Halving E85 gas?
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Senior User
Joined: Jul 2007
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Halving E85 gas?
Now that gas prices are back on the rise ($2.40 for 87 and 1.83 for E85), I've been thinking about trying a blend of half E85 and and half plain gas just to see for myself. Has anyone tried blending it this way before? I've been doing a lot of reading on the issue and it seems that any vehicle can run on E85. Looks like the main difference between the vehicles is that the E85 and cause problems to the rubber seals and plastic parts in the fuel system over time of non E85 vehicles. Some say they have been doing it for several years now with zero problems. A half mixture would bring down the E85 down to around E40. Most gas is E10 and not 100% gas when it get to a certain price point anyways. There should be very little MPG change with this mixture. You would see a bigger decrease with E85. I know many will say don't do it because its not made for it and you are only asking for bigger problems or expenses down the road but any thoughts?
Junior User
Joined: Feb 2005
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I used to do that all the time when I lived close to a station that sold E85. After a while I found that my vehicle liked more of a 70/30 gas/E85 mix. I didn't measure it out very precisely, just 7 gal of gas to 3 of E85 type stuff. Cleans out your fuel injectors good, and your gas tank too. (read: change fuel filter often)
Just remember, E85 has a different stoich ratio than gas. If you ran straight E85 you would be running your engine lean on a vehicle that is not flex fuel, or converted to E85. Also your mileage will go down since you would need a higher compression ratio to take full advantage of the higher octane of the E85.
Just remember, E85 has a different stoich ratio than gas. If you ran straight E85 you would be running your engine lean on a vehicle that is not flex fuel, or converted to E85. Also your mileage will go down since you would need a higher compression ratio to take full advantage of the higher octane of the E85.
Hotshot
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 11,931
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first it will be a pain the a*** to mix. second you will not be saving much money because a 40% mixture will get probably 10% less milage compared to the 15% stuff in a truck not designed for E85. If you figure your getting a mile per gallon less, and the few cents you save, im not sure you gain much. Last, the difference in the "lean" mixture is liable to set off an engine code and light comes on. Even if you ****ch back to 15% after that, you may have already screw up a O2 sensor or other probe.
