E85

[Sepiroth]

Well, I filled up Big Sexy earlier this week to the tune of 21. something gallons. I drove a mixture of highway and city to the amount of 283 miles. I went to fill up this afternoon and put in 19.561 gallons. The cost of E85 out here by me is $2.999/10allon. Whereas 87 is $4.199/10allon.

I calculated the math and came to the conclusion that on my last tank fill I averaged 13.95 miles per gallon.

Not too bad considering the weight and what not. During the tank I maybe went above 2000rpm a total of 5=7 times. The fastest I had the speed up to was 70mph and that was for a stint of 8 miles. The other time when on highway I was set at 55mph.

On a side note, when we fill our Dodge Caravan flex fuel we usually put in 16 gallons and get between 230-250 a tank. The last time I did the math, I came up with the van getting 13.93 miles per gallon.

Now the van is a 3.3 6 cyl and the Burb has an 8cyl and much more weight to haul around. GO FIGURE!!

Just for grins, using petro what is your MPG, E85 what is your MPG?

Needless to say, I am impressed E85 ftmfw lol

 

[LAP TOP GAMER]

Well, I filled up Big Sexy earlier this week to the tune of 21. something gallons. I drove a mixture of highway and city to the amount of 283 miles. I went to fill up this afternoon and put in 19.561 gallons. The cost of E85 out here by me is $2.999/10allon. Whereas 87 is $4.199/10allon.

I calculated the math and came to the conclusion that on my last tank fill I averaged 13.95 miles per gallon.

Not too bad considering the weight and what not. During the tank I maybe went above 2000rpm a total of 5=7 times. The fastest I had the speed up to was 70mph and that was for a stint of 8 miles. The other time when on highway I was set at 55mph.

On a side note, when we fill our Dodge Caravan flex fuel we usually put in 16 gallons and get between 230-250 a tank. The last time I did the math, I came up with the van getting 13.93 miles per gallon.

Now the van is a 3.3 6 cyl and the Burb has an 8cyl and much more weight to haul around. GO FIGURE!!

Just for grins, using petro what is your MPG, E85 what is your MPG?

Needless to say, I am impressed E85 ftmfw lol

Well if you're figures are correct, then E85 is not as bad as I thought onmileage. I just wish there were E85 stations in Santa Clarita,CA but that most likely will never happen.

 

[bahollis]

You're lucky if you found E85 for $2.99

It's only about 25 cents cheaper per gallon here, and 87 is $3.87 avg.

My hoe was getting about 8-9 mpg with E85, and 11-12 with 87 (all city stop & go driving). I will not use E85 unless I found it as cheap as you did. The loss in mileage is not worth the savings for me with the prices being so close.
I'd have to find it for a dollar cheaper like you did to offset the loss in overall miles per tank.

B

 

[JennaBear]

I agree, I wont use E85 either.

 

[ugachs24]

It depends on the car I use E85 in and how I'm driving. In the 2008 Z71, I only drop 2-3 MPG highway, 3-4 city. On the 2004 LT I drop 3 highway and 4-5 city (dropping down to 7-9 city MPG).

I used to use E85 once a week but I've about quit using it all together now, I come out worse in the end when I use it.

 

[Sepiroth]

Yes it is true that in order for E85 to be competitve, it would have to be priced more than 80-95cents cheaper. I am lucky that E85 is priced the way it is here. Truthfully that is one of the reason I went with a flex fuel vehicle in the first place rather than a gasser alone.

 

[sboston4]

I just paid 3.57/ gal. for E85 while on vacation in Texas and 87 was 3.87/gal. I seriously felt better about my purchase knowing that the corn based fuel was made in the USA and don't mind the wash in savings whatsoever.

 

[mjmchase]

My mileage is exactly the same as "bahollis" who posted above, 8-9 mpg on E85 and 11-12 mpg with 87 octane. I also do mostly around town, short trip, stop and go. I live in NW Indiana where Family Express has capped E85 prices at 2.99 a gal, so I will stick with it at that price. Taking a long road trip soon, so I will see what kind of mpg I can get the first leg of the trip. Anyone installed a CAI or exhaust system to improve MPG? Our other car is a Toyota Prius, so anything I can do to improve my gas mileage is a plus when the Prius gets 50 mpg!

 

[Sepiroth]

I live in NW Indiana where Family Express has capped E85 prices at 2.99 a gal, so I will stick with it at that price.

Hey you must not be too far from me. I'm guessing that you have seen the Family Express price at a valpo location or other out in Poter county or La Porte. If so, I'm in kouts about 10 miles south of Valpo.

 

[tekkitan]

I just filled up yesterday on E85 for $3.59 a gallon (compared to $3.99/gal for 87). There is only one station in my area and it is near where I work. I am going to let it run through my system for a whole tank then see what my MPG is after the next fill up.

I know it might not be enough to offset the price (we'll see), but this is the only place around here so there is no competition with E85 pricing. The only other place in the Cleveland area that has it is the NASA Glenn Research Center, and I can't necessarily fill up there

 

[D'Hag]

You're lucky if you found E85 for $2.99

It's only about 25 cents cheaper per gallon here, and 87 is $3.87 avg.

This is my beef. Here in SW Iowa, my local retailers carry E85 at 50 cents a gallon less than gas. That makes the "cost per mile" the same either way. I buy gas so I don't have to fill as often.

Get out of our immediate area, same state or surrounding states, and E85 is between 85 cents and $1.15 cheaper. Better to run E85.

My beef is, the wholesale price of E85 is under $2. So what is happening is, SOME retailers are taking advantage of that and overchargine US.

That's what's happening to you, bahollis.

I just haven't found who the right person is to complain to about it. Yet.

 

[D'Hag]

Petro here: $3.73.
E85 "here:" $3.23.
E85, cross the river to Nebraska: $2.99.
E85, anywhere along I-80 in Iowa: $2.63.

On petro: 21 mpg @ 55 mph, 17 mpg @ 65 mph, 16 mpg @ 70 mph.
On E85: 17 mpg @ 55 mph, 13 mpg @ 65 mph, 12 mpg @ 70 mph.

I just do a little math when I see the price, and decide which to buy based on "cost per mile."

 

[EZStreet]

Full tank only gets you 283 miles??? Is that normal mileage for E85's?

 

[tekkitan]

Full tank only gets you 283 miles??? Is that normal mileage for E85's?

It appears to be. The MPG is a good amount less than regular gasoline than with E85.

 

[D'Hag]

Full tank only gets you 283 miles??? Is that normal mileage for E85's?

It has a LOT to do with tuning.

I just learned, for instance, that the stock program for flex-fuel Tahoes RETARDS the ignition timing as ethanol content of the fuel goes up. That's just the opposite what needs to happen. With the octane of E85 being 105, the ignition timing should be advanced as ethanol content goes up.

Ethanol doesn't want a whole lot of extra timing advance, but definitely not retarded timing.

Ethanol can also run a lot leaner (proportionally, that is) than gas. For instance, when cruising with gas, the air:fuel ratio is set to 14.7:1. Fuel economy can be increased by leaning it out as high as 16:1 or so before the engine starts to misfire. That's 1.3 "points" leaner than normal.

With E85, the cruising air:fuel mixture is about 9.8:1. In tuning my Firebird for flex-fuel, I have found that I can lean that to around 14:1 before misfire. That's 4.2 "points" leaner.

Get the PCM reflashed with better programming, and the mpg difference between gas and E85 can be greatly reduced. MPG with E85 will always be less, but when you calculate "cost per mile," E85 gets cheaper.

 

[pincusa]

Does someone know what the RPO code is for a flex fuel engine on a '03 Tahoe? Just got it a month ago, and don't really trust the dealer...

 

[D'Hag]

Does someone know what the RPO code is for a flex fuel engine on a '03 Tahoe? Just got it a month ago, and don't really trust the dealer...

I don't know the RPO code, but ALL 2002-2006 Chevy trucks with the 5.3 litre "Z" engine (eigth character of the VIN), are flex-fuel.

I got that direct from GM.

IF it has the original gas door, there will be a sticker on the inside that says, "E85 or Unleaded Fuel.)

 

[pincusa]

Thanks!

 

[Paul Greathouse]

You guys are making me feel darn good about the mileage on my wifes 2003 Yukon. Never have tried E85, its not available in our area yet that I know of. The Yukon gets just under 20mpg on the interstate with cruise set at 70mph on unleaded gas.

Maybe it has something to do with all the nice flat land down here.

 

[pincusa]

Driving her nicely and letting the speed drop 5MPH on the hills to prevent the downshift, I've been getting around 19-20 MPG too.

We're starting to see some places with E85 around here. Might have to try a tank just to see what changes