IS USING E85 OK FOR OUR CARS?
 

A buddy told me that he mixes about 5 gallons E85 with 10 gallons of premium gasoline in his car, and he gets better fuel economy, for less money. I was wondering if I can run the same thing in my '95 ETC and if it's harmful to the car. Thanks

RE: IS USING E85 OK FOR OUR CARS?
 

E85, I believe contains grain fuel ...
grain fuel has a short shelf life, then starts to GEL.
GEL plugs up fuel filter and injectors.

Burns just fine .. just dont leave it in the tank for long.

What is the shelf life? Dont know .. 20 days? 45 days? Dont know.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E85


"E85 has an octane rating of 100 - 105 compared to regular gasoline's typical rating of 87 - 93. This allows it to be used in higher compression engines which tend to produce more power per unit of displacement than their gasoline counterparts. Since the reciprocating mass of the engine increases in proportion to the displacement of the engine E-85 has a higher potential efficiency for an engine of equal power. One complication is that use of gasoline in an engine with a high enough compression ratio to use E-85 efficiently would likely result in catastrophic failure due to engine detonation, as the octane rating of gasoline is not high enough to withstand the greater compression ratios in use in an engine specifically designed to run on E-85. Use of E-85 in an engine designed specifically for gasoline would result in a loss of the potential efficiency that it is possible to gain with this fuel. Using E-85 in a gasoline engine has the drawback of achieving lower fuel economy as more fuel is needed per unit air..."



As a side note, I add 1 gallon of DENATURED alcohol to 3 gal of high octane fuel to my Allante and other cars one hr before a SMOG test .. then I make sure I burn it off by the end of the day.

RE: IS USING E85 OK FOR OUR CARS?
 

In GM vehicles seals in fuel will deteriorate with prolonged exposure to Ethanol at over 15-20%, if not designed for E85. Alcohol burns at twice the rate of gasoline, it is also one of the easiest ways to raise the octane of unleaded fuel. Fuel economy will drop dramatically on E85 vs. gasoline. In the not to distant future someone will come out with retrofit kit for the older cars, once E85 is more available....If the oil companies don't buy the rights to the technology to do it.

RE: IS USING E85 OK FOR OUR CARS?
 

slowroll .. which are seals most likley to deteriorate ?

thanks

RE: IS USING E85 OK FOR OUR CARS?
 

FPRs, fuel pumps, carburetors, and injectors. E85 / alcohol uses rubber parts made from a different material.

RE: IS USING E85 OK FOR OUR CARS?
 

good info to have .. FAQ topic?