Have a 92 pu (toyota) that Ive been using a 10% ethanol gas mix at a station(citgo) for several years.....keep getting poor gas mileage and pinging till I changed to straight dino (shell) gas. is it true older vehicles like mine run better w/o the ehanol mix and that it can attack seals? or just hype? sure runs better straight. bb
ethanol
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DieselPower
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Ethanol can and does tend to attack or soften up older rubber compounds. Expect to get lower fuel economy with ethanol, it contains less energy per gallon than gas does.
Coyote machine
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Less btu's per gallon and damaged seals is only the tip of the iceberg. They are trying to go to 15% from the 10% available today, and that will do even more harm to some older plastics in boat fuel tanks, etc., because it actually eats the seams so the tank ends up leaking. Worst part is it absorbs water and separates out form the octane usable portion of the mix and creates all kinds of problems by settling to the bottom of the tank, then gets sucked into the fuel filters and further problems. Its good for nothing IMHO. And yes, older vehicles seals are more prone to damage due to different rubber compounds used prior to our use of ethanol.
shakin
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where were you able to find straight fuel here we are required by state law to have a 10% mixture. i don't think it applies to race fuels. if you have a boat run a water separator it'll keep the water out of you're motor. all you need to do is find a way to get it out of the tank. there has been lots of articles about how this has affected the marine industry. do a google search you have plenty to read.
Kubota-guy1911
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You think 10% or 15% is bad, wait until they shove E85 down our throats. I tried some E85 in my flexfuel '08 GMC pickup because GM sent me 3 coupons worth $10 towards E85. I tried $10 at a time and topped off with regular unleaded. The truck ran like crap with E85. Not only poor mileage and performance, it would shake at idle like it was missing. I would hate to thinkg how it would run with a complete tank of E85. I won't buy it ever again.
kj
kj
Tig
Veteran Member
I've been using 10% ethanol fuel since 1991 in my cars. I ran the 93 Cavalier and the 90 Corsica each over 300,000 Kms. No engine problems. I never noticed (or checked) that my mileage suffered.
I am no longer leaving any fuel in my snowmobile or outboard tanks in the off season. Mostly concerned about water absorbtion and fuel going stale. I did read that Pate fibreglass tanks were suspect to deterioration due to ethanol fuels. I don't think they fell apart or leaked but they did have a black precipitate in the bottom of the tank. Pate proactivly replaced tanks as a precution. Info is available on their website.
I am no longer leaving any fuel in my snowmobile or outboard tanks in the off season. Mostly concerned about water absorbtion and fuel going stale. I did read that Pate fibreglass tanks were suspect to deterioration due to ethanol fuels. I don't think they fell apart or leaked but they did have a black precipitate in the bottom of the tank. Pate proactivly replaced tanks as a precution. Info is available on their website.
Hematite
Gold Member
I, just recently, put about 3/4 tank of E 85 fuel in my 2007 Flex Fuel Ford F150 5.4. Didn't know what to expect since this was the first time I have tried it. The engine ran noticeably better (smoother idle, better response). I have seen that Fords produce 10% more HP with E85. Sure felt like it ran stronger.
I did a test of using the vehicle the same way I did on the previous tank of regular (90% gas). I got 14.8 mpg on the E85 vs. 17.1 on the Regular gas. E85 was $1.99 vs. reg gas at $2.69. I would have to get over 20mpg on Reg gas to be better off with regular at that price difference. As a result, I'm good with E85. I have to say that I felt empowered to be using a fuel made from a renewable source.
As Duffster said: Every little bit helps!
I did a test of using the vehicle the same way I did on the previous tank of regular (90% gas). I got 14.8 mpg on the E85 vs. 17.1 on the Regular gas. E85 was $1.99 vs. reg gas at $2.69. I would have to get over 20mpg on Reg gas to be better off with regular at that price difference. As a result, I'm good with E85. I have to say that I felt empowered to be using a fuel made from a renewable source.
As Duffster said: Every little bit helps!
arrow
Super Member
Go to the National Coalition for E85 Ethanol use site. There they make a statement of how superior in performance ethanol is over gasoline. If they went back to making every car a stick shift, we'd save way more than this current joke being foisted upon us. Only reason to have an automatic is if you have a disability preventing one depressing a clutch. It might also cut down on car cell phone use if one's hands were being used more to drive the car. (probably not on the hyway though) It may also cut down on auto use if people hated to drive a stick which would save yet more fuel. Ever notice in history that one common element to every defunct civilization was progress.