Just a stupid question, but what if you did half and half in your tank, would it mess anything up, run bad, or what?

 

No I always fill up at half tank.

 

I just bought an '07. On my first trip, I tried E-85. At 75 MPH on the interstate, it got 13 MPG. I haven't run a similar trip with gas yet to compare.

BTW, the price here in Nebraska is 1.99 for E-85 versus 2.90 for gas. It'll take a big dive in MPG to make E-85 not economical at those prices.

 

I have read that the Ethanol is actually bad for the engine due to the residue build up left behind on combustion. Also requires natural gas to produce ethanol and corn. So the industry is now dependent on 2 sources to make fuel. Farmers for the corn and Natural gas industry to create the ethanol = future mark up as corn shortages due to drought. and depletion of natural gas from the earth. Not really the answer. It is not drastically cheaper than gasoline either.

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=13652

http://www.cgfi.org/materials/articl...july_07_05.htm

http://www.mrcranky.com/movies/originalsin/24.html

http://www.amlibpub.com/essays/new-s...ealth-and.html

I believe that E85 is a marketing gimmick so that the public believes the government is actually showing progress by offering us an so called "alternative" fuel. JMO

 

along with bio desiel E85 turn our food supply into a competitor with the energy sector. Not good. already the price of corn has skyrocketed. Not smart.

 

1.99 compared to 2.90 is drastically cheaper IMO. I watched a show about corn the other day. They said less than 10% of corn is actually eaten by people. They stated there is enough corn to make E85 a viable fuel but it probably wont power all the cars of the nation. Another to reduce out dependence on foreign oil is good IMO.

Please know what you’re talking about before posting bold statements.

 

Those websites have absolutely no creditable sources. By: "grundle" lol Ya I’m sure he knows what he is talking about.


Offering the American consumer a cheaper homegrown fuel is what counts. Ask any corn farmer and I'm sure hes loving times right now...

 

Im still on the fence about it. But it is good to see that at the very least, people are making an effort to reduce our dependancy on the middle east, and thinking about the environment in the process.

Furthermore... its all new now. The ethanol refining process will become more and more efficient as time goes by. You do what you have to do in the begining...and then learn from it, and make it better.

 

"Furthermore... its all new now. The ethanol refining process will become more and more efficient as time goes by."

Actually there is nothing new about ethanol fuel. Henry Ford's Model T's were originally engineered to run on ethanol - been around for 100+ years. As for the refining process, it's a simple matter of distilation - essentially the same process that's been used for hundreds of years to produce consumable alcohol such as whiskey. I don't think much will change in the manufacturing process. And, once farm equipment is being fueled on ethanol and ethanol producers are powering their facilities with ethanol-fueled generating plants, there will be no petroleum utilized in its production whatsoever. Ethanol is viable, can be produced from any starchy vegetable matter (corn, sugar cane, sugar beets, potatoes, etc...), but is being given a black eye by the oil industry. That is the truth of the matter, in my opinion.

 

It takes 3 gallons of water to make one gallon of Ethanol...not to mention that every farmer in ND is dozing out trees to put in huge irrigation pivots for their corn fields. Ethanol will be the death of our potable water supply. Conservation is what will decrease our foreign dependance.

My understanding the only difference between an E85 vehicle and a regular one is typically the parts that will destroyed by running the highly corrosive ethanol are made of different materials.

 

In no way shape or form does E85 reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
Here are three points to "validate" my statement.

1. Of all the oil we import, approximately 30% is used in transportation. 60% is used to make electricity, and the remaining percentages are used for manufacturing various polymer based products. (U.S. Energy Commission)

2. What percentage of vehicles on the road are capable of running ethanol safely for a prolonged period of time? The majority of foreign and domestic vehicles MANUFACTURED before 2006 were not built with ethanol rated fuel system components. If only 10% of vehicles (and that may be a stretch) on the road today in the US are capable of running ethanol, how exactly does that reduce our dependence on foreign oil? After all these vehicles are maintained with oil, their components rely on oil based lubricants. You can not rely on the assumption that the majority of oil we import is used for transportation. This is a bogus bit of propaganda regurgitated by the media time and time again.

3. Ethanol from corn is not a viable or economic way to create fuel for transportation. Corn is a staple of the livestock industry. We eat the beef, chicken, and pork the corn feeds. We hunt the deer and game that feed on it. Farmers may see an advantage to this but no one else. There are many other non-edible organics that can be used to create bio diesel and ethanol.

These are the facts......

 

I dont think anyone feels that we will be able to eliminate our need for middle east oil. But i do think that we will be able to REDUCE the amount that we rely on from them. Granted, this is not an over night process, and sure corn based ethanol probably isnt the answer. But you have to start somewhere, and right now its what we got. But at least now you have a choice... and thats whats great about this country.

 

Whatever your bias for or against Ethanol, the simple trutch is that anything currently burning petroleum can be converted to burn ethanol. Ethanol is combustible fuel and anything requiring combustible fuel can be made to burn ethanol - period. Whatever argument you may have against its production (consumes too much water, too much burden on our agriculture, competes with consumable crop production, etc...) IT IS at least part of an overall solution to our dependence on oil - not just foreign oil - but oil in general. To me that means that the combustion engine will always be around because we will always have some source of renewable fuel - even if the world's oil supplys are eventually depleted. That makes me happy cuz I love driving my truck.

 

You are correct. I never mentioned they were. Simply, there is so much information out there regarding pros and cons. As mentioned by another member perhaps anti E85 propaganda by the oil companies; that people should look at all information available and come to their own conclusion. Some of the worst things in history have been caused by the best intentions.
I have lived in several states where there is severe drought. Not good for growing corn. Natural gas will not be around forever, so how long before we have a gas shortage that increases prices 10-15 years down the road? When a company like EXXON is allowed to make 44 billion dollars in profit, something is wrong. Not that it is wrong for businesses to make money, but we are being scalped at the pump only for the government to point the finger at the middle-east and blame someone else for our problems. Even if somene does not have children, it is selfish to not consider consequences of our actions on the future.