Helpful ethanol fuel information from Helm

[GMCSonoma]

http://www.winningwithemail.com/cont...15-ethanol.htm

Ethanol Fuel for Automobiles

With concern over petroleum prices, ethanol has been getting increasing attention as an alternative fuel source. Ethanol is an alternative to petroleum for use in automotive fuels. It is produced from various agricultural and plant sources, the most common being corn.
Ethanol is mixed with gasoline to achieve higher octane ratings and reduce polluting emissions. Common blends are “gasohol” or E10 (10% Ethanol, 90% Gasoline), and E85 (85% Ethanol and 10% Gasoline.)

Low-level Blends

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, all automotive manufacturers approve the use of low-level ethanol blends (10% ethanol or less) in gasoline vehicles. Ethanol has an octane rating of 113, so low-level blends will add 2-3 points to the gasoline’s octane rating. Drivers notice no difference in performance with low-level ethanol blends, but because ethanol does not deliver as much energy per gallon, fuel economy may be slightly lower than pure gasoline. A federal tax credit for ethanol blends helps to offset cost differences.

E85 Ethanol

How is E85 different than pure gasoline? It has 80% of the energy per gallon as compared to pure gasoline, so MPG ratings will be lower. Consider this when comparing prices of Gasoline vs. E85. E85, unlike gasoline, is a renewable energy made from agricultural resources abundant in the United States, and burns much cleaner than petroleum resulting in less pollution. And most importantly, E85 can only be used in specially designed vehicles.

High-level ethanol blends such as E85 can only be used in vehicles called Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) designed for such fuel. According to the Alternative Fuels Data Center, “FFVs are widely available. As of 2005, the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition estimated that approximately 5 million FFVs have already been sold in the United States, although many buyers remain unaware that they may fuel with E85.” Check your owner's manual to find out if you can use E85.

E85 is not as widely available as gasoline. To find stations near you that offer E85, try these search tools:
http://www.e85fuel.com/database/search.php
http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/infrastructure/locator.html

Numerous facts and benefits regarding the use of Ethanol as an alternative fuel can be found at the American Coalition for Ethanol at http://www.ethanol.org.

Sources:

US Department of Energy, Alternative Fuels Data Center:
http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/
American Coalition for Ethanol
http://www.ethanol.org/

[Ttple]

Could ethanol have any adverse affects on engines? A few people I know are blaming ethanol for their "Check engine soon" lights coming on. One person claimed that it came on after she filled her car but then shut off a day later.

[1999 White C5 Coupe]

E85 fuel contains about two-thirds the energy of non-ethanol unleaded gasoline (gallon for gallon).

What is rarely discussed is that vehicles designed to run on E85 fuel get significantly less mileage using E85 compared to using non-ethanol unleaded fuel (or fuel that has 10% or less ethanol).

GM is touting the number of new vehicles designed to run on E85 fuel, but the company does not talk about the reduced mileage.

[ctaylorzl1]

Originally Posted by 1999 White C5 Coupe

GM is touting the number of new vehicles designed to run on E85 fuel, but the company does not talk about the reduced mileage.

GM is all about their new vehicles running on E85, they are also very proud of their new V8's also running on 4cyls, but what a my salesman told me was the the great MPG's that are shown on the sticker of the new 900's are achieved using regular gasoline not E85, so it seems that they are decieving the public. They tell you how great E85 is, and also how great mileage on their new trucks is, they just dont tell you that you can't both those bennifits at the same time.

That being said I still love GM

[GMCSonoma]

Originally Posted by ctaylorzl1

GM is all about their new vehicles running on E85, they are also very proud of their new V8's also running on 4cyls, but what a my salesman told me was the the great MPG's that are shown on the sticker of the new 900's are achieved using regular gasoline not E85, so it seems that they are decieving the public. They tell you how great E85 is, and also how great mileage on their new trucks is, they just dont tell you that you can't both those bennifits at the same time.

That being said I still love GM

True...

My dealer's sales force is informing customers to "expect" about 70-75% economy of straight gasoline...as I heard in this AM's manager's meeting that the concensus from the customer is "that's OK, at least I'm suppporting our farmers"...

[shadams]

Originally Posted by Ttple

Could ethanol have any adverse affects on engines? A few people I know are blaming ethanol for their "Check engine soon" lights coming on. One person claimed that it came on after she filled her car but then shut off a day later.

Probably because they cant put their gas caps on tight enough, I would bet half of the cars I get in here (newer ones) with the SES light on is because of that.

[XM DUDE]

I myself don't care about the reduced mileage, it is about getting off Saudi oil for me.

[GMCdriver]

Originally Posted by 1999 White C5 Coupe

E85 fuel contains about two-thirds the energy of non-ethanol unleaded gasoline (gallon for gallon).

What is rarely discussed is that vehicles designed to run on E85 fuel get significantly less mileage using E85 compared to using non-ethanol unleaded fuel (or fuel that has 10% or less ethanol).

GM is touting the number of new vehicles designed to run on E85 fuel, but the company does not talk about the reduced mileage.

They don't mention that these things can't fly either.

Who do you know of that puts their weakness in their ads?

Did Toyota do big ad campaign to promote the fact that their V6s produce sludge better than anyone else's?
McDonalds doesn't mention much about the salad dressing in their salad ads for that matter.

They talk about living yellow and going green or something like that. They talk about locally produced fuel vs foreign oil.
They are trying to appeal to environmentalists and patriots not pennypinchers.

[doh]

It has hit us already

Ontario to require 5% ethanol in gas by 2007

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2004/...io-041126.html

This really hurts 2 stroke motors, Ethanol does dry out cylinders

[Zephyr]

Originally Posted by doh

It has hit us already

Ontario to require 5% ethanol in gas by 2007

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2004/...io-041126.html

This really hurts 2 stroke motors, Ethanol does dry out cylinders

I was wonding about upper cylinder lubrication WRT E85 VS Gasoline for 4 stroke engines. Obviously unleaded gas doesn't have the lube properties of leaded or Diesel for that matter but I've got to believe it still lubes better than ethanol.

I also wonder what the blow-by gasses do to a regular motor oil. I wonder if anyone has done any studies on the long-term effects of both ???

Zeph

[CaptainDan]

Originally Posted by Zephyr

I was wonding about upper cylinder lubrication WRT E85 VS Gasoline for 4 stroke engines. Obviously unleaded gas doesn't have the lube properties of leaded or Diesel for that matter but I've got to believe it still lubes better than ethanol.

I also wonder what the blow-by gasses do to a regular motor oil. I wonder if anyone has done any studies on the long-term effects of both ???

Zeph

Gasoline is NOT a good lubricant. It is the opposite, it is a solvent. And so is ethanol. But gasoline is "more" of a solvent, and oil based, will "de-lube" oil lubricants quicker than ethanol. This is why blow-by is bad. You need to keep the fuel out of the crankcase.

[Stéphane Dumas]

Someone did a world speed record with a Dodge Viper converted to use E85 http://www.e85viper.com/2007/04/world_record_on.html