{"id":964,"date":"2026-05-25T10:06:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T10:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=964"},"modified":"2026-05-25T10:06:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T10:06:31","slug":"sheetz-sells-gas-type-thats-cheaper-than-regular-unleaded-is-it-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=964","title":{"rendered":"Sheetz sells gas type that\u2019s cheaper than regular unleaded. Is it safe?"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

A handful of Sheetz gas stations in the Triangle sell a type of gasoline that is often significantly cheaper than regular unleaded gasoline.<\/p>\n

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On Thursday afternoon, prices of the Unleaded 88 gas at four stations in Raleigh, Garner and Cary were 50 cents less per gallon than prices of Regular 87 gas \u2014 a factor much larger than the three pennies per gallon in savings many rewards programs<\/a> offer.<\/p>\n

This gasoline, also called E15, isn\u2019t available at all gas stations, or even all Sheetz stations. But if Triangle drivers can find it, it may help them save money each time they fill up.<\/p>\n

The gasoline has a higher ethanol content<\/a> than regular unleaded gas, which means it also has more octane, Rick Sapienza, Wake Technical Community College\u2019s dean of Transportation Technologies<\/a>, told The News & Observer.<\/p>\n

Ethanol<\/a>, made from corn and other plant materials, makes up 10.5%-15% of the fuel in E15, compared to 10% in regular unleaded.<\/p>\n

E15 is safe to use, but only in some vehicles. In 2011, the EPA approved<\/a> its use in light-duty conventional vehicles from model years 2001 and newer.<\/p>\n

The fuel should not be used in any vehicles older than model year 2001, along with motorcycles, vehicles with heavy-duty engines (including school buses and delivery trucks) and off-road vehicles including boats and snowmobiles, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.<\/p>\n

People also shouldn\u2019t use it in tools such as gas-powered chain saws and lawn mowers.<\/p>\n

Drivers should follow their vehicle manufacturer\u2019s recommendation for fuel, Sapienza said. Using E15 in vehicles designed to run on high-octane gas may lead to performance issues.<\/p>\n

While E15 is often cheaper than regular unleaded gasoline, drivers may lose fuel economy, Sapienza said.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because of ethanol\u2019s energy content, which is about 30% lower than pure gasoline\u2019s.<\/p>\n

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With around a 10% ethanol content, regular unleaded gasoline results in about a 3%-4.5% lower fuel economy compared to pure gasoline.<\/p>\n

E15 has more ethanol, which means it has a smaller energy content than E10. Drivers could expect an additional 1.5%-2% drop in fuel economy, Sapienza said.<\/p>\n

According to the Renewable Fuels Association<\/a>, a U.S. trade association for the country\u2019s ethanol industry, a vehicle that gets 30 miles per gallon running on regular gasoline would get about 29.6 miles per gallon with E15, if fuel economy were perfectly correlated with energy density.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re looking at it from the economics, it\u2019s only a couple percent less in fuel economy,\u201d Sapienza said. \u201cIf it\u2019s more than a couple percent less in price, there\u2019s a value proposition there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Besides helping drivers save money, E15 may be a better choice for the environment, compared to gasolines with lower ethanol content.<\/p>\n

A 2023 University of California, Riverside study<\/a> found that vehicles using E15 released fewer emissions of carbon monoxide, total hydrocarbons and non-methane hydrocarbons. The fuel also resulted in lower emissions of particulate matter, which are small, airborne particles that can pose health risks.<\/p>\n

However, Aaron Smith, a University of California, Berkeley professor in the department of agricultural and resource economics, wrote in a 2025 article<\/a> that more widespread use of E15 could dampen its environmental impacts.<\/p>\n

If the demand of E15 increases, in turn raising demand for corn, prices of the crop would also go up, Smith wrote. That would incentivize farmers to plant more corn, which they might do by converting forest or rangeland to cropland. When that land is cleared, biomass is lost, and soils are disturbed, creating a large, one-time emission of carbon.<\/p>\n

Sheetz is the most popular Triangle retailer that offers E15 fuel. Drivers can see which Sheetz stations sell Unleaded 88 \u2014 and prices of gas types \u2014 using the Sheetz app<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Websites such as getbiofuel.com<\/a> have maps showing stations that sell E15 and E85, gasoline with a high ethanol content.<\/p>\n

Read more Transfer guard John Blackwell to play for Duke, not enter NBA draft<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A popular Triangle gas station chain sells fuel that may be substantially cheaper than regular unleaded gas. Here\u2019s what to know about it and where to buy it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nSheetz sells gas type that\u2019s cheaper than regular unleaded. 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