Obama EPA Rushes to Impose New Ethanol Mandate

 

Here's the real motivation behind these increases in Ethanol: increasing the cost per mile of vehicles with internal combustion engines, in order to push people out of them.

Ethanol contains less energy per gallon than conventional gasoline. Therefore, you get fewer miles per gallon the higher the mix of Ethanol.

In order to make more costly electric vehicles economically viable, the Administration must decrease their relative cost. There are two ways to do this: increase the cost of gasoline, or decrease the efficiency of it. Since they can't push gas prices any higher without exponentially increasing public outcry, they must make the same gas less efficient for the same volume.

 

Did you actually read that article? It doesn't force anyone to use E15. The EPA just approved it as an option, just like we have the option to buy E85.

 

I think that view is overly cynical. That is not to say that washington couln't be that short sighted, but there is a good portion of the nation (area wise, not population wise) for which electric cars wouldn't work. not until they can pull a 12,000 lb trailer, and not until they can go 150 miles without recharging.

There really isnt that much difference in fuel mileage difference between the different blends of ethanol. my experience is i can get about 15mpg on E85 with interstate driving, but i still get 17 or so on E30. for me. that would be a win. my exploder only gets 15mpg with e10 and normal driving, my work truck gets 15mpg on E85 with normal driving. the cost of e85 is 2.75/gal where as the cost of e10 is 3.45.

Typically speaking, i give up 30% in fuel economy with e85, BUT i use 85% less gasoline..... for me, that is a pretty good trade.

besides which, around here e10 is cheaper than straight gas. always has been. only a few times in my life can i remember a time where they were the same or where straight gas was cheaper.

i think the federal mandate to increase fleet fuel economy will have much more effect on cost per mile than the use of e10 ever could.

 

I understand that. But it's coming....just wait.

 

You don't have to buy ethanol containing gas if you don't want to.

But, you have to be willing to PAY for it. You can find just about anything you want, if you're willing to blow the cash.

You can usually find gasoline without any ethanol in it at boat marinas, or specialized boat shops/refueling stations which cater to boaters.

Ethanol is hygroscopic, meaning it tends to absorb water over time, which of course causes problems for people who spend their time with their engines on the water.

Thus, a market has developed to cater to people who are concerned about their gasoline having ethanol in it.

You have to pay to play and get what you want. Simple. Otherwise, make do without.

 

I'm sure that some people will convert their Ecoboost to E85 in search of horsepower. The aftermarket will figure it out even if Ford doesn't make an attempt first. E85 is all the rage now with the turbocharging crowd.

 

As the compression ratio raises toward/into the 11.5 / 12 to one ratio alcohol/E85 begins to show its stuff due to its higher octane rating. At stoic both fuels show similar outputs with alcohol giving more torque. The higher compression ratio gives the higher outputs forcing the gas user to also go to racing fuel. At that price Alcohol becomes the prefered fuel and the motor never has a overheating problem due to the cooling affect of the fuel when it mixes with air. Above any other reason, the use of alcohol will let your town have cleaner air for the kids to breath. It's emmissions have low HC. Using E85 is very helpful in a flex fuel when temps top 100 degrees. It's power comes on the hotter the incoming air is. Methanol is even beter as a power fuel but creates problems in the corrosion areas within the systems. Ethanol on the other hand is quiet friendly has similar but lower specs. Many are injection ethanol kit happy along with nitrous wet mixes. I believe the tank system for ethanol will accomodate methanol just change the flow rate but not too sure about the sensor damage that may/could occur. Watching the price at the pump when driving by the station is my motivation to pull in. Some stations that are away from the interstate are quite competitively priced for my needs during those hot weather 90 degree + long mile trips. The fill gives my range 475 miles on E85 or 530 on 87 octane. So I reach my destination either way.

 

I prefer Methanol injection. I can run 15-16 psi of boost on 91 octane in my Grand National. With 91 octane and methanol injection I can run 25-26 psi of boost. I don't care about running that much boost in my Ecoboost but a few more psi would be nice. There is a methanol injection kit in the works for the Ecoboost but it's not on the market yet.

 

What company is making the Ecoboost methanol injection kit?
Have you seen any info for how far the stock turbos will take this engine? Either info on this engine is very sparse or I'm not looking in the right place.

 

It would be one thing if the e85 was worth the price, but the difference in price doesnt make up for the difference in mpg... I ran e85 in my wifes escape and it got 14mpg, so im not even going to try it in the truck id bet it get like 10mpg....not worth the 25 cent a gallon difference

 

My flex fuel drops 2 mpg on E85 in hot weather. It looses more in 40 degree weather. Makes sense. In my area E85 runs $.35 cents a gallon less. Thing is in very hot weather I don't notice the power loss that is there with 87 octane. Actually it pulls better on the hills. For me E85 above 90 degrees is a good thing.

 

I will never undertsand why so many folks do not like E85
It is Approx 108 Octane fuel, it is renewable fuel so the carbon burned is recycled by plants & does not add to the CO2 in the atmosphere, It has a cooling effect in the cylinders so in reality it has an even higher octane rating than racing fuel. Using it in my ECO Boost Truck makes it perform much better than on low octane Gasoline.
Guess the folks who do not like it are just not well informed about the real details & facts.

 

It's not even an option here in the state of Maine. There are no E85 stations in the state.

 

yeah I know
It is readily available in Iowa but when we go to Arizona for the winter it is very hard ot find it. Not sure why it is not offered in more locations