Hello all

It has been awhile since I last posted on this site..I have some interesting
findings, for me anyway. I now have 55k on my 07 hchII with a lifetime mpg
of 45.36 with 90 around town driving. I had my first fill up with a ethanol free tank ever..I got the tank while visiting Irrvington, Va. to see family. I always drive the same way, and have made this trip 3 times in 1 week. I just found out that they had the E0 gas. My average for the drive with the hot weather and full a/c as been 41+-mpg...with the full tank of E0 I got 48.75..Same exact driving conditions. I can not wait to see what I can get when the temp goes down. I payed about 30 cents more per gallon, but is was also mid grade 89 instead of 87..If the mileage continues I would have no problems with the difference in price...I love to see the 50 mpg on my full tank mpgs. By the way I keep the tires at 50psi all around.


Thanks
Brian

 

I've been struggling to get 41-42 mpg here in upstate NY ever since they switched to E10 pretty much anywhere. Used to get 48 mpg easily this time of the year. The car feels to have a lot less power too
Google is good:
http://pure-gas.org lists ethanol free stations!

 

First fill up at KwikFill (E0) and I am back to 48-52 without even trying it!!
To think that for the same amount of money I get 10mpg less with E10- what a ripoff..

 

There are quite a few stations around WI that have E0 gas, but only in 93 octane. E0/87 is harder to find.

Has anyone tried the E0/93 octane in a HCHII?

 

E0 87-91 octane I can get around 43 mpg in mild weather, no a/c. Thats only after my second tank of E0 if i've been running E10...seems like the ECM takes a little bit to fully adjust.

E10 87-93 octane I can't break 40 mpg, I generally loose up to 5 mpg in mild weather.

This summer has been brutal, i've been averaging 32-33 mpg in these 90-95 degree days on E10 93 octane and constant recals from the battery. I don't dare run 87 octane in this weather or I'd get killed half the time merging on the highway one ICE alone because the IMA doesn't want to assist.

 

Interesting thread. I get 46-47 in the summer here in Texas with the E up to 10% gas. I get the 87 octane at the Kroger. I have read that the ethanol doesn't stay mixed as well in the hot temps, so when you get to the end of the tank you have more ethanol and less real gasoline.

I know Marina fuel is E0 as an FYI.

 

I just took delivery of an '09 Camry hybrid, driven to Texas by a friend of my from Florida. On his mileage, on non-ethanol gas, he got 46 MPG. After I have gone through three tanks here in Texas (all counties east of San Antonio have E10 gas in all grades) the BEST I have gotten is 36.

There should be a LOT more attention by the media on this false promises of E10 gas!

Joe

 

Gentlemen-

To be fair, you need to record COST PER MILE.

Miles per gallon is USELESS these days.
I have been to 42 states by car, and there are DRAMATIC differences in gas quality from location to location, but also, drastic differences in PRICE.

I just filled up for $2.419 yesterday in MO. ( E0 or E10, not sure )
I called my dad in Los Angeles area, and he paid $3.099. ( 6.7% is the CA standard )

Ethanol has NEVER EVER promised higher miles per gallon.
However, in the mid-west it averages 30 to 40 cents per gallon less in cost ( 10% to 12% at $3.00 / gal. )

However, E10 produces 26% to 30% fewer harmful emissions, plus ethanol is made in the USA with U.S. grown crops made with 100% U.S. labor.

I will agree E10 does trick the ECU ( or emissions sensors ) in most cars, so fuel economy is artificially low. When I experiment and put 25% ethanol in my tanks, I get nearly the same MPG as E10. So the sensors are no longer fooled, or they are fooled in an advantagous way.

I tow a 3200 pound trailer with my hybrid. Yes, hybrid CAN tow.
I cannot go up the Rocky Mountains ( I70 ) and maintain the speed limit on plain gas or E10. Hoever I CAN maintain the speed limit, while towing with a high ( greater than 50% ) blend of ethanol in my tank. With the Ford CVT, I notice reduced engine RPM at all speeds.

Yes, MPG goes down with higher and higher % ethanol in the tank.
But I can buy ethanol for $1.999 today, which pretty much makes it a push on COST PER MILE.

Just FYI,
-John

 

Jusy FYI-

A Nebraska filling station:


A comparison I made when gas prices were at an all time high 2 years ago.
All the chip does is boost fuel injector output by a user defined value.




The Ford Manual states the stock fuel injectors have a capacity of +/- 28% (trim) from E0 at sea level. As you can see in the yellow graph, there's lots of headroom for adding ethanol.




This is NOT my vehicle, but Ford build 20 "Tri-brids" for field testing.
If Ford could do it, I figured there was no inhearent reason why I couldn't.
So I started low, and slowly blended in ethanol.
Yes, I have run a full 85% ethanol in my regular off the shelf FEH.
But it only runs "well" up to about 75% ethanol, but is decent at a full 85%.

 

Is there a learning and leaning effect with the use of new fuel? Look at this with an approximate E25 value:

I got 36.8 mpg today in my vehicle that traveled 42 miles mostly on a state highway to and from a State Park. To prove I wasn't driving in some parking lot, my scanguage recorded a max speed of 61 mph when the speed limit on this four lane state highway is 55. I'm getting 33.8 mpg on the tank!. Could my scanguage be slightly off? Yes.

My first experience with E10 caused a noticeable drop in mileage. As I learned more about this different fuel and related information-especially the concept of "cost per mile"-and further experiemented with it, I began to notice improvements with mileage (mpg). As I began to carry red Jerry cans filled with E85 from the nearest pump (27 miles) and use it on a consistent basis in the E20 range, the mpg figures again gradually improved. It appears my vehicle has the ability to adjust fuel maps via learning and leaning. As of now, when I approach and move past E30, I begin to notice a drop in mileage. I have run my vehicle as high as E40 but normally keep in the E20 range.

Is my experience going to be the same for you? I don't know. I don't know if vehicles manufactured by other companies have the same capabilities (fuel map and injector adjustments).