Hopefully this graph and photos will be worth many words!



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Basic details: Put four gallons of E85 into my tank (fillup) in Auburn, Indiana. Drove a few miles to the Auburn/Cord Museum and after spending a few hours in here, drove a few miles back to the interstate and then onto I-80. MPG initially dropped from the pre-fillup average of 34.8 but then rose to 34.6 mpg within 70 miles and remained at that level for 270 miles of the trip. I then proceeded to add 6.9 gallons of 87 octane--there was no E85 in the area or where I live--to fill the tank. Never had any trouble with the vehicle operation and the mileage really did not take a hit. I have more data from early in the trip which will also be displayed on a graph in the near future.

Calculation of e85 breakeven point: E85 breakeven price = E85 mpg × Gasoline price ÷ Gasoline mpg

Thoughts: I need to create a notebook listing where E85 can be found. No sense driving miles off the direct path looking for this. I may have had more than 30% ethanol in my tank after the fillup in Auburn as the fuel gauge was between 3/4 and 1/2 when I added E85.

 

I look online to find E85 stations. Online, you can usually get phone numbers too and call ahead and ask for price. Prices are usually less a few miles away from Interstates, Highways, and large cities. Mom & Pop locations have the lowest prices in the mid-west anyway.

Today, in NW Iowa, pure gas was $3.859, E10 was $3.759, and E85 was $2.699.

Today, in SW Minnesota, they don't sell pure gas, E10 was $3.659, E85 was $2.959.

Big price change. Only 25 miles away from each other.

 

Colorado E85 pricing continues to be the envy of E85 drivers. The State topped the chart with the best reported average of $2.46 for E85 as well as with the best price spread in the Nation at up to 35% less than unleaded. The Farm Crest Station in Colorado Springs as well as 4 Western Convience Stations in Denver, Colorado Springs, Longmount all reported a best in the Nation price for E85 at $2.29 April 20th. Arvada ( Denver ) was selling E85 for $2.35 on 5/16/08.

The Midwest E85 pricing reports were strong.

Consumers were able to buy E85 at 94 cents less per gallon than unleaded at the Kum & Go Station in Grimes Ia and $1.00 less than unleaded at the Coralville Ia Kum & Go Station. Minnesota , South Dakota, Illinois , Indiana all had some Stations offering E85 price spreads up-to 27%.
Wisconsin came in with a State average price spread of 19% .The Renew E85 Stations continue to lead the way in Wisconsin offering very solid 20-25% price spreads across their 13 Stations .

Las Vegas comes up Aces with E85
One of the more suprising notes of April is Las Vegas now has 16 Stations selling E85. Simply amazing considering the desert location and not a corn field or ethanol plant within hundreds of miles in any direction. Their price spread has been in the 7% range which means most consumers in Las Vegas are actually not coming out ahead on price but that has not slowed the build out of E85 in the least. A tip of the hat to Las Vegas.

Stations working directly with their local Ethanol plant are able to get the best wholesale price and able to keep the best prices at the pump.

E85Prices.com May E85 Price Forecast:
E85 prices are expected to remain stable in May and the National average price spread in the 16%-20% range.

An added bonus for consumers switching to E85 is that not only does the fuel burn cleaner than unleaded, but also that e85 is 105 octane which increases horsepower. There are over 1500 stations carrying E85 in the US and more stations coming on line everyday.

www.e85prices.com

 

Here is another link supporting E30 as an alternative and maybe a better fuel for mileage : http://domesticfuel.com/2007/12/05/n...thanol-blends/

 

Another trial:

Traveled to State College, Pa. for breakfast and E85 gas addition. Note, the tank was not filled with this E85 addition as I tried to make it E30.
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Then I spent the day traveling to a Navy Museum and Training Center via various roadways and over/around the Appalachian Moutains. By 10:45am the temperature reached 90 degrees, it hit a high of 95 degrees and did not drop below 90 degrees until after 7:00pm. Later in the day, I needed more fuel. By now I had traveled 387 miles
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on 12.1 gallons of "E30". This hand calculates to 31.98 mpg on E30. Yes the air conditioner was on.
Estimated cost per mile
4.1 gallons of E85 at $3.65= $15.00
8.0 gallons of 87 octane at $3.89=$31.12 -filled at home
total=$46.12

$46.12 divided by 387 miles=.119 cents per mile

Thoughts: The E85 price was excessive but the state of Pennsylvania is poor in regards to offerring E85. There is only three stations plus one governmental in Western Pa that offer E85. A more realistic E85 price tag could have driven the cost per mile downward. As posted before, I can not tell any difference in running my vehicle with an E30 mixture.

 

Are all FEH and MMH's that come out now Flex Fuel capable, or is that only special models? Can you use E85 with any hybrid without causing any sort of damage? I am in the market for a new hybrid and just want to make sure that I'm looking out for the right things.

 

I don't think any of them are except for a few experimental models.

I think Billyk is just running some experiements on his NON flex fuel model. I'm guessing the logo in the picture was added by Billyk himself (not photoshopped but a logo bought and stuck on).

It looks good but I think if Ford were putting that logo on there it would be over by the hybrid label... and isn't that the GM decal for FlexFuels?

 

All FEH and MMH that are available for consumer purchase are not labeled flexfuel capable. However, a poster (GPS1man) on this site has provided information that you can run your FEH on E30-that is 30 percent ethanol without any problems. He also shown you can run these vehicles on E85 with a purchase of one piece of hardware (via change2e85.com) and discussed these findings at this thread: https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...run-e85-17206/

Based upon his information, I have run my Escape Hybrid on E30 (when I can find it) and I have not noticed any operating difference. The fuel mileage is not too much different from straight 87 octane. I normally have to mix E85 with 87 octane (first one pump of so many gallons and then other other pump with so many gallons) at the station. There are pros and cons to this and you can make this decision based upon information. Happy reading.

 

[quote=TeeSter;176208]and isn't that the GM decal for FlexFuels?[/quote]


You are correct. I got this GM decal and stuck it on my FEH!

 

Bill-

LOL! I did the same thing, with the same logo, but put mine under the "Hybrid" logo on all 3 sides.

Now I'm worried what they are going to think if I ever take this in for service at a Ford dealer... it is a GM logo after all. LOL! But it was what I could find cheap! -John