Gasoline, 100% at 89 Octane or 93 Octane with Ethanol? - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

mmarx82 · 04-13-2013, 11:43 PM

What is better?

100% pure Gasoline at 89 Octane or
Up to 10% Ethanol at 93 Octane

Found a gas station near me that offers 100% pure Gasoline on 89 Octane only and started wondering which would be better for our cars.

ZL1Dave · 04-13-2013, 11:46 PM

The 93 octane for sure is what you want. The computer will cut some performance for the lower octane if used I've heard

G-Oil Guy · 04-13-2013, 11:52 PM

Octane Ratings are Octane ratings. It doesn't matter what the fuel blend is. The RON and MON are used to get your pump octane ratings. Octane rating is a measure of the "Anti knock" capabilities of the fuel. It describes the ease and reliability of ignition.

Now, that doesn't mean the ethanol blended fuels won't do other things to your engine but from an octane rating it doesn't matter where it comes from.

If you're at a pump that has anything over 10% I'd be a little concerned as fuels over 15% need to be used on engines billed as "flex fuel" capable.

Stephen12ZL1 · 04-14-2013, 03:24 AM

93...ethanol isn't the antichrist. E85(85% ethanol) has an octane rating of 100-105 and 100% ehanol has a rating over 110. You must have fuel system upgrades to run E85 and reap the benefits. ADM has performed this upgrade to a ZL1 to use the E85 higher octane in one of their builds.

LIVEVIL · 04-14-2013, 07:14 AM

93 octane rated gasoline (even with 10% ethanol) is significantly better than straight 87 octane in a high performance engine.

In a 2000 Accord it won't make a lick of difference.

In a 2012 ZL1 it will be a very big difference.

View Poll Results: Which would be better for a ZL1?
100% Pure Gasoline - Rated at 89 Octane	3	13.64%
Up to 10% Ethenol - Rated at 93 Octane	19	86.36%
Voters: 22. You may not vote on this poll

04-13-2013, 11:43 PM	#1
mmarx82 Drives: '12 ZL1 #1609 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Georgia Posts: 1,762	Gasoline, 100% at 89 Octane or 93 Octane with Ethanol? What is better? 100% pure Gasoline at 89 Octane or Up to 10% Ethanol at 93 Octane Found a gas station near me that offers 100% pure Gasoline on 89 Octane only and started wondering which would be better for our cars. __________________ Life is too short to drive cars that suck. My build Thread

04-13-2013, 11:52 PM	#3
G-Oil Guy Where am I? Drives: Zoe the ZL1, 2012 Frontier Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Mars, PA Posts: 6,071	Octane Ratings are Octane ratings. It doesn't matter what the fuel blend is. The RON and MON are used to get your pump octane ratings. Octane rating is a measure of the "Anti knock" capabilities of the fuel. It describes the ease and reliability of ignition. Now, that doesn't mean the ethanol blended fuels won't do other things to your engine but from an octane rating it doesn't matter where it comes from. If you're at a pump that has anything over 10% I'd be a little concerned as fuels over 15% need to be used on engines billed as "flex fuel" capable. __________________ FOR SALE: 2013 ZL1 Message me if interested

04-14-2013, 03:24 AM	#4
Stephen12ZL1 Drives: '21 ZLE A10 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Mechanicsville, VA Posts: 6,808	93...ethanol isn't the antichrist. E85(85% ethanol) has an octane rating of 100-105 and 100% ehanol has a rating over 110. You must have fuel system upgrades to run E85 and reap the benefits. ADM has performed this upgrade to a ZL1 to use the E85 higher octane in one of their builds. __________________ '21 ZLE A10 Wild Cherry PDR 2:00.78 VIR Full 10.68@131.69 1.68 60' '17 ZL1 A10 Mosaic Black PDR/Nav 2:03.08 VIR Full 11.003@129.2 1.75 (sold) '15 Z/28 #325 Black a/c & stereo. 2:10.1 VIR Full (sold) '12 ZL1 A6 Black 10.52@131 1.55 60' 2:13 VIR Full (sold)

04-13-2013, 11:46 PM	#2
ZL1Dave Drives: 2012 ZL-1 #1442 Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Phila. Pa Posts: 201	The 93 octane for sure is what you want. The computer will cut some performance for the lower octane if used I've heard

04-14-2013, 07:14 AM	#5
LIVEVIL Drives: Camaro Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: USA Posts: 89	93 octane rated gasoline (even with 10% ethanol) is significantly better than straight 87 octane in a high performance engine. In a 2000 Accord it won't make a lick of difference. In a 2012 ZL1 it will be a very big difference.