E0 vs E10

[kworonowski]

has anyone noticed a difference between these two. I just found a place close by that sells the real gas and figured I would try a few tanks. I know I get 13.7 mpg (all city) 20 (all hwy) avg out of the E10. I don't mind the additional cost of $3.00 a tank or the drive (17 miles eachway) but is there a benefit or running the real stuff vs the ethanol. I have read the "3-4% loss" but I am looking for more actual numbers. 02 xlt v8 140k tires maintained at 32/32 psi oil changed with semi synth high mileage every 4k trans flushed yearly and other fluids changed every two years.

1. is it better for my baby to run real gas?

2. what actual mileage difference might I see?

thanks for any input and please don't repost the btu's and it should only do this and that just your experiences please

 

[OffTrac]

I only put non contaminated gas in my truck. I don't have numbers because fuel economy doesn't matter to me since I have 35" tires and the odometer is off anyway. Placebo or not, the truck just feels like it runs better.

We've been able to get 28 mpg hwy from our Edge using E0 whereas our first and only long trip using E10 gave us 24. Small sample size I know.

Sorry I don't have any hard science but I'm sure there is a site out there that does or someone in here with more hard numbers.

 

[kworonowski]

Yeah I looked at the science part but too many people saying a difference of 20-30% increase (a few mpg) over E10 while using real gas. The math with btu's and such claim it should be only 2-4% difference in fuel mileage. You got a roughly 20% increase.

I did noticed the "better feeling" too.
Thank you for the info.

 

[OffTrac]

Ok, well, we unexpectedly took the Edge two weeks ago on a roughly 200 mile trip at 70 mph on cruise control using Kroger E10. It would not break 24.9 mpg. Didn't think to take a picture as it wasn't anything impressive. Not bad mileage and higher than Ford advertises, but still...

Yesterday, drove 185+ miles one way to St. Simons Island using 100% gasoline and again cruise control set on 70 the whole way. The picture below was on the way there. On the way back, cruise set at 80, it dropped to 26.6 by the time we got home. One tank of E0, 380+ miles plus driving around the island.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Pretty consistent- E0 will give better MPG than an ethanol blend. Purely from a financial standpoint, the ethanol is less expensive when you do the math since around here there are only a few places that sell pure gas, and they are usually marinas which are 30-40% more expensive anyhow.

Only caveat is the damage that E10 is doing to your car vs. E0. That I really don't know about...

 

[OffTrac]

I pay little over 20% more than regular with ethanol. We filled up with Kroger gas when we got home and it was $3.24/gal, although we only got it there because we had $1/gal rewards. Non ethanol has been exactly $4.18/gal since the end of January.

 

[Limited02]

It's my understanding that Ethanol in the gas will decrease gas mileage. So the more you have, the worse your MPG will be. The wife's Milan runs like a bat outta hell with E85, but we lose about 3-4 mpg avg.

Edit: If we need to bring an ethanol master in here, we do have a member who knows just that.

 

[OffTrac]

I'm simply pointing out that it is not really more expensive, at least in my area, to run E0 instead of E10. The only incentive I have to use E10 is when the price drops down about a dollar, like I mentioned I take advantage of when Kroger awards equal $1/gal. That's usually once a month, so I do regularly run ethanol in the Edge. Lower performance of E10 is not an incentive and the price difference is negligible so why use ethanol?

 

[FIND]

E10 on average will cost you about 7-10% of your fuel economy. Higher blends of ethanol will cost you an increasingly higher amount of fuel economy until you reach a certain point. For instance, E85 won't lose as much fuel economy on a flex fuel vehicle as E20 will lose on a standard vehicle.

Of course, this is because the flex fuel vehicles can sense the high ethanol fuel, and run different programs for them. The higher flame speed of the alcohol and the very high octane means much more aggressive timing. The downside is that, due to the fact that ethanol is less energy dense fuel and the fact that it is oxygenated, the computer needs a richer mixture.

In normal vehicles, the fact that the fuel is oxygenated means that the software in the vehicle sees over-lean conditions on the O2 sensors, and richen the fuel mixture far more than necessary. On a carbed vehicle, you will actually see almost no loss of fuel economy, but a loss of power that, under some driving conditions, can cause you a large loss of fuel economy.

Almost all vehicles are safe to run up E20 in, but they will still experience significant losses in fuel economy. Prolonged use may contaminate your cat due to the unburnt fuel, rich mixture and lower combustion temps. Fuel lines may be an issue on VERY old vehicles due to the lower quality rubbers that are used in low pressure fuel systems. E10 won't damage any vehicle, but there will still be a loss of fuel economy. E85 should only be used in flex fuel vehicles. Damage can result because of the very rich mixtures and improper timing.

At higher gas prices like we have now days, there is MUCH less incentive to use ethanol fuels, outside of the fact that it is an alternative fuel. Of course, this is why I think that more cars should be diesels, because biodiesel actually gets better fuel economy than #1 and #2 diesel, so it is the only bio-fuel that is really economically viable. But, it gels at higher temps than petrol diesel, and it is harder to store since it absorbs much more moisture than petrol fuels, so it has its drawbacks too.

 

[Joe Dirt]

OffTrac- you're lucky... Around here, non-ethanol stations have all but dried up. Only ones around here are marinas and the airport by my house- you don't want to know how much they charge for E0. Your E0 price is less than our E10 price. E0 is way more expensive over here, thus the pointlessness of using it in SW Michigan...

Why America can't embrace clean diesel is completely beyond me.