Meijers builds E85 Filling Stations across MI!

[hgffrank]

I know a few people that run about half and half mixture of E85 and premium gas in vehicles that are older and not E85 rated. About any vehicle built after like 1987 is capable of burning Ethonal. Its the percentage that matters. The peak percentage for post 87, pre E85 vehicles was around 25%. but like I said, I know people who run a much higher concentration with no ill effects. I will say though, that those I know running it are on carbs, and not fuel injection. Carbs are easy to tune for E85. Its nearly just a jet change. And for those of you who drag race, E85 is an awesome fuel with a properly tuned carb. keep in mind on the older carbed vehicles E85 needs a fuel cell or other ethonal approved fuel tank, AND ethonal approved fuel lines. E85 will eat away at the older steel fuel lines and gas tanks, around 1987 manufacturers started building to tolerate Ethonal due to oil companies use of it to raise octane instead of other chemicals. ANY car can run 10 to 15% ethonal without even the slightest hiccup, unless its an older carbed car that doesnt have a computer to make the small adjustments, but like I said, even then its just a matter of jets changes.

[97rs4life]

I don't see the big deal about it, it is only 10 cents cheaper here in holland for e85. Which is not saving us much at the pump if you ask me if you get less mpg from it as well

[GETGONE]

IT's MADE IN AMERICA!!! That's a pretty good reason to buy it! It puts our American famers to work and lessens our dependence on foreign oil. I'll take a MPG hit to buy something made here in the US and is a RENEWABLE energy source, unlike fossil fuels.

[97rs4life]

IT's MADE IN AMERICA!!! That's a pretty good reason to buy it! It puts our American famers to work and lessens our dependence on foreign oil. I'll take a MPG hit to buy something made here in the US and is a RENEWABLE energy source, unlike fossil fuels.

yea but it is now making a shortage in crops for feed as all the corn is being used for e85. Therefore the price of meat, beef, pork and chicken are all going to rise, which leads to us paying higher prices for food now. Unless people start demolishing sub-divisions to put in corn fields again the price is going to continue to rise

there needs to be a solution to energy that is renewable and not taking away from something that is currently using it.

[GETGONE]

It can be made from things besides corn. It can be made from waste from beer and cheese production as well. I'm assuming they're pushing corn because it's easy to grow almost anywhere. It's just supply/demand. The prices have gone up on corn now because there isn't a huge supply. The government was paying famers to NOT grow corn and other crops several years ago. I don't know if that's still the case or not.

[MiT/A'96]

Everyone talks of poorer fuel economy but I have yet to see any hard data proving that. Sport Truck did a test with a new Silverado going from CA to Nevada using regular gas as then repeated the same run with E85 and it actually GAINED 1mpg using the E85. From what I've read most of the information that says it has poorer fuel economy is based on older vehicles that didn't have dual computer tunes for gas and E85. The key is to changing the computer tune when running the E85.

All true ,but its also hard on all tghe internal parts ...

[glens04]

to bad f-bodies cant use e-85

[bmwmcars]

perfect. i can stop running c16 in the quick truck and set it up to run e85

[CHMLEON]

There is at least one company that makes conversion kits for the 3.8L V6 and other pre-E85 models. I will have to find my saved site link on my work computer tomorrow.

[Plantfoam]

I'm all for E85....say what you want, it's more or less expensive, or whatever, but it does get noticeably cheaper as the price of oil goes up.

About a year and a half ago when gas hit around $3.20, E85 was around $2.60 in Indiana. They are going to be building a big refinery down the road (Corunna) from me, so there is going to be a big local influx of the stuff starting next year.

The effects of making crops more expensive is only a local one. The plant here is expected to raise the price of corn about 40 cents within 60 miles....but you can't think of this only in detrimental terms. Farmers haven't made much money in a long time Besides, what are the alternatives?

[phoenix_rising]

I hear it is just as bad as fossil fuels. They burn just as much fossil fuel producing the stuff then we use in gasoline. Whats the benefit. My future lies in biodiesel or yellow grease. I am glad that we can make it here in the U.S. though. Starve out those dirty saudis!

[CHMLEON]

Here is the E85 conversion kit. It is available for 6 & 8 cylinder engines.

http://flextek.com/index.htm

I am definatly thinking about it.

[David Conwill]

yea but it is now making a shortage in crops for feed as all the corn is being used for e85. Therefore the price of meat, beef, pork and chicken are all going to rise, which leads to us paying higher prices for food now. Unless people start demolishing sub-divisions to put in corn fields again the price is going to continue to rise

there needs to be a solution to energy that is renewable and not taking away from something that is currently using it.

My understanding is that what is left after ethanol production is still useable as animal feed, so we shouldn't see a rise in meat prices except as a result of the increased price of corn period. All ethanol does is increase the demand for corn. As has been noted elsewhere, though, lots of other things (like biomass) can be used to make ethanol. The ethanol plant they're proposing for Whitehall will supposedly make use of discarded cardboard.

I hear it is just as bad as fossil fuels. They burn just as much fossil fuel producing the stuff then we use in gasoline. Whats the benefit. My future lies in biodiesel or yellow grease. I am glad that we can make it here in the U.S. though. Starve out those dirty saudis!

A couple points on this: The argument you're making is akin to the argument against electric cars - all that happens is to shift the pollution elsewhere. Yes, there is an energy defecit in ethanol production, but we can make electricity from coal cleaner and cheaper and use that electricity to make a gasoline substitute. That seems like a win-win to me.

Furthermore, even if this is only a stopgap for the driving public (and it probably is), that doesn't mean the hobbyist can't benefit. If you have an interest in the internal combustion engine and want to continue driving your F-body after the rest of the nation has gone to hydrogren fuel cells or whatever, you're going to need fuel. Ethanol can be made at home (with the proper permits, of course).

-Dave

[meissen]

Great info, David.