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Is unleaded 88 fuel safe to use in your vehicle?

Sheetz made headlines last week announcing it would sell its Unleaded 88 fuel through the Fourth of July. But is it safe for all vehicles? Here's what experts say.

RALEIGH, N.C. — You may have seen ads that Sheetz is offering discount gas this weekend. Before you fill up, WRAL took a deeper look at what you need to know about this deal, to avoid damaging your engine.

There are dozens of Sheetz across North Carolina and this weekend, the deal many of them are offering is Unleaded 88 for $3.99 a gallon and E85 for $3.49 a gallon. In the Charlotte area, discounted gas can be found at Sheetz stores in Conover, Hickory, Salisbury, Statesville and Troutman.

Experts say a cautious approach to using unleaded 88 is the right one. 

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"It hasn’t been openly accepted by everybody," says John Ibbotson, Chief Automotive Services Manager at Consumer Reports.

Ibbotson said only about 4,000 gas stations nationwide offer the fuel. That's about 3% of stores. It contains 15% ethanol compared to unleaded 87's ethanol content of 10%. 

Bottom line, if your car’s manual says it can handle Unleaded 88 and you’re not planning to use that octane long term, you should be able to take advantage of this discount.

Click here to read more from WRAL.

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