If a gallon of gas is 10% ethanol and alcohol burns faster than gasoline your mileage drops, right. I have been traveling about 15 miles to another EPA region to purchase non-ethanol gas all summer and this fall. I realize about 3 mpg difference between the two. My 2000 coupe also runs lean on 10% ethanol. Check out...TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline Retailers at http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html

 

I'm still having gas gauge problems after using $10.00 of Shell. On my third tank and second bottle of Techron and gauge still drops to "E" and stays there until the engine is shut down and started up again. Chevron is best for the C5.

 

Ditto

 

I run Costco premium which is 30 cents a gal cheaper than anywhere else and when I cant get there I used Union 76.

 

If the gas mileage went down. The car can not be faster this is bunk.
Mileage went down so did the power, Shezzzzzzzzzzz.;

 

Wife uses Costco premium, I get by with Costco regular in my DD. Run a bottle of Techron through the system beginning of the month to keep any sulfur build-ups to a minimum.

 

ethanol is 15% LESS efficient than gasoline, so if you run a full tank of ethanol "enriched" fuel and then run a full tank of straight gasoline you'll always get about 15% more mileage with the gas.

 

WTH: I did not see Uncle Hugo Chavez's CITGO on the list of top tier fuels.

 

Probably won't either, politics aside.

Charlie

 

I personally like to use Shell 93 V-Power, my second choice If I cant find a Shell Is Exxon/Moble 93 octaine.

 

Nonsense. Mileage and horsepower are two different things. You get less mileage with a high alcohol fuel because of the reduced BTUs per gallon relative to pure gasoline. But, you will get more horsepower with a high alcohol fuel when run at a rich A/F ratio (think indy car, sprint car or alcohol dragster).

 

Hmm.... let me do the math for the environmentalist whackos...

10% ethanol = 10% less oil used
25-35% less fuel efficient = 25-35% MORE FILL UPS

At the end of the day, you are consuming 15-25% MORE OIL per fill up. This doesn't even take into account the energy used to produce the ethanol itself. Save the environment and use non-ethanol gas.

 

A little clarification of the numbers....

E-10 gas has 10% ethanol, the most common we've seen and compatible with existing powerplants. 10% less oil (minus that used to create the ethanol in the first place), 10% less mileage, just about a wash.

E-85 is 85% ethanol (only 15% gasoline! ). Requires modifications to the engine to run properly. About a 25-35% reduction in mileage. So it's 85% less oil (more or less) vs a one-thrid reduction in mileage. So it's really only a 56% reduction in oil.

However, the consumer pays the same amount per gallon (maybe more) for E-85, so our costs increase by that 25-35%. Which is just fine with the eco-idiots, because CARS ARE EVIL, AND THE DRIVERS ARE STUPID!

Have a good one,
Mike

 

Aside from all the data I've read in the thread, I'll just say from personal experience that it's far more than 15% for me.

Some of our patrol vehicles are late model Ford explorers that run exclusively on E85. They get a whopping 7 mpg. On one shift where I drive about 80-120 miles mixed city/hwy, I was already at 1/3 tank remaining.

As long as cars run on gasoline, we'll keep buying it. So we will all keep bending over at the pump. I don't stress over it. Ethanol may cost less, but you fill up 3x more. I, too, don't see the benefit. The self-rightous envirowackos out there can claim all they want. For every car that is replaced by an E85 or hybrid, theres 30 more 1970-1980 beaters driving around. I wouldn't mind driving a hybrid, but the 30+k pricetag of one steers me away. The 10k difference I saved buying the used C5 will buy me plenty of gas. It would be years before I saw the purchase price vs. cost to fuel benefit tip in my favor on having a hybrid. But hey we are saving the planet one car at a time! Meanwhile, massive tire fires pour more pollution into the air than our cars ever would. Just google search for tire fires, they burn for months at 2 gallons of oil burnt per tire @ millions of tires. (Not trying to start some car vs tire fire debate, just an example! haha)

My C5, at 22-24mpg city and 28-30mpg hwy, depending on my right foot, exceeds the mpg of my wifes Ford Focus. But my fun factor is through the roof! If fuel problems really get that bad, I'll just ride my honda VFR more (48-50mpg). Worse still, I'll get an electric car and drive the vette on weekends.

 

Could not have summed it up better!

And thanks for keeping us safe out there.

Have a good one,
Mike