Sheetz gas for $1.99/gallon

[rennigade]

This is more for north east coasters. Not sure how far south Sheetz goes. They're offering 88 fuel for $1.99/gallon for a week.

From what I've read, your vehicle should be a 2016 or later if you want to use this fuel. My daily driver/beater is a 2006 so I won't be touching this with a ten foot pole. I'll stick with 87.

[bjl584]

88 octane is E15 gas, or 15% Ethanol.
You might need to check and make sure your engine can run it before putting it in your tank.
Not all engines can run high percentages of ethanol.

Ethanol burns hot. You'll get bad fuel economy with it, and long term it will burn out your fuel injectors.

I'd stay away from it

[myrdale]

Years ago when my sister got her first car, my parents sent me with her to the station to gas up. When we pulled up to the pump I asked which type she wanted?

She says: "87, 89, 93... Lets get the $0.87 per gallon gas!"

To which I replied: "No, that's the octane rating, the price per gallon is $1.40"

She replies with a very heart broken "Oh".

I couldn't hold it against her for being confused at 15 years old at the time. But I have to admit this is mildly confusing to me. I haven't seen (or at least noticed) 88 octane gas at a pump yet. Googling shows it listed on the pump as Flexfuel. If it wasn't called out specifically I don't know that I would notice.

A couple of points on regular gasoline though. The higher octane rating doesn't mean it is "cleaner" gas. Also it doesn't mean you will get more mileage. The higher octane rating just means the fuel has a lower chance of detonating when compressed (before the spark is applied). Premature detonation is knocking and that is bad for your engine. I don't know why a lower grade will detonate in come vehicles and not others (fuel/air ratios, amount of compression, engine wall temperature?).

[Jluke]

Scheetz did this a few months ago.

As already noted, 88 octane is for particular vehicles so best to check if your vehicle can even run on it.

[rennigade]

My guess is sheetz can barely give this fuel away. Not a lot of people can run it. Why not be very generous and offer the 87 octane for $1.99/gallon? Its all a PR stunt that basically fell flat.

[ua_guy]

E88 Corn gas is all over the Midwest. It’s another f-ed up political folly that just needs to go away.

Don’t use it unless your owners manual explicitly states that you can. I’m serious. $1.99 sounds like a great price on fuel right now but you’ll be spending a ton of money to undo damage if your car isn’t equipped to run it.

Whether or not to run premium fuel like 91 or 93 octane is a different discussion and you should consult your owners manual. What octane your engine needs or can make use of is dependent on a handful of different things these days. It used to be higher compression engines required it, end of story. Now that’s not so clear with things like variable valve timing and electronic spark advance and the “tune” set by the manufacturer.

[crazyliblady]

This is more for north east coasters. Not sure how far south Sheetz goes. They're offering 88 fuel for $1.99/gallon for a week.

From what I've read, your vehicle should be a 2016 or later if you want to use this fuel. My daily driver/beater is a 2006 so I won't be touching this with a ten foot pole. I'll stick with 87.

I just checked the Sheetz website and all locations are farther east and some north from where I am at.

https://orders.sheetz.com/findASheetz

[ua_guy]

Another cautionary note around ethanol fuel blends.

88 Octane fuel contains up to 15% ethanol, but is different than E85. It's 15% ethanol mixed with lower octane gas which averages to 88 octane. Many newer vehicles can run just fine on up to 15% ethanol and in many states, blending up to 10% in regular gas is already done. But you really need to check your owner's manual. The EPA's position is that vehicles built in 2001 and newer are able to handle 15% ethanol, but the truth is, it depends on your vehicle. For example, you don't want to use 88 octane in a vehicle which requires 91 octane, thinking 88 is close enough. It's not.

E85 is anywhere from 51%-83% ethanol mixed with gasoline and should not be mistaken for 88 octane with 15% ethanol.. They are two different fuels and E85 is designed for use in "Flex Fuel" vehicles. The designation was big in the early 2000's and many Fords had exterior badging with a little green leaf advertising them as "Flex Fuel" compatible. Many Flex Fuel vehicles come with a yellow fuel filler cap to denote the same. As time has gone on, a lot of automakers have dropped the badging and other telltale signs even though their vehicles remain compatible with E85. Again, the vehicle owner's manual will be the expert on whether the vehicle is compatible or not.

The more you know...