The addition of up to 10% ethanol in motor fuel here in the United States has been a huge mistake. This fuel is not suitable for marine and small engine applications. The ethanol component in the fuel costs more to produce than is justified by any imagined improvement in emissions. It also reduces engine performance.

I have begun using a 90 octane so-called recreational fuel in my Buick that has a V-8 Northstar engine. Since then the engine has run quieter, performed better and the fuel mileage has increased. The price of this fuel varies, from what you would pay for mid-grade ethanol blend fuel to premium.

Has anybody tried no ethanol fuel in their Mercedes and if so what were the results?

 

Try this
http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp
select your state along the bottom.
Ethanol has less energy than gasoline per gal so ethanol has poorer mileage. Also there is winter gas (oxygenated = less mileage), and Summer gas(= better mileage) in the urban areas with more smog potential.

 

I am already familiar with the link you provided, but thank you for posting it in case somebody else might benefit from knowing where to purchase this fuel.

The GLK350 Owner's manual states that the vehicle should run on 91 octane. Most of the RE fuel is 90 octane. Would it be harmful to run this on a sustained basis?

 

should be ok to put non-ethanol gas in our cars....most are sold near the marina because marine engines gets messed up using ethanol gas.

this may sound crazy to most of you, but back in the 70s my uncle put moth ***** in his tank...suppose to increase octane. there is a local car mechanic guy that still does it today. my neighbor drops moth ***** in his 10 gall gas containers...let it dissolve, then pour it in his tanks...he swears by the "ummmph" is provides.

 

Aren't mothballs methane? I am sure they are a petroleum product, too.

 

No, the moth ***** need to have naphthalene. In the past moth crystals were composed of naphthalene...not sure readily available they are today.

Today I believe the compound is paradichlorobenzene....don't put these in your tank...LOL!!

 

been running 94 octance fuel on the GLK that doesn't contain ethanol and I find it to be more fuel efficient and has more ummph.

 

Oomph?

The 90 octane fuel is fine for the Buick with the Northstar engine, because it can run on 87 octane. However I want some opinions on whether 90 octane non ethanol fuel would cause harm in the GLK, which requires 91 octane.

 

New's Eve in a tiny town in NW Louisiana the only thing available was 89 octane ethanol free gasoline. I put it in on top of 3-4 gallons of 93 octane ethanol blend. The GLK ran fine.
If I had a choice between two pumps, 1 @ 90 ethanol free and 1 @ 91+ ethanol blend I would use the ethanol free. No science. Just my personal feeling.
Most pumps I have used in the past 6 years are labeled 93 octane. I assume in a worst case that they would be 91 octane minimum. 3 cars and a bunch of miles and they ran fine.
Ethanol free would be better. We won't go into that for forum manners reasons.

Wayne

 

Yes my ML350 runs fine on ethanol free 90! And I never had problems with it! Sometimes I mix Lucas octane booster 3X with Royal purple fuel system cleaner (Both of those I get at Walmart) And I would put the ethanol free gas Just to go on a nice long road trip! Let's just say the results of doing that turned out fantastic! I literally got 976 miles out of the tank

 

A bit of an old post.
But my curiosity is piqued. 976 miles = 60 MPG. Or am I missing something?

 

One of the benefits (there are a few) of driving diesels most of my life is that there usually is only one kind at the pump. There may be 3 different varieties of gasoline available, with their differences, but only one diesel pump.

Not too long ago I found that some Cenex fueling stations have premium diesel! Imagine my delight!

As long as the fuel is treated for winter months, I don't really care what they put (or don't put) in it. I typically always add a dose of some fuel additive or another anyway.

Oh, and even with a light foot and a tail wind, I've never managed to get more than 720 miles out of a full tank of diesel which is about 15.5 gallons.

 

Hi Andreigbs - what fuel additives would you recommend for winter months for us diesel folks?

 

I'm no expert but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express recently..

I'm partial to Stanadyne or Amsoil diesel additives, mostly because these are the two most readily found in my neck of the woods. If you can find Opti Lube additives, these scored among the very highest in an independent test done several years ago (The Spicer Report, see here). Power Service white bottle is OK, nothing fancy or special. I've also used Howe's diesel treat and a few others.

But if I had to recommend one above the others, particularly for winter, I'd go with Opti Lube stuff or the Amsoil. My local ACE carries the Amsoil and I always find other things to buy when I'm there.

According to that report, some additives actually hurt performance rather than improve it, so clearly not all fuel additives are created equal.

Also, keep in mind that MB says "no fuel additives" so take the above with a grain of salt, as YOU are responsible for YOUR equipment.

 

Thanks; for anyone who can't find a good product locally, I found the Optilube products on Amazon. Got a bottle of Winter formula that treats 128 gallons. The XPD formula seems to be a good all round additive, with anti-gel protection almost as good as the Winter formula, just a little more expensive.

 

I currently use 93-octane ethanol-free gas even though 91 would be okay and get 26 mpg consistently with my 2015 MB GLK350. I bought it with very low mileage at just under 18K and have driven it about 35K with the ethanol free and it has purred like a kitten ever since. I kept my old 2001 Chrysler Sebring convertible as a spare vehicle and used to get 21 mpg until I started using ethanol free many years ago and now get 26 mpg but I'll use 89 octane if I have to and the car still runs like a dream. From what I have heard, and as you probably already know, cutting out the ethanol will help keep your gaskets from prematurely rotting out and just keeps everything cleaner under the hood. Here is a link where you can find ethanol-free gas stations all over the U.S. and Canada for anyone that is curious. https://www.pure-gas.org/

 

I just registered and this is my first post so I didn't see the gas station link had already been posted, my apologies. I notice that you are in the Sunshine State as well, so our driving conditions are similar.