What is the deal with it...? Why is it so much cheaper and can I safe use it in my Chey Trail Blazer 2006.

It is $2.49 a gal and 87 octane is $3.09 per gal.

Garry-

Probably has a lot of extra alcohol.
We have 87 and 89 octane, never heard of 88?

[quote=BigBob]Probably has a lot of extra alcohol.[/quote

I checked , it's just a little more alcohol , which I was surprised to find out that 87 had 10% alcohol in it, 88 seems to be around 15%.

https://www.way.com/blog/unleaded-88-vs-87/

I tried 88 a couple times and didn't really notice a difference , but didn't compare mileage .

Its E15 here.

Would it be safe in a vehicle that is not Flexfuel? What is the limit before Flexfuel components are necessary?

Do a search on flex fuel and the vehicles that use it or other fuels .

Ethanol sucks period!

Flex fuel is cheaper because the government continues subsidizing the production costs of ethanal used in gasoline blends. The more ethanol (up to 85 percent for flex fuel) the cheaper the mix. Ethanol has less heat energy in it; thus, the more ethanol, the lower the fuel mileage. What we have been using as 'regular' gasoline for decades is also a blend having up to 10 percent ethanol. As the percent of ethanol has increased, engine and fuel system components have needed to be engineered to resist the effects of exposure. All this, an attempt by government ("going green") to reduce exhaust emissions.

Found this on-line... "Unleaded 88 has been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use in all 2001 and newer cars, trucks and SUVs. EPA estimates that over 90% of gasoline sold goes into model year 2001 and newer vehicles."

It appears you can use it in your Chevy.

Thank you very much everyone. Now I might save a dollar or two when I fill the tank tomorrow. I only drove 1037 miles last year and about 1/3 of that was during trapping season and ours starts next Friday. My car isn't very reliable, so I refrain from driving it very far.

Garry-

It is an ag program.

I was vacationing in Jamaica a few years ago and noticed no one was buying any e-85 and the driver of our bus told me that it shortened the engine life so much that everyone switched to diesel. most stations only had 2 pumps for diesel and the lines were long didn't see anyone buying e-85. I won't be using it.

everything post 2003 should be fine for it

most everything 2006 and later is "flex fuel" meaning you can also run E85 in it

it is up to 15% ethanol so it has been 5-10 cents a gallon cheaper depending on station , it may be a greater $ amount in other locations.

I have run probably hundreds of gallons of 88 octane E15 in my 2000 expedition with no issues in 230K

in many states and counties 88 E15 is all they can be sold so everything gets run on it

All small engine mechanics I know will always tell me not to use any fuel with ethanol. Since switching I haven't had any carberator problems.

It's cheaper because your tax dollars are subsidizing it. You'll never notice the difference in it. I wouldn't use it in boat motors Atv's or other small engines though.

We have Unleaded 88 here in South Dakota. It is just E15 and works fine in most vehicles. I have been running it in my '98 Ford Ranger for years. I do not use it for small engines like lawn mowers.

look at the Ethanol test kits it is a graduated cylinder you fill with gas to one line , fill with water to another and shake for a minute then let stand for several minutes the alcohol separates and sticks to the water leaving you a layer of gas and layer of the water+alcohol.

now realize that gas gets water in it mostly through condensation , small engine gas gets used less so your water issues get worse

if you used 5 gallons of gas in your small engine every week and got 5 new gallons every week to feed it you wouldn't have the issue with carbs because it would always be fresh and you would be using it before substantial condensation could build up

nothing like getting to the end of your chain saw gas and realizing oh carp there is a rock of frozen water in the can

dump it out of your saw put fresh mix in right away and run it for a tank to get the bad stuff out of your saw.

I had to remove my log splitter tank last year it had a chunk of ice in it , had to thaw and dump then I got running again

Sheetz sells 88 octane gas for cheaper here.