E85 Finally Cost Effective?

[crash68]

One thing I noticed on the E85 I hadn't noticed before is the large variance in ethanol disclaimer on the pump? 51%-83% ethanol to be considered E85?

Whatever gas station those are at, they're just as big of a DBags as BP stations using green for something other than diesel.

 

[SitKneelBend]

Whatever gas station those are at, they're just as big of a DBags as BP stations using green for something other than diesel.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure at the same chain (Motomart) at all other locations near me that don't have E85 use yellow for diesel. The signage at the pump does explicitly say "E85 Not Diesel" so I guess they know it might be confusing...

 

[CamperMike]

So I noticed today that for whatever reason the E85 price isn't going up. It's still $3.85 and regular is up to $5.09. I decided to give it another tank before making a final verdict. One thing I noticed on the E85 I hadn't noticed before is the large variance in ethanol disclaimer on the pump? 51%-83% ethanol to be considered E85?

The lower ethanol amounts are for winter. In cold weather 85% is very hard to start. Once I got e85 with my old van in fall and it took a lot longer crank to start that stuff so it was still too high ethanol.

 

[SitKneelBend]

The lower ethanol amounts are for winter. In cold weather 85% is very hard to start. Once I got e85 with my old van in fall and it took a lot longer crank to start that stuff so it was still too high ethanol.

Maybe that explains the higher MPG I'm getting from what I expected. Mostly city driving the last tank and my average has settled on 15.8...thanks for the explanation!

Edit: just realized it would be the opposite effect so that doesn't explain it but still thankful for the explanation...

 

[06 Dodge]

So I noticed today that for whatever reason the E85 price isn't going up. It's still $3.85 and regular is up to $5.09. I decided to give it another tank before making a final verdict. One thing I noticed on the E85 I hadn't noticed before is the large variance in ethanol disclaimer on the pump? 51%-83% ethanol to be considered E85?

Did you factor in the cost of shorter OCI's when using E85?

 

[SitKneelBend]

Did you factor in the cost of shorter OCI's when using E85?

Nope!

 

[SitKneelBend]

Well second tank of E85 has the MPGs plummeting to the 13s...I'm guessing the galon or so of the last regular was cheating the numbers. So, final verdict, still not worth it!

 

[crash68]

Well second tank of E85 has the MPGs plummeting to the 13s...I'm guessing the galon or so of the last regular was cheating the numbers. So, final verdict, still not worth it!

If people driving Priuses were not flipping you off because you're driving too slow..
and you need to press on the accelerator like one of your testicles is between the pedal and your foot ..

 

[SitKneelBend]

Annnnnnnnddddd Check Engine thrown, rough idle and acceleration, Engine fault codes PO202 and PO302. Correlation is not equal to causation, but I think I'm done with E85!

 

[joesstripclub]

My wife drives a newer WRX and the cars make stupid power with ethanol. On a stock car using just E30 adds 100 hp if tuned for it. On the flipside, using too much ethanol makes the fuel pump unhappy and they dont recommend more than E50 and that you should run a tank of 91/93 through periodically to help relubricate the pump. That is a direct injection car though vs port injection in the Hemi (I assume pentastar is also port?). In the past I would top off the tank with a few gallons of E85 or fill with E20 to offset costs a bit but I dont think I would run full E85 in anything not specifically made and tuned for it. Ethanol is hard to find around my part of Denver but occasionally I find e15 gas and its quite a bit cheaper.

 

[mighty noid]

So I noticed today that for whatever reason the E85 price isn't going up. It's still $3.85 and regular is up to $5.09. I decided to give it another tank before making a final verdict. One thing I noticed on the E85 I hadn't noticed before is the large variance in ethanol disclaimer on the pump? 51%-83% ethanol to be considered E85?

Which E85 fuel kit are you running?

 

[SitKneelBend]

Which E85 fuel kit are you running?

Factory.

 

[Kart20]

I just did a test on my old Dodge Grand Caravan. E85 is $0.40/gal cheaper than regular unleaded here. It wasn't economical for me. Still cheaper to use gasoline. I figured the price of E85 needs to be seventy cents cheaper than gas for it to break even in my car.

My engine does run better on the ethanol, though. Much smoother.

 

[SitKneelBend]

Annnnnnnnddddd Check Engine thrown, rough idle and acceleration, Engine fault codes PO202 and PO302. Correlation is not equal to causation, but I think I'm done with E85!

Update: Cylinder 2 fuel injector replaced. All is well. $500+ bill from dealer, covered by extended warranty on my 2014 with $100 deductible.

 

[Sweetee]

Two of us at work tried E-85 in our company vehicles. One was Mopar, the other was GM. We did not see any performance increase, we both lost 2-3 MPG in combined driving, and both vehicles required the fuel filters chanced at EVERY Oil change. Not worth it to me.

Did your company vehicle have a semi? You are not supposed to run E85 in the semi. I thought the only truck engine for E85 was the Pentastar. Also, the fuel filter is integral with the fuel pump. It certainly isn't cost effective to drop the fuel tank with every oil change. Am I missing something?

 

[SitKneelBend]

Update: Cylinder 2 fuel injector replaced. All is well. $500+ bill from dealer, covered by extended warranty on my 2014 with $100 deductible.

For any interested, mileage dipped to 12.9 before going back to regular...It started at 18.7

 

[bisonfan]

Just filled my ram 1500 with 16 gallons of e85. The other half is e88. Over 100 miles my mpg dropped from 22 hwy to 17. 87 was 4.59 e85 was 3.09. I am saving about 3 cents per mile running e85. I find the truck seems to have more power as it does not shift as much as it did running 87 in the same locactions. I plan to run another tank to see what it is like with true e85 blend vs a modified blend of roughly e45.

 

[06 Dodge]

Just filled my ram 1500 with 16 gallons of e85. The other half is e88. Over 100 miles my mpg dropped from 22 hwy to 17. 87 was 4.59 e85 was 3.09. I am saving about 3 cents per mile running e85. I find the truck seems to have more power as it does not shift as much as it did running 87 in the same locactions. I plan to run another tank to see what it is like with true e85 blend vs a modified blend of roughly e45.

Run a few more full tanks of all E85 & not E85 mixed with another grade of gas you list above, then come tell up your results of running 100% on E85...