Reply With QuoteAt $219 per?
Hell, that's more than straight-up regular unleaded in my neck of the woods - and you don't see a 5-10 percent drop in mileage with the standard stuff, either!
I saw my first E-85 Ethanol pump at a gas station over the weekend south of Charlotte.
Chip H.
Former owner: 2012 Honda Civic LX, 2006 Honda Ridgeline RTL, 2000 Honda CR-V EX, 2003 MINI Cooper S, 1992 Honda Accord LX, 1999 Mercedes ML-320, 1995 VW Jetta GLX, 1991 Mercury Capri XR2, 1981 Mercury Zephyr, 1975 Chevrolet Impala
At $219 per?
Hell, that's more than straight-up regular unleaded in my neck of the woods - and you don't see a 5-10 percent drop in mileage with the standard stuff, either!
The price is comperable with regular unleaded.
But you're right - if oil is so damned expensive, using 15% less of it ought to result in cheaper prices!
Chip H.
Former owner: 2012 Honda Civic LX, 2006 Honda Ridgeline RTL, 2000 Honda CR-V EX, 2003 MINI Cooper S, 1992 Honda Accord LX, 1999 Mercedes ML-320, 1995 VW Jetta GLX, 1991 Mercury Capri XR2, 1981 Mercury Zephyr, 1975 Chevrolet Impala
"The price is comperable with regular unleaded.
But you're right - if oil is so damned expensive, using 15% less of it ought to result in cheaper prices!"
Also, don't forget that E85 contains less energy than straight gasoline - so you lose some MPGs.
If you're paying the same - or more - for E85 as for regular unleaded and getting less mileage (and power), whybother?
The only real answer I can see is that it could reduce US oil imports - and I guess that's compelling enough all by itself...
The only real answer I can see is that it could reduce US oil imports - and I guess that's compelling enough all by itself...
This is the first I head about this E-85 stuff. What cars can run on this stuff?
BTW, I like the idea if we don't have to buy as much oil from the Muslim assholes.
-Don-
Been asleep? E-85 has been a hot topic of auto discussion for well over a year, and many American cars have been built able to run on it over the last 10 years.
"This is the first I head about this E-85 stuff. What cars can run on this stuff?"
GM and Ford offer many E85 compatible vehicles - passenger cars and trucks, etc.
It's a growth industry, for obvious reasons. E85 is an ethanol/gas mix (15 percent gasoline). It is renewable and can be produced domestically (on the plus side); on the down side, it is expensive to produce and you get lower mileage.
Been asleep?
I guess so, because I never heard of it until this thread.
E-85 has been a hot topic of auto discussion for well over a year, and many American cars have been built able to run on it over the last 10 years.
What is the main difference in design? If I had a car that was E-85 compatable, would I know somehow? The newest vehicle we own is a 2002 Ford Mustang. Any chance of it being E-85 compatible?
How does it do for smog? Remember, I am in one of the toughest areas for smog.
-Don-
Go to the Ford web site and you will find instructions on how to determine if the Mustang is a "flexfuel" vehicle. My guess would be not; however, most Tauruses are. There is a letter in the VIN that will tell you.
The flexfuel cars are able to adjust for the required richer mixture required on E-85, which is 85% ethanol. It helps most emissions, by the way, and I'm suprised it's not a big push in your area.
The Taurus was a sort of "world car," and many were sold in Brazil, where vehicles need to run on up to 100% ethanol.
The probblem with ethanol is that it takes more energy to produce it than you get out of it. Diesel for the tractor, hydrocarbons for pest control and fertilizer, natural gas to dry the corn...
A man's greatest mistake is to think he is working for somebody else.
It helps most emissions, by the way, and I'm suprised it's not a big push in your area.
The hybrids are very common out here. During the rush hour, they can go over the bridges for free and use the carpool lanes, just as can a motorcycle. What's the advantage of using E-85 here? Perhaps none.
-Don-
"The hybrids are very common out here. During the rush hour, they can go over the bridges for free and use the carpool lanes, just as can a motorcycle. What's the advantage of using E-85 here? Perhaps none."
Well, the rationale is they are trying to encourage E85 use; to get it into wider circulation - in order to ease US dependence on imported oil, etc.
Actually, it depends on who does the calculations. The ones that come out as you mention usually include the sunshine used as part of the "lost" energy.Originally Posted by Mase
Cellulosic ethanol, on the other hand, is a definite energy gain.
Anything that helps wean the country away from foreign oil without major economic repercussions seems like a not-bad idea to me.....Actually, it depends on who does the calculations. The ones that come out as you mention usually include the sunshine used as part of the "lost" energy.
Cellulosic ethanol, on the other hand, is a definite energy gain.
I tend to believe that dependence on ethanol will remove agricultural land from the production of food. At the rate the world's population is expanding, selling food to the rest of the world may be the one thing that the US will have going for it, in the not too distant future.Anything that helps wean the country away from foreign oil without major economic repercussions seems like a not-bad idea to me.....Actually, it depends on who does the calculations. The ones that come out as you mention usually include the sunshine used as part of the "lost" energy.
Cellulosic ethanol, on the other hand, is a definite energy gain.
I would greatly prefer some way of exploiting our own energy resources (coal, shale oil), and leave the ethanol for Old Grandad.
"I tend to believe that dependence on ethanol will remove agricultural land from the production of food. At the rate the world's population is expanding, selling food to the rest of the world may be the one thing that the US will have going for it, in the not too distant future. I would greatly prefer some way of exploiting our own energy resources (coal, shale oil), and leave the ethanol for Old Grandad."
You may be right; I don't know - but in any event, ethanol will hopefully be a "stopgap" solution while new technologies (such as hydrogen fuel cells) are developed into commercially viable products; or serve as one piece of the puzzle (along with hybrids and so on).
I don't know the answer to this question - but I wonder whether we could do as Brasil has and produce ethanol from sugar cane....?
Maybe, but as I said, cellulosic ethanol uses such things as the chaff after wheat is cut, and other "waste stream" products.
And it should be pointed out that corn that has been used to produce ethanol still has all its protein intact and is perfectly suitable as cattle feed. Only the sugars have been removed. Some ethanol producers are able to sell the remains for as much as they paid for it before they processed it.
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