dlazrael

Ok, so what exactly does 10% ethanol do?

I've found that i have drastically reduced gas mileage, and it seems poorer performance. Would ethanol in the gas do either of these things?

Ive also heard elsewhere that ethanol is harmful to your fuel system, is there truth to that? Thanks

amoosenamedhank

Here in MN all of our gas has 10% ethanol in it. They also are big into flex fuel up here. They use E-85. Which is 85% ethanol and 15% gas. E-85 has a suprisingly high octane rating of like 104 or something like that but the burns less efficiently.

ponysnake99

E-10 allows less gas to be used, and its safe in most vehicles. Ethanol as said above actually has a higher octane rating than regular gas, its only problem is...its an alcohol (and like most alcohol dragsters, your having to pump a lot more fuel in than a conventional gas engine...but it burns colder). You really shouldnt experience any big problems with it, as your engine should process the fuel fine. Rumors of ethanol being harmful have some validity, you only run intofuel system problemsis with high concentrations of ethanol because it will corrode and destroy rubber fittings in the fuel system. Chances are you've been running some amount of ethanol in your gas the entire time, the loss of power may just be in your head...or the butt dyno is off

sorry i had to do a presentation on ethanol earlier this year, acer knows some about this subjecttoo

I think MN is supposed to be completely E85 by 20XX, or some other northern state

tron2003

I'm not really a fan of theethanol due to the same effects that you are experiencing and other contributing factors. I also have experienced decreased gas mileage from moving from Wisconsin (which has both E-10 and regluar avaliable everywhere)to Minnesota (strictly E-10). Granted it was only2-3mpg. If you have ever talked to one of those guys that have the flex fuel Avalanches, they will tell you that when they run E-85 the performance is greatly decreased and loss of MPG is guaranteed. So then the arguement goes to well its cheaper, but then again that's not really the case cuz you are losing MPG while doing it and costing more. Then you have to think about the fact, guess who is paying for the E-85 to be produced. That's right you and me, taxpayers end up contributing to the production through all the government funding programs for ethanol production.

Granted it was a good idea but it's not what it is all cracked up to be.

Fine99

I agree with ponysnake.

Ethanol is a higher octane fuel, which, contrary to popular belief contains less energy, hence the drop in fuel economy. In high concetration (over 50%), it will corrode non metal fittings in your fuel system. It's main purpose is for emissions reduction. If you engine is knocking / pinging, then ethanol may help as it is more stable and less likely to detonate. Truth is E-10 and E-15 won't do anything negative to your engine.

BraMas

Michigan has been using E10 for years with no Problems.

Check out this site. E10 Facts

tron2003

Since ethanol bonds with water to be burnable, what prevents the gas companies from watering down the gas??

M1ke

Ethanol wasn't introduced to save money on gas. It's to be an alternative to gasoline.

tron2003

Yet it costs more and uses more energy to produce.......

PaintballFreak

ethanol is way more efficient than gasoline so long as your engine is tuned for it. Obviously this isn't the case for a mustang but in cars tuned for it the higher octane allows for more compression and more power for the amount.