Gladiator gas octane?

[Klutch]

I use 89 no E. The ethanol stuff is crap regardless of what the manual says about it being ok.

Nothing wrong with running 100% gasoline if you can find it. But ethanol compatibility is baked into new vehicles. It won't hurt anything. I suppose if you let the vehicle sit for long periods, the ethanol can absorb more water. But otherwise?

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[FLUndertaker]

Nothing wrong with running 100% gasoline if you can find it. But ethanol compatibility is baked into new vehicles. It won't hurt anything. I suppose if you let the vehicle sit for long periods, the ethanol can absorb more water. But otherwise?

Maybe so but I’ve seen what the corn juice can do to off shore engines, power tools, etc. yeah they say Modern care engines can deal with it but there’s no way it doesn’t do the same damage over time. For a few cents more per gallon I’ll stick with pure gas. Locally we have 3 grades of ethanol free and 1 grade of corn fuel.

 

[hobbsserv]

That's some expensive motion lotion. Since it's ethanol free, I'm thinking that fuel would have just a tiny bit more energy per drop than the typical 10% ethanol stuff. I'm also thinking the difference would not be noticeable.

But yeah, do let us know.

As for the 93 octane, no. That won't make any difference. Higher octane doesn't mean higher energy, higher power or higher heat. It just means it's LESS volatile than the lower octane gas so it's less likely to ping under high heat/high compression situations. If the engine isn't pinging on regular, higher octane will do nothing.

I know its apples and oranges, but I have a modern Harley, tuned and full exhaust. The 93 E free is night and day difference over the low octane with ethanol. Even the range will increase by 10-15%. The computer knows the difference.

 

[CerOf]

I know its apples and oranges, but I have a modern Harley, tuned and full exhaust. The 93 E free is night and day difference over the low octane with ethanol. Even the range will increase by 10-15%. The computer knows the difference.

In an engine tuned and/or programmed to know the difference, it’s great.
These Jeeps are not.

they can pull timing due to knock but can’t advance it to take advantage of 93.

PS Ethanol increases the octane rating of gas.

 

[Rocksalt]

87 octane no issues

 

[Munkey Boy]

If you're going to let it sit, steer very clear of anything with ethanol. As it breaks down, it pulls moisture out of atmosphere. I've seen firsthand the damage caused by letting it sit in small engines. Tanks rust out if metal, carbs pit and oxidize with the aluminum breaking down injectors will hate you for this, and the lacquer build up can happen within 30 to 45 days depending on the gas company. Smells great too. ? Top tier is a bullshit designation, Costco and ARCO are considered top tier and I have never seen fuel go bad as fast from any other refiner.

However, there really is no avoiding the stuff. Will it damage your engine? Not likely. Will the lower octanes make your engine ping? Maybe, but also not likely. And if it does, step up to the next grade. Use the cheapest octane, not the cheapest fuel. Avoid the fly-by-night gas stations and pony up to the man. It's a whopping ten to fifteen cents a gallon difference, I can only hope that a whole dollar or two per fill up won't break the budget on a fifty grand truck. Stick with name brands, Chevron, Exxon, Shell, etc. The little guys buy the shit fuel from the real cats. Listen to your engine, it'll let you know what works.

And if you are going to let it sit, use Sta-bil. Seafoam is outstanding as well as Lucas, haven't had any issues with either fuel treatments. And they make a great dessert topping!

 

[DrJ]

Using 85 with no issues at 8,000 feet elevation

 

[BlackDog]

Using 85 with no issues at 8,000 feet elevation

Same across the board, including location (hey neighbor!) I do throw in some ethanol free whenever I happen across it and need gas. Even Jeep's need some dessert every now and then!

 

[CerOf]

A lot of gas stations all buy from the same wholesaler. The only thing that is different are the additives. Some brands have more and/or use proprietary ones.

How do I know? I’ve been directly involved with companies dumping the wrong fuel in to the wrong tank at multiple different gas stations from different brands, shell, Valero, etc.

 

[Gobi-Wan Kenobi]

If your engine is not tuned for a higher octane fuel there is no benefit and you could potentially not burn up all the fuel leading to a slight drop in gas mileage and increase in pollution and fuel deposits.

Higher octane gas is not cleaner and does not make more power. In fact higher octane gas has less energy per gallon. What it does have is a higher resistance to combustion. This allows high performance cars to run more aggressive settings and squeeze more of the power out of a gallon of fuel. but if you don't run those more aggressive settings you see no benefit.

Ethanol also has less energy per gallon then gas, but like higher octane gas is resistant to combustion and lets you run more aggressive settings and squeeze more power out. Ethanol also is harder on certain internal engine components like seals if they are made out of the wrong material. Older cars may see more frequent maintenance needs when running ethanol but newer cars build the engines with materials that do not wear faster when exposed to ethanol. The biggest issue with ethanol is that it absorbs water, so in a vehicle used in the water like a boat or that sits like a collector car or power tools it can create all kinds of problems like gummed up carburetors. But in a newer normal functioning car that is driven frequently ethanol is fine, but you may see a slight drop in mpg (like 3ish% drop in gas mileage when running 15% ethanol) because it does have less energy per gallon.

So run the octane your vehicle calls for (87 for Gladiators) and don't worry about ethanol unless you plan to let the truck sit all winter.

 

[Riccochet]

I'll run 87 for normal driving. If I'm towing my boat I'll put 89 in.

Like mentioned. Higher octane is reduce detonation. Under load and heat engines have a higher chance of detonation. If that happens the ECU is going to pull timing, therefore reducing power. I'll spend the extra couple bucks while towing so I don't run the risk of reduced power while towing up hill.

 

[Ogre_FL]

I have been running 89.
Our JL with the 3.6 pings/knocks on 87, particularly in the heat and off-roading.
I hated that, so I run 89 in both.

I guess I should try 87 in the Gladiator.

 

[PyrPatriot]

Only time I get higher octane is when it is ethanol free for storage purposes

 

[Riccochet]

I have been running 89.
Our JL with the 3.6 pings/knocks on 87, particularly in the heat and off-roading.
I hated that, so I run 89 in both.

I guess I should try 87 in the Gladiator.

My JKR pings on 87 as well. I run 89 in it all the time. The JT seems mostly happy on 87, so far. We'll see when summer comes around.

 

[PyrPatriot]

In an engine tuned and/or programmed to know the difference, it’s great.
These Jeeps are not.

they can pull timing due to knock but can’t advance it to take advantage of 93.

PS Ethanol increases the octane rating of gas.

So the manual says there is no benefit from using higher octane gas, but does not advise against it like they do with E85. I cant imagine after all this time with the Pentestar FCA would have avoided a disclaimer if there was even a theoretical possibility of an issue using higher octane

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