Ethanol fuel
 

I just found out i have two ethanol stations near my home in boston
now i know my hhr is flex fuel,,but i need to know the advantages
of using e85 in my vehicle before i start to full up there !!!

I understand that its about .4o cents cheaper per gallon here in boston ( prices not all the same in every state )
but what about fuel milage ?????
Is it worth it to switch over or will it take more fuel to run on ethanol ,,,only to average out to the same price in the end ??

I know it will burn cleaner and the car is suppose to run just as good,,, which is suppose to be better for the vehicle in the long run!!!
But what are the advantages ?????

Anyone know?????

You will get less MPG, if the cost difference makes up for that or not is variable. From what I've read 40 cents cheaper may not make it worthwhile, but I've never run it. (My '07 is not flexfuel)

Only way to find out is try it I guess.

less performance, less MPG. The only reason it makes any sense at all is the government subsidies that make it cheaper.

We ran it in our company issued HHR's last year for a test. Terrible gas mileage and acceleration is just gone. Don't even bother We saw almost 10 miles per gallon less in our unscientific testing.

terrible gas milage and no acceleration ???
wow sound to me like its not even worth trying !!!

I use it in my 09 2.2 and the car runs fine on it. I do however only buy it when it is about $1 cheaper then gas per gallon because my MPG drops about 3-4 miles per gallon.

For those getting 10 less per gallon-fix your foot-it's stuck to your peddle.

It's running at about $3.09 cash right now by me-worth it because regular gas is at $4.19.

Use this website & check out the e85 calculator. http://e85prices.com/

At those prices I actually get an extra 13 miles per tank. Worth the effort because I drive 60 miles a day.

E85: Best
$0.134 per mile
7.443 miles per $

Gas:
$0.155 per mile
6.444 miles per $

Where in the area are they?

i found one right inside logan airport east boston mass
and another one at burkes oil = a gas station on beachham st in chelsea mass
as far as i know they are the only 2 in mass.

You do realize that running E85 actulally bumps your HP and TQ rating? So less performance is definatly not true. It will actually increase slightly.

You will loose on average about 25% or less MPG (depending if you run one tank or continously). We have one agency that uses it exclusively and their mileage is not far off those that don't. So if you want to try one tank, it will be your worse.

Gas is also substidized and who has record profits?

I use a E35 blend and Trifecta tune, I can assure you I have more power/tq then I had with my 93 Octane tune. :twothumbs:

Now with that being said, you will use up to 30% more ethanol fuel then 87-93Octane gas (I barely use any more fuel then 93 Octane did but I only blend in 35% ethanol), the only way Ethanol is better to use is if the cost of Ethanol is considerably cheaper then 87-93 Octane gas.

Before I moved to NH I used E85 exclusively. There was a lot of it in AZ and it definitely helped with performance. I was getting around 20-22 MPG in combined driving compared to 24-26 MPG on gas. I didn't drive a lot so it didn't make much difference to me, I still had to fill up every 2 weeks regardless of what I put in.

I just tried it in mine for the first time, and then took a long drive to the casino. (100miles) :D

I felt no loss in power. I thought it was a bit quicker from the start, especially at first. Then I got used to it, and didn't notice it after a while, or the computer adjusted itself. - I guess? But still say there is no power loss with mine.

Mileage is yet to be tested, I was going to top it off after 100 miles and see what I got, but it still reads full so can't be too bad.

I'm going to go with E85 for a month or so and see what I think. It's 80cents cheaper than Reg - near my house right now.

Goverment is going to subsidize whether I use it or not, So I see no reason to not try it. What's better continue lining pockets of oil companies or subsidize a farmer?

First full tank of E85 = 25mpg
I would guess that was 70% highway 30% city.
When I filled - Reg was $3.85, E85 was $3.03
Now it is under $3

Looks so far it is probably same cost or slightly cheaper to burn E85.
It all depends what the price is at the time. E85 prices really vary, saw 3.03, 3.25 and 3.35 all in the same day at different stations. Luckily the cheapest place is near me.

I think E85 works better with high compression engines becuase of its higher Octane rating. Almost like diesel, (although not that high) thats wy you get decreased performance and worse fuel milage. I think if a engine was turned to run on E85 only, it would return performace more similar to a gasoline engine.

After a couple more tanks, I've come to the conculsion for me E85 costs more to run. To get the same miles I spend about 10% more on fuel.

That first tank must have still had a good share of regular in it. Cause the next 3 tanks, my MPG really tanked. Right down to the 16/22 they say. :corny:

My experiment will be finished after this last tank.