you won't be buying it under this either. There's only one station anywhere around me that sells it, listing it as '88 unleaded'.

 

[mikeru]

My 2012 says otherwise. The 4.7 flex fuel can, but the 5.7 says:

CAUTION! DO NOT use gasoline containing Methanol or gasoline containing more than 10% Ethanol. Use of these blends may result in starting and driveability problems, damage critical fuel system components, cause emissions to exceed the applicable standard, and/or cause the “Malfunction Indicator Light” to illuminate. Pump labels should clearly communicate if a fuel contains greater than 10% Ethanol.

I don't want to speak for @392DevilDog, but since this is the 5th gen forum, perhaps he was directing that comment more at 5th gen owners.

 

[mcarey]

The number I heard was closer to 2300 stations that carry e15. All I know is I haven't ever seen it where I live. Not that I'd be too worried about using it. The difference in fuel economy is negligible. I seriously doubt anyone would be able to notice a difference. You'll probably see more of a difference from one day to the next based on ambient temperature or wind speeds.

My beef with it is the political aspect. Ethanol used as fuel is not more environmentally friendly. It never has been and never will be unless a lot of things change in the way it's produced and in what it's made from.

Yeah I knew it was somewhere in the 2000's range. I've never seen it here, either. I'm sure if I drive out to the sticks, where we farm in the desert (lol), I'd come across it though. It's definitely on the ever growing list of things I won't lose any sleep over.

I thought the decision, politically, was being made solely in an attempt to aid with current fuel costs?

I don't think I'd be too concerned about public usage of it driving up other prices, either. Again, this was done in 2019 and I don't recall anyone being concerned (or any real impact) then. The amount of general public people touching farm-fuel will probably be fairly insignificant.

 

[mikeru]

Yeah I knew it was somewhere in the 2000's range. I've never seen it here, either. I'm sure if I drive out to the sticks, where we farm in the desert (lol), I'd come across it though. It's definitely on the ever growing list of things I won't lose any sleep over.

I thought the decision, politically, was being made solely in an attempt to aid with current fuel costs?

I don't think I'd be too concerned about public usage of it driving up other prices, either. Again, this was done in 2019 and I don't recall anyone being concerned (or any real impact) then. The amount of general public people touching farm-fuel will probably be fairly insignificant.

As we're strongly encouraged to avoid getting into political discussions, I won't go into detail about the political aspect of why they're doing this.

 

[pacofortacos]

It isn't used in many places due to it potentially causing more smog, they have waived some of the EPA stuff for now.

 

[mcarey]

As we're strongly encouraged to avoid getting into political discussions, I won't go into detail about the political aspect of why they're doing this.

You can PM me if you want. I'm curious what you don't like about it. Everything I read, which admittedly wasn't much because it seems like a real non-issue to me, was around aiding in dropping the price of fuel. Could definitely be missing something, however.

 

[huntergreen]

If it is true that using ethanol helps farmers, I’m ok with it. I do think we should have a choice at the pumps though.

 

[mcarey]

I do think we should have a choice at the pumps though.

You almost definitely will.

Fueleconomy.gov suggests there are ~168,000 gas stations in the country. Only ~2300 of them sell E15. So this is irrelevant for 98.5% of the gas stations in the country, and even more irrelevant to the end consumer unless you only have access to one gas station that happens to also be one of those 2300. However at that point, you've either got a choice (no idea if that's the case, since don't live in an area like this, but I'd bet it is) OR you've never had a choice and have been running it every winter (and some summers) anyways.

Again, I really think this is largely a non-story event for the most part. Especially in regards to us and our trucks.

 

[Zoe Saldana]

Where are we on this. Doesn't sound like much of solution. If mileage drops because less energy in the ethanol, we'd probably be better off just putting in less gasoline, Its not like ethanol is cheaper than gasoline. It sounds like yet another gas price hike to me. not a solution. Further, you have additional pollution, unknown about vehicle damage, as most vehicles are tested to just 10%. repair and replacing vehicles is not a green initiative. No logic with the tree huggers. I am sure they hate us for driving our gas guzzlers, but the truth is 90% own trucks not because we want them, because we need them for business and other reasons.

Expect higher food prices as more land is used to get to 15%

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Maps and Data - U.S. Corn Production and Portion Used for Fuel Ethanol

 

[barr0208]

basically if they drop the 10 percent all together and go up 15% it will use up more farmland that is being used for agriculture . plain and simple its not needed if it was dropped there would be a lot more corn for farm animals

 

[06 Dodge]

basically if they drop the 10 percent all together and go up 15% it will use up more farmland that is being used for agriculture . plain and simple its not needed if it was dropped there would be a lot more corn for farm animals

But if they dropped 10% and went with 15% by doing so it would void a lot of engine warranties that say do not use more then 10% ethanol...

 

[fireflymedic]

Converting corn to fuel is responsible for putting my family dairy out of business. The rise in corn took up 100% of the profit.

But the rise in food costs we are about to see will more likely be from the Russian imbargo. As most of the fertilizer (which takes a lot of energy to produce) comes from Russia.

The cost of fuel is not helping either. You think your truck gets bad mileage try driving a tractor. They can burn 8+ gal./hr