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Tried E-85

M

mhenry

Full Member
Joined
May 23, 2006
Messages
32
Location
Cincinnati,Ohio
I tried a tank of E-85 2 weeks ago.
I noticed a little more power and I lost 3 MPG in the city.
My problem is that now that I have switched back to 87 octane my gas milage has not picked back up.
Do I have to do anything reset to get my milage back or should the ECM be able to recognize the 87 and switch it all back?
I would love to get my MPG back.
Any Ideas or Suggestions??
Mike
 
How much per gallon did you save on the E85? Would that make the 3 mpg worth it?

It seems like the ECM should compensate... I'm sure others will weigh in on that
 
I believe the ECM starts increasing the fuel to air when it reads 15% or more ethenol it should swicth back when get back below that. If you don't run the tank down very low it could take a few tanks, so if you want it to swifch faster run the gas down as far below 1/4 as you are comfortable with before filling up.
 
That has been my experience too.  A couple of tanks of regular and everything is back to normal.  I got over 18 mostly highway driving on the last tank.  Then I filled up on E85 today and we will be back in the mid teens.
 
mhenry said:
I saved .30 a gallon
but lost 120 miles per tank
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Makes E85 seem more like a waste unless they can get cost down alot more.  I doubt anybody here is an environmentalist enough to travel out the way just to get E85 and it's costing $2.50 but losing 120miles on the tank.  (I'm actually some what under the influence so I'm not gonna attempt the math >:D)
 
Armageddon said:
Makes E85 seem more like a waste unless they can get cost down alot more....
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I wouldn't travel out of my way for E85 (I have one station ~100 miles away), and I don't want to start another E85 thread, but if it's available, isn't it worth it just to keep the money in the good ole US, as well as doing an extra bit for the environment?

I guess it depends on how often you fill up. I generally fill up my truck about once a month. On gas, assuminng a 30gal fill and $3/gal, that's $1,080/yr to drive 5760 miles (assuming 16mpg avg). On E85, at $2.70, that would be $972, but I would only get 4320 miles out of that E85 (assuming 12mpg - 4mpg & 25% less than gas). To make up the milage difference, I'd need an extra 120gal of E85, at $2.70/gal, which would be $324, added to the $972 for a total of $1,296 worth of E85 to go the same distance.

OK, so it's roughly $200 / yr to run E85 (based on my MPG and price examples) per every ~6000 miles/yr someone drives. For me (being a low-milage driver, liking to eek out as much performance from my vehicles as possible, and being somewhat concerned about the US economy and the environment), I'd be willing to buy E85 should it become available closer to me for that difference and my vehicles could run it.
 
Exactly my viewpoint.  Glad to see somebody do the math on it.  I also fill up my truck once a month and since E85 is not within 100 hundred miles of my home, I make it a point to fill up on E85 on my long trips out of state.

E85 production is ramping up and now it is a few drops in the ocean of fuel demand of all American drivers.  There are several large corporations figuring out how to make E85 out of other sources.  Refining capacity of regular gas is maxed and I think buying my  E85 tank every couple of months helps.

We are a year or two away from it all being downhill for E85 availability and competitive prices.
 
I ran a few tanks of E-85 too.  It is about 25%-30% more expensive to run E-85.  I had an overall MPG of 10 mpg on E-85.  14.5 mpg with Unleaded.
 
Senor Plata said:
Exactly my viewpoint.? Glad to see somebody do the math on it.? I also fill up my truck once a month and since E85 is not within 100 hundred miles of my home, I make it a point to fill up on E85 on my long trips out of state.

E85 production is ramping up and now it is a few drops in the ocean of fuel demand of all American drivers.? There are several large corporations figuring out how to make E85 out of other sources.? Refining capacity of regular gas is maxed and I think buying my? E85 tank every couple of months helps.

We are a year or two away from it all being downhill for E85 availability and competitive prices.
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some states like new york have a charter where a gas station can only buy from mile, exxonn, shell, etc.- lobbyist
the only facility in new york that has e85 is the nyc department of sanitation- no public access.

 
Have a local station that sells E85, E10 and Biodiesel.

Regular today was at $3.07, E85 at same station $2.33. With this price difference dispite the less mpg out of E85, I think a person would still be $$ ahead by using E85.

I have a '03 Av, yeah I know it's not E85 capable but I did but a 50/50 mix of E85 and regular (87) in the truck this morning (was literally on fumes.. had 567 miles on the tank and probably had no more than 15 miles left on it). I put 3 gallons of each in (probably had up to 1 gallon still in the tank of regular) to try it out today. Drove 45 miles on the highway and averaged 19.0 mpg with the cruise on at 70mph. I get that same milage with straight regular on this same trip at those same speeds (I drive this each day for work, 45 miles each way)
 
2 years ago when I was commuting from Pocatello Idaho to Milwaukee Wi. I filled up in Iowa with E-85. (I have an 02 Av so I do not have a flex fuel system). My Av ran just fine on it. I had a noticeable power increase and dropped my mileage from 20 to 17. The E-85 was .25 a gallon cheaper. I have not ran any since, but i have had no ill effects from that tank.


Shane
 
I was hopeful that E85 would be quite a bit cheaper than unleaded around here, because that seems to be the case elsewhere.  Not so much  :E:  I saw regular for 3.15, E85 was 2.99... not enough savings to make up for the gas mileage drop, and not sure why the price of it shot up as well  (n)
 
I havn't tried e-85 yet do to non availability. as a note, refining capacity is only at about 73-77 percent at this time do to big oil not wanting to drop prices. this is a game they play with us(the consumers) because of all the extra driving being done over the summer. Happens every year.
 
Be careful if your vehicle is not equipped for E-85. It will do damage in the long run.
 
watcher said:
Be careful if your vehicle is not equipped for E-85. It will do damage in the long run.
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exactly what are the parts need to be replaced in order to make our existing avys run on e85?
 
Freebie said:
I was hopeful that E85 would be quite a bit cheaper than unleaded around here, because that seems to be the case elsewhere.? Not so much? :E:? I saw regular for 3.15, E85 was 2.99... not enough savings to make up for the gas mileage drop, and not sure why the price of it shot up as well? (n)
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Right my point exactly... I just hate the stations that are still milking the whole gas crisis. But I'd def run eth because the biggest part of the picture that alot of people miss is the fact that eth prices would actually go down when it's more in demand. There's plenty worse conditions we could potentially see with gas. I forgot where it was, but they said  the main prob was that there werent enough places growing corn etc. to keep up with huge demand. On top of that the worse thing that could happen with e85 is the prices would just stay the same :cool:

There are ways to tune your car with it to get better mpg and of coarse, even more power. :B:
 
exactly what are the parts need to be replaced in order to make our existing avys run on e85?
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E85 will corrode your engine, gas tank, and everything else long term in unequipped vehicles.
 
Call me silly, but the E-85 issue has a lot to do with the high gas prices right now. W has the industry confused right now.... with his tenure about to expire, oil industry doesn't want to commit too heavily in E-85 until the next administration gets in office. Most smart money wishes we could follow the Brazillian model and get alternative fuel from sugar... much more effective system, plus Brazil has become 100% oil independent from the rest of the world.....

But, with lobbyist in Washington pushing corn subsidies and the ever present oil lobby, that will not happen until the American public gets fed up with high prices and does something about it......

with that said, E-85 has less HP per gallon but higher octane which is why you see less fuel economy.... the "extra" power you feel is actually coming from the timing advantage gained by the higher octane, not from the E-85 itself....

The PCM takes several cycles to revert back to octane tables for normal gasoline, so GM tunes this "regression" conservatively.. you will get your timing back over time....

I have a write up on the E-85 as it relates to the tune/PCM in the performance threads in the engine computer section... I think... ???

jconsole said:
exactly what are the parts need to be replaced in order to make our existing avys run on e85?
Click to expand...

Buy a 2007...? :D? ?it is almost impossible...lots of mechanical changes internally... quite a few threads on this....




 
Linky thing:    http://www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php/topic,82737.0.html
 
You wanna here something stupid. In my paper this morning there is an article that my state has passed a law against price gouging. The problem is there is absolutely no way to prove this is happening.

So why in the world would you pass a law that cannot be upheld? To make it look good to the public. The politicians want us all to think they are doing us a huge favor and are looking out for our interests. When in reality they are not doing a dam thing.

I find this very disappointing.

Shane
 
Shanes 02 Avalanche said:
You wanna here something stupid. In my paper this morning there is an article that my state has passed a law against price gouging. The problem is there is absolutely no way to prove this is happening.

So why in the world would you pass a law that cannot be upheld? To make it look good to the public. The politicians want us all to think they are doing us a huge favor and are looking out for our interests. When in reality they are not doing a dam thing.

I find this very disappointing.

Shane
Click to expand...

I really hate to pile on, but the congress/senate just passed the same...... just like the dog and pony from last season when they brought the CEO's before congress to promise they were not inflating prices....

If we do not take our politicians back from the lobbyist then we have no chance...........
 
I am one of the few Americans that actually writes his Congressman and Senator. I ask how they are  going to vote on certain bills. i also write to tell them about my displeasure or pleasure in there votes.

I think all Americans should do this. Let them know how you feel. Maybe just maybe we can slowly get them to understand that they are public servants and they work for us not lobbyists.

OK I am done for now.

Shane
 
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