Switch from unleaded to ethanol safe?

do you have a Ford?

the E85/Flex Fuel engines are designed to handle UP TO 85% ethanal mixture .....so basically, you don't have to worry about mixing with a lower ratio mixture

just switch to the E85 whenever you want to, whether your tank is empty or not

 

On a related note, I just switched from a Motorola to a Primeco phone.

 

There was an article in Consumer Reports (no idea how old though) that said that the American flex fuel engines are optimized for burning gas, not E85, so you may not get much fuel economy from using ethanol. Don't know how much validity there is to it, but I thought it was an interesting criticism.

 

I recently read something where cars actually lose MPG when using Ethanol and end up spending more for E85 when the loss of MPG is factored in. Here are some links:

http://zfacts.com/p/436.html
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/new-cars/ethanol-10-06/overview/1006_ethanol_ov1_1.htm

 

I guess you have to make a choice, you can:

a) support evil middle east dictators buy continuing our dependence on foreign oil

b) weaken the economy by increasing the subsidization of corn, already the country's most subsidized crop.

FrontRowJoe, why do you hate America?

 

I pulled into a shell station (59@Kirby) the other day and I noticed it said all their gas was now ethanol based.. I have a 2006 nissan pathfinder and I have no idea if I can use that gas.. how do I find out?

 

you save money per gallon but you will be buying more gallons because the MPG is lower. i think it is around 25% worse. it is not worth it economically for anyone.

 

I want to know how the stations are able to sell ethanol cheaper. From what I've read, it costs more to produce ethanol than regular gasoline. Maybe the ethanol producers are taking a loss now in the hopes of making it up later?

 

The government heavily subsidizes ethanol production. Believe me, they're raking in money at the expense of the taxpayer. Corn ethanol is the most expensive and least clean type of ethanol on the market but because the corn industry is so powerful, they've effectively blocked other types of ethanol. Sugar ethanol, which is more efficient and much cheaper, is very common in Brazil and should be produced here, but it wont thanks to politics and corporate interests.

 

Damn Cornhuskers and your empire!!

 

1) Your car needs to support E85 for it to run E85 (duh) consistently/permanently.

2) Models from a couple of years ago got much worse mileage with E85. They've gotten better.

3) The cost of running an E85 vehicle and paying for its fuel is actually more than running a gas-powered vehicle. I used to laugh at people that would get E85 vehicles, then drive around for 20-50 miles looking for a station that sold it, all the while burning up fuel faster than a normal gas-powered vehicle. Now that E85 stations are becoming more commonplace, this isn't as big a deal.

The problem with E85 is that its just not as efficient a fuel source as regular gasoline is and doesn't have as much energy per volume as gas. I remember reading something somewhere a study was done and some E85 vehicles were getting 25% less gas mileage than their "regular gas" counterparts.

Here's a good link to see what the annual costs of gas are : http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/byfueltype.htm

So don't necessarily be suckered into the fuel efficiency hype of E85. Much of it is hogwash. You're using less "pure gas" per volume, though, so if that means something to you, then go for it.

 

So, ethanol can be made from any plant that has a high sugar content?

What about wheat? We can run our cars on vodka...

 

It can be made from sugarcane, which is what Brazil does. Much easier and more efficient than corn based ethanol.

 

It takes a lot of water to create ethanol from cellulosic material. Why do you hate the thirsty?