Sheetz gas discount available for unleaded88, E85: What are they and how to tell if your car can use those fuels

Sheetz convenience stores will lower its price for unleaded 88 gasoline to $3.99/gallon and mark down the price of its E85 gas to $3.49/gallon, both through the Fourth of July holiday.

If nothing else, the Sheetz announcement Monday afternoon that it would be offering discounts through the Fourth of July weekend on the price of several of the fuels it sells got a lot of people's attention.

Seeing the words discount and gasoline in a headline will do that these days, with gas prices hovering at or topping $5/gallon, depending on where you live, and nearing or exceeding $6/gallon if your vehicle runs on diesel.

But the promotion reads this way: Sheetz convenience stores will lower its price for unleaded88 gasoline to $3.99/gallon and mark down the price of its E85 gas to $3.49/gallon, both through the Fourth of July holiday.

The cost of filing your tank with fuel that has 87, 89 and 93 octane will remain the same.

So what are these two specialty fuels and can you use them in your vehicle?

E85 gas is a high-level combination of 51 percent to 83 percent ethanol that's blended with gasoline, according to Car and Driver. The percentage of ethanol depends on where you live and the time of the year. Since ethanol is corn-based, E85 gas is readily available in the Midwest and less available in other regions, especially New England and the Pacific Northwest. Also, producers add more ethanol in the summer compared to the winter, the story said.

It is produced for "flexible fuel vehicles" or FFVs, which can regular gasoline (E10), E15, or E85. But it's not for every vehicle. So check your owner's manual to see if your car will run with E85.

FFVs have been produced since the 1990s, and more than 100 models are currently available. They typically get around 15% to 27% fewer miles per gallon when fueled with E85, according to the website fueleconomy.gov.

E88, or unleaded88, is also known as E15 in the industry. A reporter with a Cleveland TV station noted in late May that they were seeing E88 fuel available at the pump and costing 20 cents less than "regular" 87 octane. So what is it?

Unleaded 88 contains up to 15% ethanol; regular gas is a mixture that includes up to 10% ethanol. By law, an E15 label will be attached and its usually dispensed from a blue pump, the story said.

An expert with GasBuddy said the price of Unleaded88 can be as much as 30 cents less than the cost of "regular" gas. Unlike E85, it can be used in vehicles that are 2001 or newer, according to that expert. Indeed, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has considered unleaded88 safe for over a decade and many car manufacturers have since agreed, the story said.

Still unsure whether you can put it in your tank? Then doublecheck your owner's manual to verify the minimum octane required and make sure your car can handle 15% of ethanol.

The fuel can only be used in cars and SUVs and not in motorcycles, small engines or boats, the story said.

As for the fuel efficiency, gas with more ethanol could lower your gas mileage by around 2%. Still, measured against the cost savings, you might still finish out ahead.

The map below shows which Sheetz in central Pa. offers these specialty fuels. Cannot see the map? Click here.

To check for gas stations offering these two fuels outside of central Pa., you can check the Sheetz website.

Sheetz operates more than 650 store locations throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and North Carolina. Sheetz is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Both GasBuddy and AAA have said that drivers will be paying the highest prices ever for the Fourth of July holiday travel time. Prices, however, have been slowly coming down in the past week and are roughly 20 cents lower than mid-June.

The national average gas price today is $4.89 a gallon. In Harrisburg, it is $4.92.

More:

Sheetz gas discount applies only to speciality fuels: Here are the locations you can find them in central Pa.

Gas for $6 a gallon? It could happen by the end of the summer

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