Gas vs e85?

Question

I see that:

"E85 burns cooler than gasoline and while that is great for your engine it also means it may not burn completely which means you aren't getting all the energy available and are just wasting fuel , so I went looking for the best spark plugs I could find (within practical reason) and chose the Bosch Platinum 4

These spark plugs are claimed to spark and burn so efficiently that offer a 4.8% fuel savings ! "

http://e85vehicles.com/converting-e85.htm

I thought Alcohol burns hotter than gas? is that not correct?

Some spacrk plugs can make your engine more efficient?

Answer 1

No alcohol does not burn hotter than gas. It all has to do with the molecular structure of the fuel. The longer structure of the fuel the more power that is released. The longer structured fuels take more to break them down to a usable form for fuel. Alcohol for instance vaporizes easier than gasoline. Gasoline vaporizes easier than Diesel. The harder it is to break the molecular structure of a fuel the more energy that is released. Thus you will get more energy from gasoline than you will get from alcohol. Diesels typically get better mileage than do their gas cousins. Diesels also tend not to produce the same horse power usually lower, but typically have much higher torque. Torque is what moves the vehicle. Alcohol vehicles will need more fuel to produce the same results as a gasoline powered vehicle. Gasoline powered vehicles tend to need more fuel to produce the same results as a diesel. You will see a reduction in economy when using alcohol verses gasoline. The same holds true when using the lower grades of gasoline. If your vehicle requires 91 octane and you are burning 87 octane, your vehicles computer will adjust and make your vehicle burn more gas making it run richer. Making it run richer also makes it run hotter. Using alcohol in gasoline helps to make the engine run cooler. But again it takes more fuel to achieve the same results. The best thing to do is to use the fuel that is recommended for your vehicle, and drive conservatively. Don't ram your foot to the floor when you start out and plan your stops well in advance so that you coast more. Hard to do but it helps. E85 may not be good for your engine. Only use E85 if your vehicle is set up for it. You will be have problems with E85 fuel if your vehicle is not able to use it.

Answer 2

Bosch platinum plugs are lousy except in Japanese and some European small engine cars. Don't know why but they are returned to the store as "bad" regularly when people put them in American vehicles, even our 4 cylinder engines. I can't explain it, but it is a fact as attested to by my time behind the counter of a parts store.

E85 will decrease your MPG, but it did pay-off on a trip last summer to Iowa from Michigan. We were running between 16 and 18 in an F150 SuperCrew until we hit Iowa and started using E85. The price was dirt cheap, but the effienency went down to a steady 14. These numbers are almost entirely highway miles and they held true for a 5 day trip. The MPGs went back to the upper teens as soon as we were a tank out of E85.