tjain

Recently most of the Shell gas stations here in Texas have been posting signs at the pumps saying "Contains 10% Ethanol". Now I started looking at Chevron or Mobil for gas.

Does having ethanol in the gas, affect

1) the performance of the engine
2) mileage
3) Bigger question: In the long run will it affect the engine?

Most of the newer GM vehicle say "Flexifuel", Lexus/Toyota vehicle do not indicate their vehicles as Flexifuel

Thanks....

jfelbab

1. Yes, as ethanol has less energy than gasoline and a greater resistance to combusting.
2. Most definitely. E10 fuel reduces your MPG by 1-2 MPG while E85 by about 30%
3. Don't think so as most engines are designed to operate with this fuel.

You'll get less performance, and substantially less mileage with E85. It will take between 1.3 and 1.5 more E85 fuel to cover the same distance as opposed to pure gasoline.

jgr7

iTrader: (1)

Ethanol is the sickest joke ever forced on modern americans.

arnieosp

iTrader: (1)

It takes 1 unit of fossil fuels to produce 1.3 units of the corn-based ethanol. The sugar cane (Brazil) yields 10 units for each unit of fossil fuels used for production.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

It does affect gas mileage and performance, but you probably wont notice the reduction in performance at all. I know I haven't and I'm used to some performance cars. I did; however, notice a fairly consistent reduction in fuel economy on my car by 2 MPG almost immediately and thereafter. Out state started using E10 exclusively about 2 years ago and the lower gas mileage is noticeable in all my cars.

gwong

I'm surprised its just showing up now in your state. I thought most states had switched over to ethanol. Ethanol is added to gasoline as a substitute to MTBE, which most states have banned. California was the first state to do this back in 2003.

Lexmex

We have a big problem in Florida now, as most stations in the state are now using the 10% ethanol. This isn't really a problem with cars, but boats and their engines are not designed for this fuel and already local boaters by where I am at have reported problems with fuel filters and lines.

sama

I totally agree, we are using a subsidized additive (made from agricultural product) which in turn also recently caused the commodity futures to spike ,what do we get less mileage,more fuel required to go the same distance.

There was a "shortage" of rice predicted and I saw people carrying 5 to 10 bags of rice at Sam'sClub (though the limit was 3 bags). Apparently it also costs more to produce ethanol

I heard that on on tv news that the ethanol mixed fuel caused some boats fuel tanks to corrode and the owners were left with $1000's of reparir. Hopefully they get justice

biff44

The use of ethanol is mandated for one and only one reason, to wean the US from sucking on the mid-east udder.

If you are the sort of person that likes giving hundreds of billions of dollars a year to countries that have direct support for world terrorists, then you would be against the ethanol thing!

I think there should be a whole raft of initiatives to further reduce our importation of foreign oil: sawgrass ethanol, wood pulp ethanol, mandated wind and solar as a % of energy use in each state.

BTW, ethanol raises the octain of the gas, so you will have less trouble with knocking if you are using 89 fuel.

sama

Ethanol alone is not the answer,it is a starting point. Nobody talks of conserving oil. It is a limited resource. We have to look actively at alternate sources of energy but that may take anywhere between 15 to 20 years.. Otherwise we are dependent on foreign oil if you like to continuing to have the current lifestyle.There was a an article recently which stated that on average we consume 2 litres of oil daily (Driving/plastic bags/bottles/spoons etc.)

US produces 5.1 million barrels per day vs consumption of 20.5 million barrels per day. The US consumes 25% of the world's energy,with share of the world population at 5% but productive because of access to resources.

US is competing for the source and now we have emerging nations asking for the same product.

Where do we get it from,Canada is the largest supplier,19.4% comes from the persian gulf countries.Complete List

ecount00

sama, don't fuzz up the thread with logic and balance. clearly the preferred direction is to state opinion as fact, uncontaminated by any real facts or research. and opinions should be stated in a definitive headline that clearly implies anyone that disagrees is an idiot.

otherwise you just invite thoughtful debate and who wants that? I think the answer to the actual question came in post #2. still surprising to me that ethenol is just now making out to tjain. it's been pervasive for so long other places that i didn't realize there was still pure gas still readily available in some areas.

jfelbab

[RANT ON]
There were two main oxygenators used in gasoline, MTBE and Ethanol. For some reason, probably lobbying, CA, NY and a several other states got MTBE rather than ethanol. Luckily for us in the Midwest, we got Ethanol. There was a large block of evidence that predicted MTBE would leak and contaminate ground water before this decision was made but it was made non-the-less. Don't you just love politicos and energy company lobbyists? Not to worry, these same politicos and lobbyists are telling you that they don't think MTBE in the ground water will harm you. All the while the states were fighting the use of MTBE in gasoline, the EPA was right there mandating it's use regardless of the consequences. The facts demonstrate that the Environmental Protection Agency is a real oxymoron. The cost of clean-up of these contaminated aquifers is into the billions. Don't expect the energy companies to offer to pay for this clean-up. They are too busy spending their money on lawyers, lobbyists and perks for politicians.

We are already seeing what the increased mandate (The Energy Policy Act 2005 calls for doubling the use of Ethanol by 2012) done to the cost of food world wide. It takes 26 pounds of corn to make just one gallon of Ethanol. Doing the math here you see that 7 billions gallons of Ethanol translates to 182 billion pounds of corn. Farmers, anxious to get in on the high demand and price for corn, are switching their crops to corn This shift is raising the cost of wheat, hops, barley, and other food and fodder crops as they become scarce. Milk prices are up, as are beef and pork as their feed stock cost is surging. All because we send off our elected officials to Washington, where they meet and greet thousands upon thousands of lobbyists with hands full of money.

Good reads:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_ethanol
http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/to...ience-mag.aspx

•Ethanol uses 1,700 gallons of water to produce 1 gallon of Ethanol and we are rapidly running out of water in many parts of the US. We currently use 100 times more groundwater than can be sustained.
•Ethanol production yields tons of CO2
•Most objective, peer-reviewed reports suggest that it takes more energy to produce a gallon of Ethanol than the gallon of gasoline it replaces.
•Increased Ethanol mandate means that food prices will continue to soar.
(See Food vs. fuel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_or_fuel)

Ever wonder why many politicians spend so much of their own money running for an office that pays rather poorly? Some have recently spent millions to get a job that officially pays $100,000 to $200,000 a year. Need help understanding the economics?
[RANT OFF]

tjain

E-10 Unleaded has been mandated by law in 3 states Missouri, Minnesota, and Hawaii (may be other states too) and in some cities where smog has been a problem. Here in Texas not all stations have E10 unleaded fuel

Lexus manual states that "Lexus allows the use of oxygenate blended gasoline where the oxygenate content is up to 10% ethanol or 15% MTBE" So guys it should be OK, but do not use E85 because it requires a specific engine that can accept flex fuel.

BrownRB

Here in Ontario, I buy hi-test gas at Shell. They have a sticker on the pump that says: regular grade contains 10% ethanol, middle grade contains 5% and hi-test contains 0%.

jfelbab

http://video.energypolicytv.com/disp...annel=Biofuels