Real world MPG difference from e10 to 100% gasoline.

[Exodus_2pt0]

I drive a little over 500 miles a week, so I track my economy every time I fill up.

The Miata gets roughly 27mpg religiously.

The other day I accidentally filled it with 100%, didn't mean to but I failed to notice that they had 2 87 octane pumps. It was about 30 cents more a gallon, or $3 to fill up.

I got 31mpg out of that fill up.

Next tank, put regular e10 in, and back to 27mpg.

I'm going to try again and see what happens. Anyone else try this?

Funny thing, is it works out to very little difference when breaking it down to miles per dollar.

At 2.09 for e10 I'm getting average 12.8 miles per Dollar.
At 2.39 for e0, it's 12.9 miles per dollar.

I figured that last part mid thread, so I'll continue with it. But I guess the lesson here is that even with my extreme variance in mpg when running gasoline vs ethanol diluted, the end result is still the same.

[Wschnitz]

I'm gonna say it will be reproduce-able, especially with older cars. I get at least 2-3 more MPG with non ethanol in my E30.

[roguetoaster]

Yep, 100%. In cars with more adaptive engines/management it makes slightly less of a difference.

[varg]

Since a station opened near me with ethanol free regular (which costs the same as E10 premium 93!) I have discovered that my ZRX gets no additional mpg (34-36mpg), but the carbs stay cleaner (less crusty white deposits in the float bowls). Ethanol free 93 octane is non-existent so I can't try it out in my E30, which would probably be better suited for E85, which is not consistently available at the very few stations that sell it around here. I'm an outspoken critic of the ethanol mandate, which is based on flawed logic and lobbying power, and doesn't do anyone any good aside from giganto-farm corn/ag lobbyists and the politicians who take money from them.

[flyboyx]

in the long run, you are probably better off running the expensive gas. there will be less maintenance on your car, your fuel system components and engine will probably last longer.

its kind of like those food documentaries where you get cancer/ psoriasis/ diarrhea/ ulcers from eating cheap processed shit food. when you eat fruits and vegetables, it all goes away....or something like that.

[Kevinl]

Running e40 in the 335i has made the mileage definitely drop the lead foot doesnt help either

[TobyB]

The M42s in both E36's get about 2mpg better on non- ethanol, in mixed commuting.
27-28 with, 29-31 without.

t

[Exodus_2pt0]

Is that at highway speed? I've considered getting out of the Miata and into a 318. At 75 mph the Miata mileage plummets.

[dnguyen1963]

Ethanol was found to be a better alternative as an anti-knocking agent for the environment when leaded gasoline was still available. The farmer lobbyists then took over when leaded gasoline was banned and the federal incentives were and still are insane.

[mrsleeve]

On my FZJ it runs much better on E-0 Vs E-10 and gets a bit better MPG but my driving is not consistent enough to track such things but over all the 1FZ seems to like the 100% stuff much better.

[M-technik-3]

As we know Corn products do not belong in internal combustion engines. It's lobbyist driven know, heck in the winter you loose more BTU's to the butane they add to the fuel.

I have a E85 capable daily and I tried to use it for a while and I got even worse mileage and it was almost as expensive and to top of it's more expensive now than regular e10 87 octane.

[Exodus_2pt0]

Glad I'm not delusional on the mileage. I find it interesting that the authorities say a 3% difference. I saw a 9% change.

I'm going to fill up on 100% gasoline a few times in a row and see what it does. Even if I spend the same amount of money per mile, I'll be filling up less often, which is cool with me.

I do like e85 though. If I had it available I could bump the S4 another 100awhp with it.

[Wschnitz]

Yeah I think its ignorant to say Corn fuel doesnt belong in any car engine, Race cars often run E85 or alcohol fuels.

Just old Cars are not meant to run corn.

[nando]

it still contains less energy per gallon. you can't get around that - a modern car will still get better mileage on E0.

[RedTeam]

I agree with Wschnitz. Ethanol is like a middle ground between gasoline and top fuel. Lower energy density, but also a lower air to fuel ratio. Yes, it will corrode an engine quickly if it's not designed for it, but as long as it's fuel injected with O2 sensors, it should have no problem burning it.