Currently ethanol is about 40 cents/gal cheaper than RBOB (wholesale gas). Joe
Whats the point of E85 gasoline?
- Thread starter Farmer17
- Start date
Apparently you're not a midwestern lobbyist.
OP
I run E10 gas in my Ram quad cab truck all the time and get about 21mpg in the city and have also ran straight gasoline, higher octane, and premium gas and got no better mileage, acceleration or power pulling my ski boat. It seems like every convenience store in Oklahoma sells E85 but I don't know who is buying it. Gas pumps aren't cheap so there must be someone buying it?
My belief is the E85 for the most part appeals to the less informed driver out there. They only see the price and have no clue about the serious reduction in mileage that **** gas gives.
Once they finely figure it out they go back to E10 gas!
Its more serious than the none ethanol Vs E10% situation. Most anyone I know gets real gas for anything 2 stroke. I do see many owners manuals come right out and say NO E85 fuel.
As a gear head I do realize in a vechicle set up to use it that E85 can give a substantial power increase. The key word is vechicle/computer tuned to utilize that fuel.
JET4
Member
The only thing E10 and higher gas is good for is causing problems with your boat motor.
.455_Hunter
Member
My wife's family live in SD corn / soy bean territory, and one brother is operating two mid-size farms. E85 was (maybe still is?) popular due it being home grown and home produced with local plants. They intentionally bought vehicles that were E85 capable.
Considering that Iowa is #1 in corn production and
#1 in ethanol production one would think it would be used more here than it is.
Some gas stations have it, many don't. The only ones that always have it are those operated by a farm coop.
Another tidbit, Iowa is #1 in the production of biodiesel and #2 in soybean production (Illinois is #1)
Also, Iowa produces 64% of its electricity from wind energy. Highest of any state.
On can either praise or blame long time Iowa Senator Charles Grassley for much of these "alternative energy sources"
#1 in ethanol production one would think it would be used more here than it is.
Some gas stations have it, many don't. The only ones that always have it are those operated by a farm coop.
Another tidbit, Iowa is #1 in the production of biodiesel and #2 in soybean production (Illinois is #1)
Also, Iowa produces 64% of its electricity from wind energy. Highest of any state.
On can either praise or blame long time Iowa Senator Charles Grassley for much of these "alternative energy sources"
LVSteve
Member
Two points here:
1) It takes several tank fulls for a vehicle to adjust to a different gas octane, unless you do a manual reset of the engine management system.
2) In another post you confessed to driving with a heavy right foot.
That will often mask any changes in gas octane.With regard to point 1), I found that my Xterra idled rough in hot weather with regular 87 octane. I switched to 89 and reset the computer and it fixed the idle issue with a small improvement in gas mileage. Believe it or not, the other fix for the 87 octane rough idle was to fit a 0.5" plenum spacer on the intake.
pantannojack
US Veteran
I believe it to be a conspiracy to burn our (the peasant class) burn our food.
GypsmJim
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There are Boatmen, Boaters, Guys with boats, and people that just decided to buy a boat because it looked like fun.
The vast majority of these groups are simply clueless. The top end know what to do and the bottom end just don't do any maintenance at all.
The beauty of ethanol is that is gave everybody an excuse to identify why their boat is all screwed up. Those are also the boats that are now sitting alongside the garage with no cover rotting in the snow.
Those of us that do proper maintenance have ZERO problems with E10. In fact, it is an advantage because of the benefits it provides.
The rest simply complain.
E10 is completely political. We are stuck with it. Learn what to do and it could be your friend. Otherwise, the voting booth is your other friend.
My Silverado is E85 capable. Once as an experience, on a 600-mile trip, I planned on driving it one way on regular gas (E10) and E85 on the return. After some searching online on E85 availability, I found E85 was not available in enough places, so I had to settle on starting out full of 85 and getting one fill up when that ran out. I did the same with regular on the return, and then calculated it down to cost per mile. While 85 was cheaper, the miles per gallon produced were less. In the end, the cost per mile was a penny or two different between the two fuels, and with availability being more difficult with the E85, I haven't bought a gallon of it since. As for using it to clean injectors, a dose of Marvel Mystery oil every now and then is a lot cheaper than E85, and I've never had an injector failure.
I know with a proper tune and different injectors a 2012-2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302 will put out about 45-55 more horsepower... going from 444hp to almost 500hp... the mileage tanks.. but the fun increases.. which is the point... so it does serve a purpose.. it just isn't really practical... or cost effective
The E85 push is due to a few things. A huge agriculture lobby, Greenies pushing it as cleaner, and being able to tout it as cheaper. Of course the average consumer isn't informed that the cost is actually higher as lower mileage eats up the savings and more. If you burn more to go a given distance do the emissions even out over the trip? and; as far as the agriculture lobby, let the subsidies drop off and see if it's any more economical to buy.
My believe is that E85 will fall out of favor sometime in the future. Remember when the push was for Clean environmentally friendly natural Gas and the push to Natural Gas fleets (just look at the Waste Management fleet of trucks) and the selling points of having a gas home (dryer, water heater, heat and cooking) Fast forward and suddenly Natural Gas is the latest Boogie man.
My believe is that E85 will fall out of favor sometime in the future. Remember when the push was for Clean environmentally friendly natural Gas and the push to Natural Gas fleets (just look at the Waste Management fleet of trucks) and the selling points of having a gas home (dryer, water heater, heat and cooking) Fast forward and suddenly Natural Gas is the latest Boogie man.
This. If you're engine is designed for E85 and you're interested in more power as opposed to better mileage, corn squeezins is great stuff.
Stoich for E85 is around 9:1 as opposed to 14:1 for gasoline.
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Oldengineer
Member
It’s all about normal combustion…., a smooth hard push on the piston top. What the engine wants is minimum spark for best torque and leanest mixture for best torque (MBT/LBT). Usually this is unobtainable because of octane constraints. Today’s adaptive control systems detect borderline knock and “don’t give you” any where near MBT spark advance. Alcohol has a research octane number around 115-120! The bad news is the heating value is much lower than gasoline so you need a whole lot more to get the power. There is much much more to it with many variables, but the keys to the spark ignition engine kingdom is knock sensing and control.
LVSteve
Member
E85 as green fuel? Didn't the industry have to get a waiver because of the formaldehyde involved?
