Some gas stations here in So. Oklahoma are even advertising that there is no ethanol in their gas. I also have a 08 caravan that is E85 flexfuel and hasn't seen a drop. I understand that you have to use all of the regular gas up before starting to use the e85. I had to take a trip up to Iowa a couple of years ago and had to put I think it was 20% ethanol. I was afraid my motor was gonna gum up. It worked out ok, but I don't wanna have to do it again.

 

Ethanol is actually supposed to be a really good cleaner for engines, just not to good for wear and tear. Just what I have heard though, take it with a grain of salt.

 

You shouldn't be getting more mileage if what you're putting in is ethanol. Ethanol has a lower energy density than gasoline meaning for the same amount of each you get more energy out of the gas.

 

even here in in this f-uped state, the closest e85 pump is about 100 miles away, i have never run it nor do i plan too, but if its not spreading like a wild fire here, it cant be too economical, this makes me love my diesels more and more, i burn used engine and hydraulic oil for fuel

 

Well I've had a few friends go from Super Unleaded Fuel (10% ethanol) here in Iowa to Unleaded fuel and say that they can get better mileage and more miles on a take when using Unleaded over Super? Any truth to this???

So over all by the sounds of it, we should be running Unleaded in our rides and not Super???

 

If the unleaded has no ethonal in it, then you should get better mileage than anything with ethanol. If you mean a higher octane fuel when you say "super unleaded" you should only run it if you are required to. It proves no benifit to a stock dodge 3.7l or 4.7l NON HO.

 

I started with my 2007 Dakota and now am running it in my 2010 Dakota (both flex fuel models.)
The fuel mileage is quite a bit lower (my commutes - which are worst case scenario city hops - went from say ~14 Mpg with a 2005 3.7L Dak running U87 to ~10 MPG in the 2007 and ~11Mpg in the 2010 - seems the the new engine really does get better mileage.)
I am lucky enough to have 2 stations that compete to sell it within a couple of miles of me (Kroeger and Circle K) and a 3rd has a bunch of stations in the region too (Myers.) The price is usually from nearly $0.60 to $0.10 per gallon less than U87 pump gas (depends on the base gas cost, as u87 gets more pricey they slide the discount up.) I filled-up this morning and it was $2.29/gallon for e85 (I had a gas discount from the grocery store so actually paid only $2.09/gallon woohoo!)
It seems to run fine for me, but I am mostly doing it as a "put my money where my mouth is" thing to help show that there IS a market for alternative fuels. As some people have mentioned earlier in this thread, there area LOT of issues with using corn to make it, but my theory is we have to start somewhere and I prefer to spend some money to help move the process along. Hopefully the cellulosic ethanol production they keep talking about will be commercailly viable without being an environmental nightmare of its own (then we can make ethanol from weeds/bio waste/even lawn clippings!)

 

they need to come up with some additive that it dont burn up other motors because there more then just cars out there and unless everyone enjoys throwing money out the window by burning up there snowmobile,jetski,lawn mowers, outboards, and so on they need to do some thing about it..

My buddy has to change out his gas tank in his 30' boat because its melting it, I am tired of this crap, who is going to pay for his gas tank replacement?? sure aint the government.. Cya Slick

PS..Thats the reason the boat association of american set out a press release calling the EPA irresponsible for wanting to raise the the amount of Ethanol from 10% to 15% and if they continue do so you can bet you will see a class action law suit against the government for doing so.. So in other words the tax payers will be paying for the blown motors in our toys, there is more then just cars out there people.. The insurance companies are not covering the blown motors and the manufacture wont eighter so who do you think is going to pay LOL the people so keep pushing for more of that garbage in our gas..

 

with 20% ethanol, but never looked-up the details myself. I like the idea of knocking another 10% off the amount of $$$ we send out of the country (I think Canada is our biggest supplier so its not going TOO far though), but yeah I see an opportunity for some gas stations to distinguish themselves form the pack by not raising the % for "legacy" equipment.
It was my understanding that the main issues are that it can corrode some of the materials used in older engines and fuel lines and also that carbuerated engines might require some kind of modification to the jets to flow more "gas"?

 

I guess I'm kinda' confused. I've been around racing for years, and this is the first time I've ever heard of ethanol/methanol causing a problem of burning down engines compared to gasoline.

Alcohol based fuels have higher octane, and burn at a faster rate (and cooler) than fossil fuels, which makes more power and yields less fuel mileage, but shouldn't cause a leaning out or burning down problem in a combustion engine. If anything, the fuel mapping may need to be adjusted slightly, but that should curb any potential problem.

Like someone else said, one issue alcohol based fuels WILL cause is corroding elements of the fuel system if the vehicle wasn't designed for it. They will eat rubber and some plastics (hoses, gaskets/o-rings, etc), but flex-fuel automobiles are designed with that in mind. I would think though that too high a mixture of ethanol in a auto with a standard fuel delivery system could cause an issue of some corrosion.

Burning down your engine though? I'd like to see proof of that.