VEKI

I think is 💯 safe,but just to check with you guys...Can i use 90 octane+ non ethanol fuel for my 2014 E350 4 matic???

kajtek1

When you will very likely get whole variety of opinions from forum members, read the manual, or better yet, get yourself familiar with https://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/bevol...rt1.html#close who offers updates on regural bases.

VEKI

Nice, thanks,very educational...

ygmn

non ethanol is what fuel was years ago... and is fine and to me preferred.....

Ensure proper octane.

VEKI

90+ octane is sign on pump...

ygmn

But what is on fuel door as MIN Octane car wants ??
That is what you need to comply with..

And as always they sell in auto parts stores octane boosters....

VEKI

91 I think

Arrie

Simple answer, YES.

And it will give you better gas mileage AND your MPG counter on the car will be very close to actual that you calculate from miles driven and gallons used.

And yes, it is way more expensive but I think these cars were originally designed to use non-ethanol fuel...

DFWdude

I think it is nearly impossible to find non-alcohol fuel in most states. In my area, the only place that has it sells it as racing fuel. I don't need that in my car. Also, I wonder if non-alcohol fuel is old school leaded fuel, and if so, whether any engine today is designed to use leaded fuel long term. Or non-alcohol, non-leaded fuel long term, for that matter.

I don't know about the alcohol content standard in Europe... maybe someone there can help.

JSch

I agree with Arrie.

Non-ethanol should not be an issue in your car. (It would be my preferences on all my cars!) Non-ethanol is still unleaded.

ygmn

NOOOOOOOOOOoooo it was fuel you used in the 80's thru sometime after millenium after congress banned LEAD and before they gave subsidies for adding Ethanol
So the more ethanol they use the cheaper the fuel since your tax dollars are paying for the ethanol....

Tis a good read about the history of this:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=why+is+eth...ne&t=h_&ia=web

DFWdude

By "cheaper" I imagine you mean less effective in the engine... If our tax dollars are paying for the ethanol, then I assume the fuel is more expensive, as we are paying for the fuel + alcohol too.

Thanks for the clarification, guys.

ygmn

cheaper = less expensive at the pump...

But yes Ethanol in fuel reduces energy content of fuel so you get less mpg as the ehtanol increases.

DFWdude

I'm not sure I agree. Gasoline is Gasoline. Add 10% ethanol and the cost for actual gasoline per gallon decreases as long as the cost of petrol is more than the ethanol added. However, the cost of the ethanol has to come from somewhere. This means it necessarily becomes more expensive, either: 1) because (as you say) our tax dollars are subsidizing crops that make ethanol. This added expense is indirect, meaning you do't see it at the pump, but we all pay for it elswhere. Or, 2) the tax for ethanol is added at the pump because those who use gasoline rightly should pay the added expense.

Whether you are taxed indirectly (at the grocery store?) or at the pump probably varies by state. In Illinois, the government copes with a mass exodus of citizens by funding more and more of it's operation through gasoline taxes at the pump. On July 1st, Illinois doubled it's statewide gas tax from 19¢ to 38¢ per gallon, with Chicago area jurisdictions to charge up to 99¢ a gallon (about 40% of the total price per gallon). How much of that revenue is used to finance ethanol in the gas is open to question.

kajtek1

Lot of government decisions are hidden from citizens.
Years ago I could read the site, who would tell the California fuel formulas. That was over 10 years ago, but even then gasoline was about 90% of what Californians pump. Than ethanol come to play and the site was closed down.
The same goes with car speed governors, limiting alcohol % on beers and probably thousands more.
The "free country" is well abused phrase.

ygmn

I will say this...

Without Government subsidies for Ethanol we would not see it at the pump and if we did it would cost about 50cent more per gallon.

Many links to articles about Ethanol in our fuel:
https://www.heritage.org/energy-econ...atment-ethanol
https://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy...n-the-way.html
https://axleaddict.com/misc/Pros-and...Ethanol-in-Gas
https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/t...l-in-your-gas/
https://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-...age-engine.htm
https://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-...anol-facts.htm
https://www.autoblog.com/2012/12/04/...asoline-sales/
https://fee.org/articles/ethanol-is-...t-and-america/
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cul...el-efficiency/
https://www.stlouisfed.org/publicati...-gain-or-drain
https://e360.yale.edu/features/the_c...or_environment

interesting reading on the internet on this subject....
No one good answer as there are too many questions...

kajtek1

We went long way from technical topic here, but google "Mustang Ranch, Nevada" story.
It takes government to go bankrupt on selling booze and prostitution.
What else would you expect?

cetialpha5

The issue with ethanol is that it needs to be shipped by tanker so it cost more if you're away from the corn belt and it's cheaper if you're near the corn belt. That's why you normally only see E85 near the corn belt and it can actually be cheaper to run on a per btu basis. Ethanol has less btu's per gallon than gas so that's why mileage isn't as good with E10 than with regular gasoline. About 114,000 btu for gas and 76,100 for ethanol. Do the math for the mix and you have less btu's per gallon on E10.

kajtek1

To add some edge to the dispute - Ken Block's 1400 HP Mustang runs on ethanol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=12&v=QQRlVNxNTzY

Arrie

Lots of ethanol discussion but I think the use of ethanol mixed in gas is for other reason than trying to make people burn alcohol in their cars. I think ethanol is used for octane booster. It is way cheaper than the other chemicals the oil companies need to use for that. Lead was cheapest but as we know it has been banned for a long time now.

Up to 10% ethanol in gas means they use about 10% for the highest octane and something less for lower octane.

If the drive was to get us all running on ethanol then there would be way more Flex Fuel cars on road and way more E85 available around.

But, why would oil companies push using ethanol as that is not their product? They pump oil from ground and that is what they want us to pump in our cars. Ethanol just came as a cheap alternative for octane control chemistry.

What comes to tax money being used for ethanol production...well, it fits in the picture as big oil gets their octane booster cheaper...

Arrie

Have you checked Murphy USA (Walmart, Sam’s Club). They sell non-ethanol in my area.

ghlkal

Non-ethanol gaa is just fine for our cars.

I try to find non-ethanol gas when I can. https://www.buyrealgas.com/


Ethanol will raise the octane of the mixture, so the non-ethanol in my area is 91 while the ethanol is 92/93 (for premium)

KEY08

I just finished a drive through the rolling kettle moraine of central Wisconsin and they have high octane no ethanol at the pump. It’s the only state I have seen this.

Arrie

I have bought non-ethanol 92 octane in Louisiana.

kajtek1

Non-ethanol gas stations exist in every state from what I hear, even in California, where gasoline for decade is judged as "safe to throw lighted match in it".
Union 76 stations seem to be a leader in supplying different blends, what in California again, become issue when clean lakes found the regural gas in boats created too much pollution.
Point is that methanol-free gas cost like 30% more, at least in California and that before it makes to marina pumps, where prices double on triple without warning.