rcoughenour

B]As some know, I just bought my 00 Vette a few weeks ago. The previous owner has only used Non Ethanol fuel in the car. My thought is it must be better then the 10% stuff they put out in all of the fuel stations. but there is only one place in Daytona Bch that sells it @ $4.06 a gal. That I am willing to pay if it is worth it. Is there an additive that can replace the non Ethanol. Anyone else running Non Ethanol? If so can you or have you been able to tell a differance in performance?
There are web sites that show places across the US that you can buy it if you are planning a trip. Just don't know how much hassel it would be to find them on a trip. Any Ideas ot thoughts ???

robert miller

Only 2 places here in town that dont have it in there gas, and I do go to those two places all the time. I really dont drive the car very much out of town but have put it in the car.. Robert

jrose7004

I run nothing but non ethanol in my car and I seem to get a bit better mileage with it. I only run ethanol when there is no other choice like on a trip or something like that.

JustinStrife

I wish we had more e85 stations...

SCM_Crash

There's nothing wrong with running 10% ethanol. The people that say otherwise don't know anything about fuel. There's even some nut-job on this forum that claims you lose 5MPG for every 5% of ethanol you use. Yes you lose a little economy, but it's about 1MPG for every 30-40% ethanol. How do I know? Because we (California) get almost the exact same economy on E10 as you people running non-ethanol blends.

Don't let the voodoo BS ignorant people on this forum preach. It's just that: Voodoo BS.

I'd tune for E85 if there were E85 stations here. People are getting 10-15RWHP more on E85.

JustinStrife

I'd pick up at least 60-80rwhp...

SCM_Crash

You must have F/I.

rcoughenour

Just found this article on E85 It is saying that is lowers fuel mileage
attached below.




Alternative Fuel Vehicle Image Gallery


A E85 powered 2009 Chevrolet HHR. See pictures of alternative fuel vehicles.*

2009 Chevrolet HHR
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Drivers jumping on the latest gas-saving bandwagon may be in for a shock when they see fuel-economy estimates for the newest darlings of Detroit: E85 ethanol flex-fuel vehicles. Run a new V6 Chevrolet Impala on good-old gasoline, and it'll get 21 miles per gallon in the city, 31 on the highway, according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates. Burn E85 -- a blend of 85 percent of the alcohol-based fuel ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, which American automakers flaunt as their latest alternative-energy idea -- and the Impala's EPA numbers shrivel to 16 mpg city, 23 highway.

Alternative Fuel Vehicle Image Gallery

It's no better with other kinds of flex-fuel vehicles, vehicles that can run on E85, 100 percent gasoline, or a combination of the two. Run a two wheel-drive V8 Ford F150 on regular unleaded gas, and the EPA says it'll get 14 mpg city, 19 mpg highway. Run it on E85 ethanol, and it gets 11 mpg city, 14 mpg highway. In other words, fill up on environmentally friendly E85 ethanol, and you'll get fewer miles per gallon than you would on gasoline.

Sound depressing? Not if you believe that what's bad for the E85 ethanol user is good for America's fuel strategy. After all, a mile driven on E85 ethanol fuel is a mile not driven on conventional gasoline. And that, according to President Bush and proponents of E85 ethanol, can help America end its dependence on foreign oil.

Joining these E85 ethanol boosters are General Motors and Ford, which have mounted massive new E85 ethanol support programs. Spurred by public and private efforts to pump up E85 ethanol demand, ethanol producers themselves are pouring billions of dollars into building new refineries.

As with any alternative-fuel idea, however, the E85 ethanol story is one of tradeoffs. It pits, for example, E85 ethanol's ability to lower air pollution because it burns cleaner than gasoline against the potential environmental costs involved in ethanol production.

We've highlighted some tradeoffs in E85 ethanol fuel economy (more about that later), but are there compromises in convenience and vehicle performance? These and other issues are thoroughly explored in the following sections:
•E85 Ethanol Flex Fuel Explained About one-third of all gasoline sold in the United States contains some ethanol, typically in a ratio of 90 percent gasoline and 10 percent ethanol. E85 gets its name from the way it inverts that formula, at 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent conventional gasoline. We'll explain how ethanol is produced and why it's mixed with gasoline, and explore some of the controversy surrounding its place in environmental and public policy debates. Only a fraction of the cars and trucks on the road are "flex fuel" vehicles: those that can run on conventional gasoline or E85 ethanol fuel. You'll learn why that number is growing, and how you can determine whether your next new car or truck -- or maybe the one you already own -- is an E85 ethanol flex-fuel vehicle.
•How Does E85 Ethanol Affect You? E85 ethanol flex-fuel vehicles have some special technology in them. We'll explain how that may affect their purchase and maintenance costs. The automakers say running a flex-fuel vehicle on E85 has no effect on performance. We'll share our real-world experiences to find out if that's true. And although the number of gas stations selling E85 ethanol fuel is growing, we'll explain why there are still so few of them, and why they are clustered in a few geographic areas. Finally, how does using E85 ethanol fuel affect your pocketbook? And should that be the determining factor in whether you decide to use it?

onspeed

It's not new news that E85 fuel efficiency is lower than gasoline. You need ~20% more fuel when running e85. But, e85 is cheaper per gallon than gasoline, so it more or less balances out. For the FI cars, it's like a cheap race fuel since it has an octane rating of ~103 or something. Can add timing and up the boost safely/cheaply.

Also, for what it's worth, I daily my C5Z and I only put e10 gas in it. I have no issues. I wouldn't bother with the hassle of finding that 1 station to fill up everytime just become "some guy" says it's better. Your engine isn't going to blow up. In fact, you probably wouldn't notice a difference if somebody switched it on you.

SCM_Crash

Old articles are worthless, FYI.

We know how to tune for E85 now. Fords Flex-fuel vehicles from 2011+ have proven to have a 2MPG or less difference between gasoline and E85 fuel.

In addition, when tuned properly the engine will yield MORE power than standard gasoline in the same engine allowing you to use LESS fuel to achieve the same goal. Because there is less energy density in ethanol over gasoline, the mileage actually evens out. The difference is that alcohol burns slower and cooler allowing you to advance the timing a LOT more.

Find a newer article than that.
/story

JustinStrife

402 and a T-Trim.

We have 4 E85 stations in all of San Diego, and the closest one to me is at least 20 miles away.

AU N EGL

Look for the lowest price high volume gas stations.

Chances are those do not run any Etoh mixtures.

Vetteman Jack

Run 10% ethanol gas in mine all the time (it's all that is available around here). I have no complaints about it and get 25-27 mpg on the highway (A4 car). When I had my '00 (6-speed), it got 30+ mpg out on the highway.

rcoughenour

So far I havent gone through a tank of gas yet. So I am still contimplating if it is worth the hassel or not. I was totally surprised when I was driving the car home the day of purchase. It is all Interstate and Freeway driving. So I reset the mpg avg. and it is about 85 mile trip to home I was gitting 31.2 mpg @70 mph. I was and am a happy camper. My Dodge Dakota w/4.7 lt V8 gets 18+ on the highway. More then likely I will go to the 10%.
Thanks for all the comments, This is a new chapter in my automobile life and I am loving it.

dougbfresh

10% is not an issue-some guys are running E85 in their cars. Just get gas from a decent station.

SCM_Crash

HAHA... I thought so.

Yeah, there are 2 E85 stations in Los Angeles (possibly 3) but the closest one to me is on the other side of Los Angeles County which is about a 30 minute drive for me.

JustinStrife

That's the only reason why I haven't switched to E85. If we had even double the number of stations running them that we have now, I'd be all over it.

Greg Gore

Every mandatory E10 state has exemptions to their blending law, because there are a number of piston engine applications that should not, and some that cannot, use ethanol blended gasoline. Unfortunately the exemptions are not uniform. They vary from only one exemption in Washington, aircraft, to a universal exemption of premium unleaded in Missouri. All states exempt aircraft usage, but most states like Oregon and Washington make it almost impossible to get unblended gasoline. Oregon is the only state that allows for unblended regular and premium gasoline for the exemptions, and then makes it almost impossible to get any unblended gasoline. All other mandatory ethanol states just allow clear premium unleaded gasoline for the exempted classes.

The following piston engine applications should not use ethanol blended gasoline:

Any 2 cycle engine used in tools, watercraft, snowmobiles, etc., or small 4 cycle engines.
Any engines used in an emergency stationary engine application like a generator or a pump, especially in a humid climate.
All watercraft. Ethanol blended gasoline should never be used in a marine environment.
Antique and classic cars and classic motorcycles.
All aircraft.
All of these users must be able to get ethanol free (E0) gasoline. If you live in a state without a mandatory ethanol blending law, you have no exemptions, ethanol will eventually be blended into all of your unleaded gasoline and there is no requirement in EISA 2007 to label gas pumps with ethanol content.

http://e0pc.com/NC.php

blackmachdown

Agreed!

srs244

interesting that you can find non ethanol gasoline in the daytona beach area at some place other than a marine fuel location. unfortunately it is a law in this state that all commercially available motor vehicle fuel stations (common gas stations found on every corner) can only sell ethanol 10. the most common exception is the fuel stations found at marinas and other marine applications. i believe (but am certainly not positive) that it is actually illegal in our wonderful state for someone to sell you non ethanol for use in the normal passenger car. BTW i have only run pump gas (10% ethanol premium) in my 04 ce 6 spd convertible and i regularly get 30mpg on the highway at cruising speeds and them some, cruise control on and the a/c blowing.