E85 Users?

[BlueZero]

Anyone use it?

I posted this at another forum and I would like to hear what you all think.

I was going to get a truck, but then I got laid off. I still am planing on getting one when I get back on my feet. I would really like to get one that can run E85. I don't really plan on it saving me money, just better for the environment and my money going to a corn farmer rather than rich oil companies.

I was surprised to learn that you get more hp and torque from E85. The 5.4L in the 2009 F150 is rated at 310hp/365lbft with gas and 320hp/390lbft with E85. The fuel economy listed in the brochure is, 14/18 with gas and 10/13 with E85.

I'm concerned about long term durability of the engine burning E85. I talked to a gas station owner that was looking into getting E85 and he said it was better for the engine. He said it burned cleaner and therefor less carbon in the engine.

Here's a cool site to see how E85 compares to gas prices in your area... E85

I open the floor to discussion!

[Murr1525]

Re: E85 Users?

You'll never see me use it.... though my car cant anyway.

Besides, it takes oil to process it. Last I heard, though been a year or two, it doesnt produce enough energy to process itself.

[mcox]

Re: E85 users?

Not me either. Don't know if its just my truck or what but I lose anywhere from 50-75 miles per tank if I use it. Absolutely hate it and I kind of enjoy the dirty looks I get from people in hybrids as I drive by in that big ol' V8.

[Deaner5]

Re: E85 Users?

My friend has a 2002ish Ford Taurus that can run on the stuff, but he said he can only manage about 18-19 mpgs with it (he usually gets around 24 or so with regular).

Here in Minnesota they really push it as I guess there are many producers (farmers) and also many gas stations that carry it. But like others have said, I think it uses more energy to produce it than you save by driving on it so I'm not sure what all the fuss is about.

Then there is always the discussion of should we really be using a food supply to fuel our cars. Supply and demand probably says we should export our food to countries that need it (or just give it away), but that supresses corn prices as well. There is certainly more to that discussion.

One day our country and the world will probably have to make a decision on what our cars run on and how. I'm just not sure that this discussion will happen in my lifetime or not.

[Markus Kleis]

Re: E85 Users?

Sadly at this time I believe it is mostly just marketing hype in terms of actually being "green." Like others said, I have seen talk that once you figure in the full process of making it, the E85 is worse for the environment that the normal gasoline (especially if you consider the drop in efficiency).

As for finding it, at least in San Diego there is only ONE place that sell it- and it is a Ford dealership with a gas station on site.

I recall the midwest having more availability.

As for how it affects the engine, the key is to just have a vehicle intended to run it because it can be caustic to rubber if not properly treated for E85. I believe the ethanol friendly vehicles also come with a higher capacity fuel system (bigger lines and pump), which may explain the lower MPG.

I know my 2002 Ranger has a Flex-fuel 3.0 V6, so I read up a bit about it.

[gb387]

Re: E85 Users?

Living in Iowa there is a vast supply of E85... you will have to figure the difference in price, in my case 10% ethanol vs E85. E85 is cheaper but as mentioned there is a loss in gas mileage, I have used it a hand full of times but found that its still cheaper to run good 'ole 10% ethanol. Now if you are into keeping with the 'green' feel (as Mark mentioned) it is a better option but that can be argued as well because of the processing. Don't buy a vehicle just because it can run E85 that said seem most if not all of the big three's on the market do run E85 anyway.

[Nick Chapman]

Re: E85 Users?

E85 is ethanol. Ethanol burns faster. Every notice why your vehicle gets worse gas mileage in the winter? They put more ethanol into regular fuel, reducing your fuel mileage.

Yes, you will drop your MPG while running E85, but you're also paying considerably less per gallon that you buy. I had an E85 truck and did some experimenting with it. Turns out it's pretty close to the same $$ per tank after you factor in mileage and $$ per gallon. Lots of people like to run E85 over regular fuel because it's rated at around 100 octane, it burns cleaner, and it's produced by American farmers(E85 is produced from corn). This is good for the guys taking their cars to the track. They love this stuff!

The way we produce E85 is not good though. It cost more to produce it than we're saving the environment. If they would look to sugar cane or some other resource to produce E85, then it would pay for itself. But as long as we're using corn, then it's really not doing us that much good.

There's a lot of mixed feelings about E85

[jfelbab]

Re: E85 Users?

Here are a couple good reading links.

http://www.energyjustice.net/ethanol/factsheet.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_fuel#Problems

[sdprius858]

Re: E85 Users?

A gallon of pure ethanol contains 70% of the energy of a gallon of gasoline. E10 (10% ethanol fuel) therefore has 97% of the energy of a gallon of pure gasoline. So if you could find pure gasoline your MPGs would increase 3%.

Ethanol reduces air pollution and reduces carbon deposits inside the engine by promoting cleaner burning. These are good things and well worth a 3% hit on MPGs.

The reason you get more power in your high compression engines from E85 is because ethanol contains a higher octane, anywhere between 100-105.
Most of the gas stations around here run 10% ethanol in the mix which makes it Gasohol and helps it burn cleaner.

[Markus Kleis]

Re: E85 Users?

Most of the gas stations around here run 10% ethanol in the mix which makes it Gasohol and helps it burn cleaner.

ALL gas in California is 10% or more ethanol