I heard that ethanol reduces mileage. what do you know about it?

Question

I heard that ethanol reduces mileage. what do you know about it?

Answer 1

they say it reduces the mileage a little bit, but with to days gas prices it kinda evens out. Plus its more environmentally friendly!

Answer 2

The best way to compare is look at the btu content of the fuel...it is less than gasoline....btu/lb

(btu is a brittish thermal unit,The amount of energy required to raise onee pound of water one degree farenheight,between the tempatures of 32 and 212)

Answer 3

I work for a auto lot and the E 85 loses about 2 miles per gal. city and bout 1 mile highway.So if you pay 2. 85 a gal. for E 85 and gas is 3.60 you may pay less but the bottom line is your losing gas mileage.your paying the same price in the long run.

Answer 4

It's true. Ethanol burns at a lower temperature than gas. The difference is less Mpg's. I once figured out that if you bought only ethanol, while your pocket would be heavier, it would only be for a short time because you would need to fill up more often. The difference was 2 cents per gallon the way I figured it.

Answer 5

I have heard that also...But I don't think it is by much. And last I checked, where I live, regular gas is 3.55 and ethanol is about 3.29 give or take. So based on the price of ethanol, even if you get a few mpg less, it may be still better in the long run.

Answer 6

If you look up the manufacturers specs for multi fuel vehicles you'll find that the power and MPG ratings are 15 to 25% lower for operation with E85 ethanol than they are with straight gasoline. The lower forms of ethanol don't reduce power and MPG that drastically but still drop it around 5%. Sort of negates the savings in price, doesn't it?

Answer 7

It's about energy content.  Ethanol has an energy content that is 80% of gasoline's.  This means that you're going to need 20-30% more E85 per mile than gasoline.  The link below takes you to the EPA's page on flex fuel vehicles, which describes how running E85 will affect your mileage.  If gasoline is 3.50/gallon, then in order to make economical sense, E85 needs to be 70-80% of the cost of the gasoline, or 2.45-2.80/gallon, which ain't happening.

As a fuel industry professional, I watch the developments of alternative fuels closely.  I've reached the conclusion that ethanol is not a long term answer to our energy needs.  There are much more promising alternatives on the horizon which don't require the infrastructure modifications that ethanol and hydrogen will require.  Ethanol is a buzz word that the media has latched onto and until they get a new buzzword, we won't hear about the promising technologies being developed.