We need a basket of diverse fuel. Up to now, we have had all our eggs in one basket... oil based gasoline and diesel. So now that prices for oil go up and up, we are at the mercy of others to pay, or quit driving.

Mid-west grain-belt states can be nearly self-sufficient with ethanol.
The mid-west cannot make enough ethanol to fuel the whole nation. So why try?

Why not have a 10:1 ratio of ethanol to gas pumps in mid-west and a 1:10 ratio along the coast lines, and have a 5:5 mix in the fringe areas?

If you take an east coast gasoline car on a vacation to Iowa, you'd be able to find gasoline. If I take my ethanol only car to New York on vacation, I could find ethanol.

 

I have no problem with that....as long as we are sure that we get the ratio right without having a great impact on food/grain prices. Can our farmlands produce enough corn to replace 10% of our fuel needs? If so, I am ok with that. The problem comes when our government "decides" that we need ethanol to account for say 35% of our fuel needs and suddenly we are growing corn for fuel instead of for food (or wheat or any other produce).

Let's be sure we aren't biting off more than we can chew.

 

My car was less than a year old when I started running E85, and I did so for a couple of months. My RPM would randomly jump and my ride was a lot jerkier. I was also getting a check engine light often.

 

John-
I tried to PM you, but your inbox is full....

 

So how's that working for you?

I read 5 pages, and then drifted off. What was the ultimate conclusion of all this Ethanol testing? E30 gives the best MPG overall? Better than 100% gasoline? I find that hard to believe.

 

anyone want to update testing or E30 use? Where I do love the idea of keeping dollars in this country, I dont want to mess up my cars and give dollars to a mechanic.

 

So what would you like to know?

10% is government approved for every car.
15% is government approved for every car 2001 or newer.

Independent testing by many sources finds 30% works well in virtually every car. And 40% ethanol works well in most cars after 2001.


No permanent damage will occur if you use more.
Just above the 30-40% range and the car's sensors will start flagging error codes and set check engine lights. Usually the lights will return to normal after you dilute back down with gasoline.

30% has been shown to have the lowest cost per mile for the consumer, even though the miles per gallon is less than gasoline.

John

 

I was just wondering how many people on here have done this and what their results were. I made my first tank of E30 today in my 2001 buick regal GS. I put on about 130 miles cruising and sitting in traffic. Car seemed to have a bit more pep and the only other difference was the temp gauge was a little higher.

 

I have 2 tanks in of E30 and going to fill #3. So far the only problem I had was a lean fuel code but I deleted it and it never affected performance. Ive been doing shorter 15 min trips and 100 mile trips with no problem. I can't tell how it effects mileage because the dang odometer display burnt out but I like the fact that more of my money is staying in this country.

 

If you think you are keeping money in this country, try looking into ethanol imports into the USA from other countries (Brazil for example). All that the ethanol craze has done is make a few rich people richer, lined a few Midwestern politicians pockets, raised the price of corn for everyone else and suckered people into thinking they are helping.

The trick is to burn less of WHATEVER fuel we use, not just burn the same (or in this case, more) fuel.