07 DTS

[JACK]

I just recently purchased 07 DTS, the service station down the street has regular unleaded fuel @ 90 octane, which is more than required, the only issue is they say it contains up to 10% ethanol. Owners manual says not to use fuel with more than 10% ethanol, would like to know if anyone thinks that using this fuel would create any problems. Thanks in advance.

[John Wicz]

10% ethanol is fine, didn't think there were many places left that had gasoline that didn't contain ethanol............

[Texas Jim]

Jack,

I believe that the owners manual "RECOMMENDS" Premium, but "DOES" say that you can use regular, as long as you don't hear pinging.

ALL the stations around here are 10% ethanol.

When I am on a trip, and find a place that DOES NOT have ethanol, my car runs better...ie...more power and better fuel economy.

[unknown_eyes]

According to ethanol.org all automakers approve ethanol blends up to 10% or E10. They stated that 70% of all our gasoline is blended, with E10 being the most common. I cant tell you the last time I saw a fuel pump in my area that didnt say it was not blended.

They are researching higher blends to see if it is safe to run in standard, unmodified cars.

Just be sure to never use E85 or 85% blend in a car that is not labeled as a FFV or Flexible Fuel Vehicle.

http://www.ethanol.org/index.php?id=81&parentid=25

[Ranger]

Jack,

I believe that the owners manual "RECOMMENDS" Premium, but "DOES" say that you can use regular, as long as you don't hear pinging.

ALL the stations around here are 10% ethanol.

When I am on a trip, and find a place that DOES NOT have ethanol, my car runs better...ie...more power and better fuel economy.

Huh? They went FROM premium to regular in 2000. Are you saying they went BACK to premium?

[Texas Jim]

Jack,

I believe that the owners manual "RECOMMENDS" Premium, but "DOES" say that you can use regular, as long as you don't hear pinging.

ALL the stations around here are 10% ethanol.

When I am on a trip, and find a place that DOES NOT have ethanol, my car runs better...ie...more power and better fuel economy.

Huh? They went FROM premium to regular in 2000. Are you saying they went BACK to premium?

You can use regular...but Premium is "Recommended"

From the owners manual....

If your vehicle has the 4.6L V8 engine, use premium

unleaded gasoline with a posted octane of 91 or higher

for best performance. You may also use middle

grade or regular unleaded gasoline rated at 87 octane

or higher, but your vehicle’s acceleration may be slightly

reduced. If the octane is less than 87, you may get a

heavy knocking noise when you drive. If this occurs, use

a gasoline rated at 87 octane or higher as soon as

possible. Otherwise, you might damage your engine.

[JohnnyG]

What exactly is going on here is just this:

The base octane of gasoline intended to be mixed with ethanol should be 84, something referred to in the industry as RBOB, or reduced octane base to be mixed with an oxygenate....in this case ethanol.

The refinery supplying the terminal from which that station is loaded and delivered by truck OBVIOUSLY does not store RBOB, but rather "straight"87. So when you add 10% ethanol, it typically raises the octane number by approximately 3 points, so you end up with 90 at the pump.

One would think that you would get better fuel economy with that kind of octane, but that is really not the case in most instances. The addition of ethanol, which contains fewer BTU/gallon, provides us with a cleaner burning fuel that does not provide the same energy as straight gasoline. In this case, fuel economy will be identical to any oxygenated fuel, whether using RBOB as the base or not.

Now here's the trick. Find the local stations that are NOT mixing ethanol with that 87 base gasoline, and purchase your fuel there. Since your Northstar is designed to run on regular gas, you should gain about 10% fuel economy using straight 87, as opposed to the 90 octane blend!

And here's the pitfall. Do not under any circumstances, pay extra for mid-grade or 89 octane. Because guess what, the recipe is the same as your 90 oct. regular, but you pay a $.10 penalty.

Whatever you do, enjoy it while you can. Most refineries are gearing up to produce much more 84 oct. RBOB, and can make additional profits when they do. Thank you EPA!

[JohnnyG]

Just read this morning on our company website: "Morning Market Reports", Archer Daniels Midland (ADM, a major producer of ethanol) expects E12 to be introduced in 2010.