Stumblr Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 I'm sure fuel is a heated topic around here, but a conversation with a friend has me wondering a few things. Around here (south central Minnesota), the highest octane we have available is 91. Our options are Speedway (lol nope), Kwik Trip, and Holiday. No Shell, no BP, no Chevron, etc. Speedway is out for many, many reasons. Kwik Trip's 91 is sold as "recreational fuel only" in Minnesota (high performance vehicle fuel in Iowa and Wisconsin) and contains no ethanol. Holiday's 91 does have ethanol. Both fuels are Top Tier. He was told to stop using Kwik Trip's fuel after his engine ran rough using it and has since switched to Holiday's fuel with no issues. He was told the lack of ethanol was a contributing factor. Does ethanol really make that much of a difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 (edited) What's your issue with Speedway? I hate their "Speedway TV", annoying like hell bullshit, but they are nearby and competitive, so use them. Edited March 7, 2021 by unclemat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coco26 Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 Also interested in your qualms with Speedway... I seek out Speedway at the same level as top tier stations. Ethanol content specifically wouldn't have an effect. Ethanol is just a tool to increase octane rating so suppliers can use lower grade fuels. Its more likely that Kwik Trip had a bad batch (or has supplier/contamination issues if its consistently bad). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexmed2002 Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 Kwik probably just had a bad batch. Usually gas with no ethanol is said to be better for vehicles... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cww516 Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 I can't say I've ever had any issues with Kwik Trip, and given the number of them around me, that's about the only brand I end up buying most of the time. Their new(ish) fried chicken is pretty good, too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stumblr Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 I worked for Speedway. They bought out SuperAmerica and proceeded to treat us like hot garbage. There's only one manager I worked with that still works for them out of 12 of us. Our boss intentionally lied to us about a number of things that made it insanely difficult to run our stores. Near my friend, the only Speedways are franchises who treat customers like garbage. Also, when they bought SA, they stopped selling Top Tier fuel at our locations. So that's my issue with them, at least the abridged version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLlegacy Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 Kwik probably just had a bad batch. Usually gas with no ethanol is said to be better for vehicles...And yet e85 kits are all the rage...I think you need to research that claim a bit more. Ethanol acts as an octane booster so it is good for vehicles in that sense. It also absorbs water very well, which can cause issues if stored for long periods. In a vehicle which is used regularly it's not going to cause any issues. Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyan Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 ethanol is bad in small engines that can't adjust AFR on the fly such as lawn mowers and weed wackers. if you inject 10ml of gasoline, and you have 10% eth, you're actually injecting 9ml of gas and 1ml of eth. this affects the air fuel mixture which makes small engines (that are usually carburated) not run at their full potential. cars that have AF sensors (all of them, basically) can adjust the fuel injection amount to compensate and keep the 14.7 for optimal performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexmed2002 Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 ethanol is bad in small engines that can't adjust AFR on the fly such as lawn mowers and weed wackers. if you inject 10ml of gasoline, and you have 10% eth, you're actually injecting 9ml of gas and 1ml of eth. this affects the air fuel mixture which makes small engines (that are usually carburated) not run at their full potential. cars that have AF sensors (all of them, basically) can adjust the fuel injection amount to compensate and keep the 14.7 for optimal performance. Plus older cars don't like ethanol... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Code Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 And some rubber compounds aren’t ethanol stable. "Striving to better, oft we mar what's well." - Bill Shakespeare - car modder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyan Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 Plus older cars don't like ethanol... ...because they're either carbureted or use a first generation o2 sensor for air/fuel adjustment. what i said in my post is still factual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creep_nu Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 that far north it could just be that the fuel at that particular kwiktrip was old and had some water in it. legitstreetcars on youtube ran in to that issue in one of his vids, that since all the toys were put away for the winter and most cars are only requiring regular nowadays, the premium just doesn't get used as much and with ethanol being hygroscopic it picks up water and makes your car run like crap...just a thought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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