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E85 prices

Iocane

SM 2007
Full Member
Joined
Nov 12, 2006
Messages
30
Location
Aurora, Colorado
Are there any cheap E85 stations in the Denver area?  I just checked the price at the station on I225 and Colfax: $2.449/gal.  Not exactly a bargain considering the reduction in gas mileage with E85.
 
Don't know about E85 prices... but you can search for the lowest gas prices in your area on this website.

http://denvergasprices.com/

Here's a list of E85 stations in Colorado.

http://e85vehicles.com/e85-colorado.htm
 
Western Convenience on Parker Road has it.

Just saw tonight that their E85 is $2.299  and the reg. unleaded was $3.079.  That's .78, for a diff of 25.4%.  If you use the EPA mileage estimates for the '08 Avy and compare, it looks like (at this price diff) it's a wash!!  (The difference in mileage is around 25%.)  It would be better to keep our money in the US and this price diff makes it cost effective to do it.
 
The Western In Castle Rock usually has it for $1.99 to $2.09 but it just went up to $2.29.  I like to keep my money in the US and Canada either way...
 
Iocane said:
Are there any cheap E85 stations in the Denver area?  I just checked the price at the station on I225 and Colfax: $2.449/gal.  Not exactly a bargain considering the reduction in gas mileage with E85.
Alameda and Broadway - it's been $2.399 for a long time.
 
This brings up a good debate on E85.  As it is higher octance, we should be getting better mileage.  We should also be able to run the higher octane programs in our hand helds, like the superchips....
 
woof said:
This brings up a good debate on E85.  As it is higher octane, we should be getting better mileage.  We should also be able to run the higher octane programs in our hand helds, like the superchips....
That would be true!

One of the recommendations for an E85 setup is to run a turbo or S/C.  The higher octane (burns slower) of E85 allows more boost (and more power) from a forced induction system then on regular gas.  Most turbo'd or Supercharged applications recommend high octane 93 (premium) fuel.  The E85 is over 103 octane already (ethanol is 106 octane, E85 having 15% gasoline has a correspondingly lowers octane) and is perfect for forced induction applications.

The high octane setting on power programmers (among other things) advances the timing to take advantage of the higher octane and again E85 has a really high octane number.  This provides much more power than the low octane gas settings (it really is only a few hp, but hey better then nothing).

E85 has less BTU (measure of energy in the fuel) then E0 (regular gas) and therefore less power.  The engine has to use more E85 then it would gasoline to achieve the same distance driven (lower gas mileage).  The key is that E85 being a much higher octane then regular gas provides more power (to a setup that can take advantage of it) then the reduced amount of BTUs would suggest. 

The more you can boost (pun intended) your horsepower the less of a MPG reduction you will see running E85 vs regular gas.

JP
 
As of yesterday, E85 @ 2.79.9 vs 403.9 for premium at the Parker Western Convenience. I'm sure the mid-West crop flooding "excuse" will narrow that spread soonest, but for the moment it makes the Nelson tune totally worth it.
 
Just pinging this topic again, a new E85 station opened by Highlands Ranch (up colorado, north of University).  I never thanked Sabre for his explanation to my "ignorant" post up above, lol.  I'm getting 10.1 MPG with E85 and my mods.  It's interesting to watch the gas prices and while E85 prices appear to be more stable, it's still a loss or break even ($2.79/g) than runing E0 ($3.25/g).
 
The more you can boost (pun intended) your horsepower the less of a MPG reduction you will see running E85 vs regular gas.

JP

True!  In Brazil GM builds cars with higher compression specifically for 100% ethanol and the gas mileage is comparable to gasoline.
 
http://e85prices.com/colorado.html

This link will give you all of the ethanol prices in Colorado so you can compare. The lowest price I could find was 2.29, hardly worth it. Ehtanol prices at this point would have to be below 2.00 to compete with gas prices which are dropping daily.
 
Wonder when they will get it that E85 has to be significantly cheaper than gas for anyone to bother with it.

$2.89 in Spokane for E85.
15 miles away in Post Falls, ID., regular gas is $2,89.

I live right in the middle. So why bother with E85??
 
Thanks all for the replies, I want to go E85, but need it to be cost justified (which it was at $4/gal for normal gas)...
 
I buy from the same station as grillo88. Last time I filled up, about a week ago, Western Convenience was selling E-85 at $2.09, reg gas @ $2.36, and premium gas @ $2.56. I know gas prices have dropped since then, not sure about E-85. I'm running a 91/93 premium required Nelson tune and have long been a proponent of E-85 because it's a high octane fuel that works well in my truck and makes economic sense here. Last week when I filled it I hesitated, but still went with E85. Since, I've concluded that was a dumb decision.

I think now that I'm gonna give up on E85, at least for the winter. Reasons in increasing order of importance....1) price differential (least important) Economically it's mostly a wash. 2) fuel range..I'm currently getting about 13 mpg on E85 vs about 18 on 90% gas... a big difference when it comes to range and I hate having to stop to get gas. 3) Availability....I work less than full time by choice. That means I get to go to grocery stores, car washes, gas stations, and any thing else at off times, always. Thing is that at WC, my only reliable source for E-85, there's always, always a line at the pumps because of their "best in town" prices. If I'm not tied to E85 I have the option to pay a few extra cents/gallon anywhere else for instant, no waiting access.
 
Agrees with ltxi. WC had E-85 this morning for 1.99 a gal and regular for 2.11. Im going with regular. At least for the winter.
 
grillo88 said:
Agrees with ltxi. WC had E-85 this morning for 1.99 a gal and regular for 2.11. Im going with regular. At least for the winter.

So, I think WC is still at this week's price of $1.29 for E-85 today, but Reg has moved up from its low of $1.34 to to $1.46. I suspect that Parker's been having it's own home grown gas price war along Parker Road since anywhere a mile off 83 the price has been pretty stable at $1.59 or so for awhile now.

Still stand by my previous post......Av runs better on E85. No doubt in my mind. But not sufficient to overcome the range and winter advantage of premium gas and the lack of having to fight the lines at WC. 

 
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