Okay, folks, I've done a few searches and haven't seen much on this topic...

I'll start by stating that I'm simply enraged by what's going on with the governement and our fuel. I live in the Lancaster, PA area and ALL of our gas stations have switched over to using a 10% ethanol/gas mixture. There is one, I repeat, one station (a Citgo!) that has refused to convert.

Since I got my 06 F150 (a non-flex fuel engine) about 6 weeks ago, i've been running nothing but the 10% ethanol gas and getting lame mpg...13 in rural road driving (not much stop/go, but not highway either). This morning, I filled up at the Citgo (yes, and supported that damned communist) and immediately I'm seeing 16mpg...

I'm hearing more and more people complaining about the drop in mpg with this fuel. I have a short commute to work and do about 25 miles per day. If I gain 3mpg, that is easily 2 more days of commuting on the same money.

Now come on people, what is going on here? Why are we letting the government get involved with this? I'm assuming the government is forcing ethanol into fuel simply to use it up...they've already paid the farmers to raise more corn than ever thought possible, now they want to force it into the supply chain.

Not to mention, that there is no difference in price at the pump...however, my price per mile goes up. Tell me where the "win-win" is in this situation? What am i missing? I still say if we want to reduce dependence on foreign oil: 1) get the fricken car mfg's making better engines 2)start drilling for our own oil 3) put a halt to this ethanol craze. Okay, maybe putting a halt to it is overkill, but at least test more and make engines utilize it better...

Even running E85 in a FFV at $1.50 per gallon less than gas, the price per mile does not justify bothering with it...

 

The 10% ethanol or other oxigenator (the poison MTBE out here) thing has been around for a while. It is a bandaid for older engines. Newer (mid '90s & up maybe) don't need it. But, your ADM and other fine brand mega-ag lobbyist, your wacked out EPA fringe types, and others, prevail.

With the current enging technology and engine management, we could go to far fewer gasoline formulas around the country and I don't think we need ethanol or other oxygen adders in the mix. Or so I've read over the years.

But, poly-tics being what it is, we have what we have here.

Of course, some older rigs benefit, so you might could trade simplicity and a slightly lower gas cost for running issues for older cars.

Everything has a consequence or two....

Hey, if Citgo runs the best, run it. Hugo is going to cause a cement shortage down there next with his nationalization, and that may be the key when/if they get down to just enough being produced to make some shoes for him..........

 

The EPA mandated the change to E10 here several years ago and we have not noticed any difference in mileage. I don't know if this applies to your vehicle, but I've heard that when there's a major change in your fuel like that, disconnect the battery for 30 minutes to prompt the ECM to adjust to the fuel.

 

I lose 1 1/2 mpg with the 10% ethanol.

 

I seem to remember about a yr ago, that Citgo was no longer tied in with Chavez.

 

He still is...almost every oil company has sued his communist butt and thus frozen several BILLION dollars worth of Venezuelan state property around the world. Exxon and Conoco-Philips are leading the litigation as they believe they should be properly paid for their property being STOLEN from them.

fzrider...I'll take ETOH in my drinking water over MTBE any day.

 

Here in SE Wisconsin we have the blended fuel too. Farther north is the "good" gas....and yes there is a difference in mileage!!!

 

The MTBE thing sounds worse than ethanol, so maybe I shouldn't complain. I guess after seeing a 20% increase in fuel mileage for daily driving, I just got pushed over the edge. Gotta love poly-tics, affects our pocketbook in so many ways.

Hey, Osama...errr...Obama is going to fix it though...

Thanks for listening, guys...

Cheers.

 

well i seen a drop in miles too and all of area gas stations have change over here in center pa .......

but what get me is it say up to 10% ethnoal on are gas pumps so if i get gas today am i geting 3% or 10% that what i wanna know

 

It's called "Winter"...

 

You mean the ethanol is a "winter" mix for gasoline? Not sure i follow that...especially here in the east where it rarely ever gets below 10 degrees F...and that's headline news around here.

Also, i'm not a petroleum chemical engineer by any stretch, but never heard of issues with gas freezing...

 

Well, it doesn't so much have anything to do with the fuel freezing. The summer blend gas burns cleaner and creates less smog but it doesn't work so well in the winter. Summer blend's low-evaporation rate makes engines less likely to stall in hot weather but can make them difficult to start in the cold.

 

Yep, what he said...Winter fuel gets less mpg's than summer fuels.

 

I get worse mileage in winter than summer but in strictly summer driving the blended fuel is worse than unblended as well!!

 

Do you drive with your windows down? That increases the drag something fierce. A/C doesn't hurt as bad, but still creates a drag on the engine. I get better mileage in the summer, but I bought my 08 in February, so I don;t know what it's going to do yet.