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E85 vs Gasoline


Omar Whitaker

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I have recently decided to change over to E85 for my fuel in my 2013 Dodge Journey! I must say I did see a decrease in my mileage per gallon but have a increased performance from my engine which I love. Also I know it burns cleaner not leaving my resin in my fuel system. Has anyone else used E85 and if so what have you learned or experienced using it?

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You couldn't pay me enough to put E85 in an engine (designed for its use). It gets 20-30% lower fuel economy than gasoline, is highly corrosive, and is the result of growing to much corn for the sole purpose of burning it in engines. It's a great concept, but it fails in practice.

Gasoline has more energy by mass than ethanol - the mpg ratings are proof of that. For that fact alone, I'll use gasoline.

Here's an Edmund's test with E85 for comparison: http://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/e85-vs-gasoline-comparison-test.html

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There is only one gas station in my area that sells it, but it is far east of me. Too far to drive, so I have never used it. It costs less, but one would get less mpgs. Maybe break even?

If it costs 30% less, you break even. If the fuel lines aren't stainless steel, I wouldn't do it.

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That makes even less sense. It's the same motor and same specs, what's the type of fuel have to do with the drivetrain. I've seen other Chrysler vehicles with the pentastar motor and 4wd/awd have e85 compatable

Edited by Woah322
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Even the E10 they supply is a waste - you'd actually burn less gasoline if there was no ethanol than you do with the E10 we use now - the mileage impact on my motorcycle, comparing E0 premium with E10 premium was 16% - so diluting the gasoline by 10% increases the actual amount of raw undiluted gasoline consumed per mile over what it does without.

Politics and marketing-driven garbage science. Bah.

Edited by bramfrank
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Final results

0-60

1/4 mile

50-70 passing, uphill (sec.)

time (sec.)

time @ (sec.)

speed (mph)

Cajon Pass

Baker Grade

Gas

9.3

16.7

84.2

7.6*

7.2

E85

9.8

17.0

82.7

7.2

7.3

* delayed kickdown

Environmental Comparison

E85 is often heralded as a way to reduce air pollution. Since increasing concern about global warming has focused attention on greenhouse gases, we decided to track our carbon emissions during this test.

By relating our observed fuel economy to CO2 emission figures found in the EPA's Green Vehicle Guide we determined that our gasoline round trip produced 706.5 pounds of carbon dioxide. On E85, the CO2emissions came to 703.1 pounds. The difference came out in E85's favor, but only by a scant 0.5 percent. Call it a tie. This is certainly not the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions we had been led to expect.

I've read this 2 years ago from Edmunds and never tried E85. And its less mpg for less gas price so more trips to the gas station. I still use regular gasoline and get 26mpg on the highway and 21-22 on the city. Not really that bad for a right sized SUV V6 with 283hp. Before I had a 4cyl 5seater SUV with only 140hp and I would get 20mpg on the highway and 15mpg city. The Journey feels like a hybrid compared to that.

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High compression, direct injection, motors would see an increase in overall power production with E85, but at the expenses of dropped MPG because of the lower energy content of the fuel itself, and the greater fuel flow to produce that power.

As a cheap form of available pump gas that is the equivalent of high octane race fuels, I run it in my high compression C6 Z06 Corvette. It also burns cooler, about a 10 degree difference in my Z, which is a good thing when tracking the car. My engines also does not have any carbon buildup...and my exhaust smells like caramel french fries LOL.

I produce around 15 more RWHP and 20 lb/ft torque when running E85, over 91 pump gas.

For a daily driver, I wouldn't consider E85 unless it was a good $1 or so cheaper than regular 87 octane.

Now, if you get one of these supposed 3.6 turbo motors that is coming in the future, E85 would do wonders for max performance.

Edited by fnbadaz06
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  • 4 weeks later...

Home from a 7300km road trip in our new (to us) Caravan and i did one tank of E85 when it was $2.4l/g vs $2.8l/g for 87. Pulled out of the fuel station and saw an immediate change in the average fuel from what was around 9l/100 up to 12-13ish/100 on the highway.

On that alone I don't think it's worth it so didn't do it again. Don't think my Journey is compatible..

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