Ethanol sucks

H

huntsonora

Member
Ive only had my 2011 4Runner for a week so I don't have a bunch of data but I did a search for gas stations that have ethanol free gas and found one close to where I was today in Pueblo Colorado. I drifted in with my distance to empty gauge showing 4 miles and filled up my tank.

On the way home, which was 187 miles my computer said I got 24.8 mpg! Most of this was freeway driving at about 72 mph or 2000 rpm's but I did get stuck in Denver rush hour traffic and had stop and go for about 45 minutes

Previously my best tank had been about 20.5

I've heard that you get better mileage with pure gas versus the ethanol blends that the government pushes down our throats but this was the first time I had checked it. I'll be looking for more gas stations that sell the good stuff
 
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"Burning pure ethanol in a vehicle will result in a 34% reduction in miles per US gallon, given the same fuel economy, compared to burning pure gasoline"

Sourced by Wikipedia

Also says blends with 10%/90% ethanol/gas which is what most of the pumps have you will notice around a 3% decrease in mpg compared to 100% gas.
 
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I got 100% gas in Weatherford, OK and proceeded to drive 411 miles on that tank with fuel to spare! 21.8 MPG driving 75 to 80 all freeway. It makes a big difference. That was in a gusting Oklahoma wind!!!!
 
The following link does not explain ethanol but does explain winter gas. I agree unmixed gasoline will give you better fuel economy but you might want to read the reasons behind winter blends. As for how much ethanol you are putting in your tank it could be between 0 and 10%. Depends on many factors. You stated you are getting 20% better gas milage by going from as much as 10% ethanol blend to unmixed gasoline. That's good but I suspect there are other factors that have helped you. I have filled up several times with no-ethanol fuel and compared to ethanol-gas blend the best I have gotten is about a 9% increase, or from 19.9 to 21.7 mpg over 350 miles per fillup. These were same-day, same weather and same interstate. Only difference is one was going north and one was going south. Elevation change was nil. The problem was the "pure" gas cost 11% more for a 9% gain! So, to me it's a wash unless you really go shopping for price. Here is the link:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/102219-winter-gas-explained.html
 
These are my results of the same trip down 395 at various times of the year.
almost exactly 360 miles each.
From my mileage log...

9/6/2010 23.37
11/20/2010 22.32
5/8/2011 24.46
9/25/2011 24.34
11/19/2011 22.73
2/20/2012 21.91

I wonder if I can guess which ones were on winter gas.
 
I ran E85 in my old car. When tuned for, E85 can be equally as efficient as gasoline. A flex fuel or untuned vehicle will NEVER be aggressive enough with timing and A/F ratio to make that happen. Ethanol, in my own opinion, is a great fuel. I made a lot more power, ran a lot more boost/timing with super lean A/F, and spent less in fuel costs for the year and a half that I ran it. I know some will disagree based on what they have read online, but this is my opinion based on facts gathered running it.
 
^^^ very true

I have a friend that tunes evos in Alabama, he'll tune for e85 and turn out much higher hp numbers with the slightly higher octane. Can't speak to mpg though...
 
Say what you will, but LPG trumps all.

1. you're not burning a solvent, so no soot, no oil dilution, engines last MUCH longer
2. it's stored as a liquid, giving near-gasoline energy density
3. Well tuned, it produces less ozone and about the same NO compounds (although out of tune it's worse)
4. it has an anti-knock index number of about 110. You can advance the p*** out of your timing and not get knocking, which in turn adds more HP. Or run a really high compression ratio (more hp)
5. On engines built for the fuel, as opposed to conversions, you're going to get about 80% of the mpg
6. LPG carburetion/injection systems are stupid simple, and easy to fix if you're not into bro-science and stupid stuff

And the ballyhoo about LPG or CNG vehicles being more likely to blow up in an accident have been profoundly disproven. But never mind the truth, this is the interwbz.

Fair disclaimer: Although I was officially VW trained, I spent most of my professional mechanic hours maintaining propane-powered linen trucks, and only touched imports on weekends. It's not what I do now because that paid for college, but I either speak with some prejudice or a position of experience. Likely both.
 
keeganxt said:
^^^ very true

I have a friend that tunes evos in Alabama, he'll tune for e85 and turn out much higher hp numbers with the slightly higher octane. Can't speak to mpg though...
Click to expand...
I had a 2011 Evo X GSR up until a few weeks ago. You don't tune with E85 for better mileage. In fact, mileage takes a nose drive. E85 tuning is purely for the dyno.
 
Jaker said:
I had a 2011 Evo X GSR up until a few weeks ago. You don't tune with E85 for better mileage. In fact, mileage takes a nose drive. E85 tuning is purely for the dyno.
Click to expand...
I ran it for power, but my mileage was the same as on AZ piss water 91. Maybe your EVO was different than my WRX, but that's my experience.
 
brockeverly said:
I ran it for power, but my mileage was the same as on AZ piss water 91. Maybe your EVO was different than my WRX, but that's my experience.
Click to expand...

Gotcha. Probably just a WRX vs Evo thing or the way tuners tuned for E85 on the Evo platform. I myself wasn't tuned for E85 but everyone on the forums experienced at least a 2-3 mpg drop (to be expected I thought as ethanol contains less energy than gasoline).
 
Just about to have to fill up as I only have a range of 9 miles on my tank of real gas! Here are a couple pictures to let you guy know how great gas with no ethanol is!

1fc732bf.jpg~original


bd302530.jpg~original


I'll be using gas without ethanol whenever I can find it
 
This tank was 23.43 mpg hand calculated. Filled both tanks to where I could see the gas in the filler neck

Just filled up with a 10% ethanol blend with some stabil ethanol treatment, I'll keep y'all updated and try to get some good numbers if y'all are interested
 
huntsonora said:
This tank was 23.43 mpg hand calculated. Filled both tanks to where I could see the gas in the filler neck

Just filled up with a 10% ethanol blend with some stabil ethanol treatment, I'll keep y'all updated and try to get some good numbers if y'all are interested
Click to expand...
bump for update, huntsonora?
 
i don't think there are any ethanol free gas stations around the washington dc area. Anybody know of any? The google found some, but, mostly in south virginia
 
Prolex7 said:
Also says blends with 10%/90% ethanol/gas which is what most of the pumps have you will notice around a 3% decrease in mpg compared to 100% gas.
Click to expand...

Pure gasoline from a mpg/cost perspective isn't saving anyone any money.
 
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I will have to agree that non-ehtnaol gas increases mpg. I dont own a 4runner but I have a 13 Taco Double Cab V6 Sport. I have about 9k miles, drive 70/30 hwy/city daily to work. I avg 18 mpg with ethanol gas and avg 20 mpg with non-ethanol gas.
 
The ethanol industry is trying to get the government to allow 15% ethanol instead of 10% max now. It is only going to get worse.
 
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