Fuel Economy E85 Flex advantages or not?

[carbuddy]

What about the difference of using E85 opposed to 87 octane? In my impala, I see that I get 350 miles on 87 and about 315 on E85. Now, in Chicago I get 87 for 3.89 and 85 is now 3.39. I only purchase E85 when there is a 70 cent gap between. What are your thoughts?

[Chris's FX4]

You'll only see a savings gain if E85 is something like 10-20% cheaper than regular if I remember correctly.

I still don't trust the stuff. The hassle of running it isn't worth it. Sure you may get more power out of it in some vehicles, but for example, for every two tanks of E85 you need to run a tank of regular. The maintenance intervals change as well, shorter. This is all from some Ford manuals.

[Ryry11]

E85 has a high % of alcohol, which burns faster, causing more frequent trips to the pump. It's good if gas is really expensive, you can run a tank of E85 and maybe by the time you need to fill back up the cost of 87 will have dropped some. I don't even bother, I just run 87, although you usually gain some hp when you run e85 because of the alcohol ;)

[Bill1234]

Overall there are some advantages, e85 is a different type of gas, it allows a person to save on the pump if another type of fuel is too much. I dont know about engine cleans or oil changes, but the biggest thing is the power changes, Premium fuel usually gives you more power but is alot more expensive

[RoadRageDetail]

Ethanol is a fantastic source of energy, but the market for it here in the US is a farce. We get it from corn, which is not a very efficient means of producing it. Look at Brazil, they are nearing complete energy independence, and get their ethanol from sugar cane waste; even the factories that make it run themselves mainly off of the very ethanol that they make. Very cool stuff, if you haven't read up on it, check it out.

Lots of aftermarket turbo guys love ethanol because of its high octane tuning capabilities, but there's not a huge plus for daily driver use here in Houston, price of 87 is consistently low and nullifies the price advantage.

[Bill1234]

You also have to remeber that corn might ruin you engine with the water when gas has no water in it

[RoadRageDetail]

You also have to remeber that corn might ruin you engine with the water when gas has no water in it

I think he's referring to flex fuel vehicles or ones that are converted to handle it. But yes, running straight ethanol in a vehicle that it isn't meant for can cause serious issues, mostly with the aluminum fuel lines, rails, and injectors which will be damaged severely by ethanol.

[SilverHawk]

I'm using non ethanol in my Harley and Silverado.

[ryanbabz71]

I have used E85 exclusively for the last 3 yrs on my 2010 silverado. Gas milage is lower but there are performance benefits as I have run run 93 if not E85 (6.2L engine). Tonight I seen it going for $2.92 a gallon in central Indiana :)


Ryan