Flex fuel

[JcMack]

Is flex fuel still a viable option? I remember that about 6 years ago flex fuel seemed like a good deal. Very few gas stations in this area even sold it though. My neighbor bought a new Chev Equinox? and says he got a real deal on it. This vehicle has all the options on it. Chev's warranty is 5yrs 50k, but assuming it's the same as on my '08 Chev PU, it's only 3yrs. bumper to bumper, 5yrs. drive train. Anyway his new vehicle is "flex fuel". Any pitfalls to owning an engine of this type?

 

[max]

No problems with the engine, it will burn either. The 85% alcohol is cheaper, but you get less MPG. IMHO, your per mile cost will be the same.

 

[1 old 0311]

No problems with the engine, it will burn either. The 85% alcohol is cheaper, but you get less MPG. IMHO, your per mile cost will be the same.

IF...IF...IF...IF the Feds keep subsidizing it. In this country it can't stand on its own using corn. Corn must be replanted each season. Brazil used sugar cane. You plant ONCE, cut the top off, and the plant grows back on it's own.

 

[S&WIowegan]

I've been driving Chevy Tahoes or Avalanches since 2005...all were flex fuel capable. Iowa is the #1 producer of ethanol so we have it widely available. I have tried it all and made very careful calculations rather than rely on the on-board numbers. Without going into the actual details, I can state unequivocally that ethanol lowers MPG so much that you lose money using it! We have E85 available at $1/gal below regular. You still lose money. Most drivers here buy the lowest price and never think twice about value.

 

[DeathGrip]

^^^ +1

The ONLY advantage is if corn squeezings is the only thing available.

 

[snowman]

I can confirm that ethanol lowers mileage significantly -in my view, it's one of the most foolish things to come along in a long time. And that from a farm boy!

Andy

 

[Chubbs103]

I was waiting to get my truck fixed from being rear-ended two years ago and my rental car was flex fuel. I got excited when I drove by a filling station that had E85 for 1/3 cheaper than unleaded. As I drove away, I could virtually watch the fuel gauge nose dive. I was not impressed.

Chubbs

 

[Pete99004]

No problems with the engine, it will burn either. The 85% alcohol is cheaper, but you get less MPG. IMHO, your per mile cost will be the same.

Flex Fuel IS NOT CHEAPER! The Federal Government SUBSIDIZES Flex Fuel. HOW does that make it cheaper?????

It's really STUPID to use food as a fuel source - IMHO

Pete

 

[haggis]

Switching back and forth between E0 or E10 and E85 can play havoc with the fuel computer controls unless you run the vehicle to almost empty before changing fuel type. As others have said, miles/$ is not a bargain most places.

Buck

 

[woodsltc]

IMO....corn should be used to feed people, live-stock, and to make moonshine!!! It just doesn't measure up as a fuel source.

NOW, if someone can come-up with an engine that can efficiently use corn/etahonol then I would certainly have a change of opinion.......but the fact is, right now, corn/ethanol fuels in our current engines "are not" efficient or economical IMO.

Don

 

[armadillo]

My '09 Chevrolet Silverado is rated for Flexfuel. I tried E-85 in it several times and calculated the MPG at 80% of the gasoline MPG.

I would use the E-85 if it was below 80% of the price of gas - but it is closer to 90%.

 

[Stevie]

I own a flex-fuel Ram 1500...runs fine on either fuel..or mixtures of regular and E85.

As noted fuel economy drops significantly on E85...and no E85 pumps within 50 miles..so my trucks runs 99% of the time on plain gasoline as I have several stations in town with ethanol free fuel.

No real advantage to E85..costs a bit less..burns more.

The only advantage I see to a flex-fuel vehicle is the fact that the fuel system is made from corrosion resistant materials..and that the truck seems to run better and yeild better fuel economy on E10 than a non-flex vehicle.

 

[snowman]

Stevie,

How do your stations get away with it? My understanding has been that the government mandated 10% ethanol in the whole country back in 2006.

Andy

 

[JcMack]

The neighbor in question is about 60 and no fool. I've talked trucks and repairs with him before and he knows his way around same. His other vehicle is a short bed '96 Ford F150 with that 300 cu in straight six. I had a '73 Ford F100 with that engine and it was great.
I'm surprised at his buying this new vehicle. His '06 Chev HHR threw a rod at 60K miles and he had it fixed (engine swap) and traded the HHR on the Equinox. The new car has heated seats and touch screen controls and back up sensors and all the junk I can see breaking about 4 yrs. from now, a year out of warranty. I don't know if the new car is a 2011 or 12. Maybe this was one nobody wanted.

 

[JcMack]

Stevie,

How do your stations get away with it? My understanding has been that the government mandated 10% ethanol in the whole country back in 2006.

Andy

I don't know. Most of the stations here are major chains. Maybe their stations on the interstates make the bulk of the 10% required?

 

[Maximumbob54]

I thought corn had little to no nutritional value in the first place. I know you can feed it to hogs to help "clean them out" so they won't taste so wild and it will lean them out some. And from what I remember, it's hard on water and soil. As a fuel source, I would think biodiesel would be a better "green" idea.

 

[Moonman]

US addition of ethanol in gasoline WAS A BAD IDEA, it was a PORK BARREL DEAL for the farm lobby. It has raised the cost of FOOD to all for just one reason. Mileage is less for another.

Try DRILL-DRILL-DRILL, for Natural Gas, and Oil.

 

[Goldstar225]

IMO using ethanol as a fuel source is one of the biggest and worst jokes that has been forced upon us. Ethanol has 75,000 -80,000 BTU's per gallon vs. gasoline at 115,000-125,000 BTU's per gallon, giving ethanol 2/3 the output of energy. When you factor in the taxes that subsidize ethanol and the cost at the pump there is no savings and the MPG is reduced.

 

[DeadAye]

Ethanol as a fuel is just flat alcohol abuse!

 

[chez323]

My 2010 F150 has the Flex fuel logo on the back but as of yet I've not found a local gas station that sells flex fuel..... did a search online and the last time I checked the nearest station that sold it was in Allentown.... so regular gas it is for mine...........

Is flex fuel still a viable option? I remember that about 6 years ago flex fuel seemed like a good deal. Very few gas stations in this area even sold it though. My neighbor bought a new Chev Equinox? and says he got a real deal on it. This vehicle has all the options on it. Chev's warranty is 5yrs 50k, but assuming it's the same as on my '08 Chev PU, it's only 3yrs. bumper to bumper, 5yrs. drive train. Anyway his new vehicle is "flex fuel". Any pitfalls to owning an engine of this type?