Does E15 even save drivers money?

Sometimes you get exactly what you pay for.

The Biden administration is moving to temporarily allow the sale of E15 fuel during the summer months, which is currently restricted in much of the U.S. due to pollution concerns, in an effort to reduce upfront costs for Americans facing historically high fuel prices.

E15 — which is sometimes marketed as Unleaded 88 due to its 88 octane rating — is a blend of 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline. Regular 87 octane fuel contains 10% ethanol, and E15 is often cheaper because ethanol costs less than gasoline to produce.

According to the EPA, E15 is regulated during the summer because it can release more smog-producing compounds into the atmosphere than E10, and their negative effect on air quality is enhanced by heat and humidity. Growth Energy, the organization that represents the ethanol industry, has called the rules antiquated, however, noting that they date back to before E15 was available. Some areas have received approval to sell it year round, including those that mandate reformulated fuels, which are specially blended to reduce the issue for all types of fuel.

Unlike the E85 85% ethanol blend, which can only be used in certified flex-fuel vehicles due to in part to the corrosiveness of ethanol, E15 has been approved for use in all new cars built from 2001, but AAA advises owners to check the manufacturer's recommendations before filling up. The EPA says it should not be used in motorcycles, off-road vehicles or power equipment like lawnmowers.

IS IT OK TO USE CHEAP REGULAR GAS IN YOUR CAR?

E15 is only sold at about 2,300 stations that are mostly located in the Midwest, and the price between it and regular differs from state to state. According to E85prices.com, E15 is just 1% cheaper than regular in New Mexico and Indiana on average, but priced 11% less in Oklahoma. This is where the math comes in for consumers.

The energy content of pure ethanol is about a third of gasoline's, and research conducted by AAA and others indicates that using E15 reduces efficiency by approximately 2% compared to regular. For example, a vehicle with a fuel economy rating of 25 mpg would be expected to deliver 24.5 mpg while running on E15.

That’s under ideal circumstances, of course, and E15's effect on fuel economy can vary from vehicle to vehicle in real world driving. The only way to know for certain in a specific use case is to try it out, and AAA does not recommend is going far out of your way to do that because of the small cost savings offered by the fuel.

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"AAA does not advise consumers to make long trips searching for E15 as this would not be an economical solution to reducing gas costs," an AAA spokesman told FOX Business.