Ethanol in Gas

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Old 05-14-2007, 12:39 PM
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Ethanol in Gas

Are there any gas stations in the Philadelphia area that do not contain ethanol? My mileage is fairly low (24-26 mpg) and I'd like to try gas without any ethanol to see what I get, but I can't seem to find any in this area. Can anyone help me out?
 
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Old 05-14-2007, 03:08 PM
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Originally Posted by LizardKing
Are there any gas stations in the Philadelphia area that do not contain ethanol? My mileage is fairly low (24-26 mpg) and I'd like to try gas without any ethanol to see what I get, but I can't seem to find any in this area. Can anyone help me out?

Wow..24-26?? Even with my heavy foot I get a least 30mpg.
When is the last time u checked ur tire pressure?

How are u caculating ur mileage?
 
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Old 05-14-2007, 03:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Spoon-Fit
Wow..24-26?? Even with my heavy foot I get a least 30mpg.
When is the last time u checked ur tire pressure?

How are u caculating ur mileage?
Checked my tire pressure about a week ago, they are all at 40psi, where I had put them about 3 weeks ago.

I calculate mileage the proper way: when I fill up, I reset my trip. At the next fillup, I divide the miles on the trip by the gallons I just put in, and reset it again. I haven't actually gotten 26 mpg, my highest was 24.8, but that was on the Idle Learn Procedure tank. I am hoping future tanks will yield better results and I am estimating I'll get 26 on my current tank. I will find out tonight or tomorrow. My lowest was a bit over 20. I don't do jack-rabbit starts and always try to anticipate stops so I don't have to stop suddenly (though it doesn't always work out).

My commute is 10 miles, all stop and go through Philly. I have 34 lights, and I have to stop for most of them. The 10-mile commute takes about 40 minutes. All the gas around me has ethanol in it, which is less efficient, so I'd like to try pure gasoline to see what numbers I come up with using that.

I have yet to take my Fit out on an all-highway drive, but plan to do it very soon.
 
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Old 05-14-2007, 03:47 PM
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Originally Posted by LizardKing
I have 34 lights, and I have to stop for most of them.
No help in the pure gas department and somewaht OT, but 34 stoplights in a single ten mile commute blows my mind . I suppose that's just urban travel but hard to imagine with my two lights I go through to get to work (8 miles).

I live in a metro area, but my idea of "city" driving was very different. Considering you travel at about a slow jog/fast walk I am impressed you get as good of mileage as you do. Best of luck improving MPG numbers with straight gas.
 
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Old 05-14-2007, 03:49 PM
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Originally Posted by LizardKing
Checked my tire pressure about a week ago, they are all at 40psi, where I had put them about 3 weeks ago.

I calculate mileage the proper way: when I fill up, I reset my trip. At the next fillup, I divide the miles on the trip by the gallons I just put in, and reset it again. I haven't actually gotten 26 mpg, my highest was 24.8, but that was on the Idle Learn Procedure tank. I am hoping future tanks will yield better results and I am estimating I'll get 26 on my current tank. I will find out tonight or tomorrow. My lowest was a bit over 20. I don't do jack-rabbit starts and always try to anticipate stops so I don't have to stop suddenly (though it doesn't always work out).

My commute is 10 miles, all stop and go through Philly. I have 34 lights, and I have to stop for most of them. The 10-mile commute takes about 40 minutes. All the gas around me has ethanol in it, which is less efficient, so I'd like to try pure gasoline to see what numbers I come up with using that.

I have yet to take my Fit out on an all-highway drive, but plan to do it very soon.
That's how I caculate my mileage also, but then again I'm mostly highly.
Which likely explains the mileage i'm getting compare to your local mileage.
I have my tire pressue set at 34 psi front and 32 rear. Isn't 40 a bit high?
With the same commute in my past Evo8 I was getting around 19-22 mpg.
So in comparing the two cars, I know my Fit is much more fuel efficient.
Is ur current mileage better then the last car u owned with the same commute?
 
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Old 05-14-2007, 03:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Spoon-Fit
That's how I caculate my mileage also, but then again I'm mostly highly.
Which likely explains the mileage i'm getting compare to your local mileage.
I have my tire pressue set at 34 psi front and 32 rear. Isn't 40 a bit high?
With the same commute in my past Evo8 I was getting around 19-22 mpg.
So in comparing the two cars, I know my Fit is much more fuel efficient.
Is ur current mileage better then the last car u owned with the same commute?
I can't answer that, since I got my Fit the same day I started my current job! I was driving a 1994 Ford Escort, and got very approximately 20 mpg, but I never really did the math. I just always went about 200 miles and always put in about 10 gallons.

40 is a tad high, I may lower them to 36 to see if it affects economy much, but as low as mine is, I don't want it go any lower.
 
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Old 05-14-2007, 04:14 PM
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Originally Posted by LizardKing
I can't answer that, since I got my Fit the same day I started my current job! I was driving a 1994 Ford Escort, and got very approximately 20 mpg, but I never really did the math. I just always went about 200 miles and always put in about 10 gallons.

40 is a tad high, I may lower them to 36 to see if it affects economy much, but as low as mine is, I don't want it go any lower.

I'm currently at 5000 miles. I have notice my mpg have gone up a bit
since I picked up my car. What mileage are you at now?
 
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Old 05-14-2007, 04:17 PM
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Only about 1400, I've only had the car 6 weeks. Does mileage really go up after a long break-in period? I know Honda doesn't consider their engines fully broken in till 10K, but does it really affect things much?
 
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Old 05-14-2007, 04:32 PM
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Originally Posted by LizardKing
Only about 1400, I've only had the car 6 weeks. Does mileage really go up after a long break-in period? I know Honda doesn't consider their engines fully broken in till 10K, but does it really affect things much?
I have notice my mileage have gone up about 2-4 mpg. My style
have not changed my commute have not changed. I'm not sure if
it's because the weather is now warmer and if the pumps uses different
additives due to the weather. This is before my recent oil change and
life after the oil change is no different that I've noticed. I noticed the
up in mpg around 3500.
 
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Old 05-15-2007, 05:21 PM
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So my question remains: are there places in eastern PA that sell gasoline without ethanol, or is it all mixed?
 
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Old 05-16-2007, 08:23 PM
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I use Valaro gas only. I found out of all the different gas brands I tried, I get the best MPG with that brand. I also use 93 octane. I find that I get more miles than if I use 89 or 87 and my car just runs much smoother. When I first purchased my car I was not getting the best gas milage. But, the engine was not broken in and I was using 87. Now at 9000 miles using 93, I get about 300-310 on a full tank with all stop and go driving. I also use royal purple synthetic oil which I'm sure helps. I have yet to take her on a long trip on the highway but I imagine the gas milage will be fantastic. As to your question about gas stations with out ethanol. I can't answer that. I guess you'll just have to venture around and find one. But anyway I wouldn't be to concerned with MPG until you brake in the engine and trans some more!
 
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Old 05-17-2007, 02:43 PM
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Originally Posted by Hondady
I use Valaro gas only. I found out of all the different gas brands I tried, I get the best MPG with that brand. I also use 93 octane. I find that I get more miles than if I use 89 or 87 and my car just runs much smoother. When I first purchased my car I was not getting the best gas milage. But, the engine was not broken in and I was using 87. Now at 9000 miles using 93, I get about 300-310 on a full tank with all stop and go driving. I also use royal purple synthetic oil which I'm sure helps. I have yet to take her on a long trip on the highway but I imagine the gas milage will be fantastic. As to your question about gas stations with out ethanol. I can't answer that. I guess you'll just have to venture around and find one. But anyway I wouldn't be to concerned with MPG until you brake in the engine and trans some more!
Is the increased mileage you get from using 93 worth the 20-cent increase in price? At $3.00/gal, that 20 cents is about 7%. Do you get a 7% increase in your mileage?
 
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Old 05-22-2007, 02:50 PM
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Originally Posted by LizardKing
Only about 1400, I've only had the car 6 weeks. Does mileage really go up after a long break-in period? I know Honda doesn't consider their engines fully broken in till 10K, but does it really affect things much?
Mine went up a bit after around 11 or 12k miles, so I think the break-in thing does have a bit of truth. It could get even better with time, I'm not sure.

I also went from a Ford Escort to a Fit (ours was a 99 model, though). I think I'm getting better mileage in the Fit, but I'm not sure.

Honestly, the biggest problem with your mpg is those 34 stoplights - traffic lights will kill your mpg, especially in Philly, where there's one every five seconds, and the one following turns red as soon as you leave the first stoplight, lol.

Whereabouts in North Philly do you work? I went to Temple
 
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Old 05-22-2007, 04:26 PM
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Originally Posted by JessW1982
Whereabouts in North Philly do you work? I went to Temple
You probably already read my post in the other thread, so you might already know that I actually work in Bala Cynwyd. I live off of Old York Road in Cheltenham, which turns into Broad Street when you hit the city. The most direct route for me to take to get to work would be Broad to the Boulevard, but as you probably know, both are always backed up during rush hour. I currently take Washington Lane to Lincoln Drive, which doesn't have as much traffic, but its still a lot of stop-and-go.
 
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Old 05-23-2007, 09:17 AM
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Originally Posted by claymore
guys THIS IS NOT A NEW MILAGE THREAD. Please keep to the TOPIC which is Ethanol in fuel NOT MILAGE QUESTIONS there is a forum JUST FOR THAT continue MILAGE discussions in ECO FIT forum
That's true. My original question still remains: are there places in eastern PA that sell gasoline without ethanol, or is it all mixed? Though the reason I'm asking this is related to mileage, I have discussed my issues on the relevant threads, and I am looking for pure gasoline to see if that makes a significant difference.
 
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Old 01-21-2009, 09:59 AM
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Best fuel brands for Honda

I found this while surfing the web, which may be useful: Top Tier Gasoline

Certainly I'm going to stick to the brands they list under "retailers." I've only had my Fit for four days and while I was always looking for the cheapest deal when driving my 95 Honda Accord, I'm motivated to look after my investment, go to a higher octane rating and search out local gas stations that sell brands they mention. There's a very good Phillips 66 on South Lamar in Austin, TX, where I live that's always five to ten cents cheaper than the more common Shell and Chevrons...maybe I'll get the best of both worlds there.
 
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Old 01-21-2009, 04:23 PM
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Originally Posted by LizardKing
That's true. My original question still remains: are there places in eastern PA that sell gasoline without ethanol, or is it all mixed? Though the reason I'm asking this is related to mileage, I have discussed my issues on the relevant threads, and I am looking for pure gasoline to see if that makes a significant difference.
Well, I'm down the road a few miles in northern DE, but I travel a lot in PA and I suspect the answer is NO, like it is here. Everything here in DE is a minimum of E-10, and it sucks. I'm a year-round motorcyclist, and E-10 is even worse in bikes -- worse mileage, rough idle, tough starting, and the E-10 requires additives to remain stable.

(BTW, and OT, but in response to something above, higher octane in a stock-compression engine is nothing but a waste of money. Octane is NOT a measure of quality, it's simply a measure of how easy a liquid is to ignite. Higher compression = higher cylinder temps, which require higher octane to prevent pinging. Mind you, running higher octane than is recommended won't hurt anything...except your wallet.)
 
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Old 01-23-2009, 01:39 PM
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Without turning this into something too political, our Gov. decided PA should be the capital of ethanol production, so it is PA law that all gas must contain ethanol.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/pen...centives-acts/
 
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