E-85
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,085
Likes: 0
From: Broken Arrow OK
The real problem with ethanol is that it takes about the same amount of energy to produce it as is provided by burning it as a motor fuel.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 6,979
Likes: 31
From: Wichita KS
If "we have more corn than we know what to do with", why has the price more than doubled. Ever hear of the law of supply and demand? Sure the farmers can grow more corn but at the expense of other crops. It has been calculated that if we were able to convert the entire surface of the United States into a giant corn field, we could not grow enough corn to replace the amount of gasoline currently used.
The real problem with ethanol is that it takes about the same amount of energy to produce it as is provided by burning it as a motor fuel.
The real problem with ethanol is that it takes about the same amount of energy to produce it as is provided by burning it as a motor fuel.
and in the end you are going to burn more therefore the price works out to be almost the same as if you were to buy normal gas, E85 is great for high compression and boosted cars (10.9+) due to the high octane content.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 10,179
Likes: 2,305
From: Wesley Chapel, FL Las Vegas, NV
I have a flex fuel Chevy Tahoe. You can come up with all the excuses you want and it all BS. Yes may its not as efficient as gas, but when I run E85, I get maybe 19 MPG instead of 20 or 21 MPG but at 105 octane I never use passing gear. Forget the tortias and the shortage of corn, a few years back they were paying farmers in the US not to grow corn more BS. Also in California regular gas is $4.47 at Costco, more at other stations. In fact I paid $4.77 for Chevron premium last Tuesday and that was cheap for 91 octane. Now if you can find it here in Calif. E85 is $3.59 and that is 105 octane. I enjoy my Vert and have given some serious thaught into reprogramming my Vert to run on E85 so I can afford to continue driving it. Also you do not need corn to make E85 you can use some types of grass or sawdust or even trash.
My 07 flex fuel Avalanche dropped from 16.9 mpg to 12.7 mpg the 1st and last time I ran E85.
