Occasional 89 Octane? Experiment coming this next week

E0 should yield 3% better gas mileage than E10. Remember to factor that out when trying to find the difference between 89 and 87 octane.

 

Is E0 available at 89 octane. I thought it was only for premium 91 and up!

Anyway, if your son has the 1.4 liter turbo Cruze then Edmunds has confirmed that premium gives better fuel economy than regular under some conditions. Save Money and Stop Buying Premium Gas

The theory is that GM might have forced regular gas ratings by detuning a turbo engine that can use premium.

I doubt the Prius will be the same but only one way to find out. Remember, even if you get more range, it has to be enough to offset the higher cost.

 

The range will depend on energy content of the fuel (eg; density). E10 will reduce energy content 3%. But there is an unknown: the energy content of the base gasoline fuel. Without data. you don't know. But you could be up to 10% better with E0 - comparing an E10 fuel to an E0 fuel. You also could be worse with E0, so no guarantees here.

One way to get data is try it measure range, but that's hard to see. Another way to get some simple data, what I would do, is I get exactly 1.5-gal in a Red gasoline can, and measure weight and convert to density grams/cc. This gives you some idea. Since density(energy content) is not a spec, it can vary. So there is no guarantee it will be same all the time.

Generally the extra cost is not worth the extra range, but for those Prius owners trying to set the distance records (see threads) then these minor differences can be important.

By the way, I am assuming from memory that Syracuse is not a Reformulated Gasoline region (that most Prius owners live in). There is essentially no chance to find E0 nor density difference in an RFG region. But your area yes, your son is possibly correct! And you actually do have some data, from your son, he says its better. That tells me there is some data.

 

You can try the 93 but I am not saying its worth it,

 

don't bother. you reduced winter mileage is mostly from the cold, longer warm up time and increased cabin heater. and yes, the snow tyres, plus the road conditions if there is weather, and more resistance from colder air. do you block your grille?

 

As far as we know, octane itself does not improve MPG.

But one thing you can do is try to fill-up on conventional gasoline (not EPA Reformulated Gasoline RFG). We have RFG in North Va. and upthru Baltimore to DE NJ NYC area. The RFG is lower energy content to give cleaner burning potential. Somewhere around I-81 Hagerstown MD is the dividing line in MD between RFG and conventional.

 

Shenandoah should be good energy content (non RFG) and cheap! You might even find some E0.

 

yep.

 

93 should not have caused any problems. Technically it has less power available (you get more power from it in a performance engine for other reasons), but it should run the same as 87 in a Prius.

I did a lot of testing with my '93 Caprice and found I got better mileage with 89 and 93, and after computing $ per mile, it was a wash no matter which octane I used.

 

You forgot one:

c) winter mix gasoline -- which should account for a 1-2% decrease in economy.

 

And:

d) colder air which is much more dense, reducing mpg and range

Ask any pilot how much more lift they get in the middle of winter vs. in the middle of summer.

 

many reasons why cold is not our MPG's BFF LOL...not funny actually

 

Wo there's some good Virginny moon shine...that's what I am talking about...E0 in a non-RFG region maybe has more energy content, for two reasons (1) no alky and (2) non-RFG base gaso.