Obviously you want to treat your engine in the best way possible. Unfortunately, ethanol absorbs dirt easily, which can potentially corrode and damage your engine, says Car Bibles. One of the main concerns about driving a flex-fuel car is its gas mileage. While some experts assert that flex-fuel vehicles have similar mileage as regular fuel-powered vehicles, others claim they have lower gas mileage.
While ethanol does raise a vehicle's octane level, it contains less energy. In other words, it will take 1. So, yes, you will get fewer miles per gallon using ethanol.
However, ethanol costs less than regular gasoline, so the savings should more than offset the mileage loss. Because flex fuel isn't as economical as gasoline, gas stations are less likely to carry it. In fact, only a small percentage of gas stations nationwide supply ethanol, although that is likely to change as more consumers purchase flex-fuel vehicles.
The benefit of a modern flex-fuel vehicle, though, is that you can use any combination of gasoline and ethanol, whether it's percent unleaded gas or 85 percent ethanol.
Your vehicle's sensors will detect the blend and make the necessary changes. The debates surrounding the pros and cons of flex fuel and flex-fuel vehicles aren't going away anytime soon.
However, there does seem to be a move toward using ethanol as an environmentally friendly and economical fuel source. More ethanol refining plants are opening up, and even if you're not ready to transition to a flex-fuel vehicle yet, it's something to keep in mind for the future.
Technology is always changing, so there's no way to predict what flex-fuel vehicles and advances could emerge over the next few years. You could be driving a flex-fuel car already and not even know it. Flex-fuel vehicles typically look no different than other vehicles, but there are some signs you can look for. For example, many manufacturers put yellow gas caps on flex-fuel vehicles or a yellow ring where you insert the fuel nozzle.
Other vehicles have labels on the fuel doors indicating they take flex fuel. If you do have a flex-fuel vehicle, you could switch to an alternative fuel source now, without having to go through the effort and expense of purchasing a new car. For any feedback or correction requests please contact us at research caranddriver.
New Cars. Buyer's Guide. Type keyword s to search. Ethanol fuel use in the U. E10 and E15 are blends of ethanol and gasoline. The number after the "E" indicates the percentage of ethanol by volume. Most of the gasoline sold in the U. All automakers approve blends up to E10 in their gasoline vehicles. As of , EPA began allowing the use of E15 in model year and newer gasoline vehicles. A vehicle's owner manual may indicate the maximum ethanol content recommended for it by the automaker.
Ethanol contains about one-third less energy than gasoline. Summer blends tend to have more ethanol while winter blends have less. FFVs are offered by several automakers.
We provide a brief guide to help you determine if your vehicle can run on flex fuel. The cost of E85 relative to gasoline or E10 can vary due to location and fluctuations in energy markets. E85 is typically cheaper per gallon than gasoline but slightly more expensive per mile.
Drivers should notice no performance loss when using E In fact, some FFVs perform better—have more torque and horsepower—running on E85 than on regular gasoline. More than 3, filling stations in the U. All it takes is an impulse such as hot spots in the combustion chamber, a spark plug that runs too hot for the application, or carbonaceous deposits in the combustion chamber heated to incandescence by previous engine combustion events.
This doesn't sound like something all that bad, but it certainly is. E85 is usually cheaper than regular gas but sometimes not as much to compensate the increase in consumption.
Sometimes you might end up paying more in gas for the same trip Running ethanol based fuels in Flex Fuel Vehicles is fine since they are specifically designed to withstand all the effects ethanol blends come with. Some people can't afford a newer FFV vehicle, or simply just want to keep their current one and possibly modify it to run with E Due to its corrosive nature and as we mentioned here before E85 affects fuel system components, magnesium, aluminium, rubber hoses, gaskets and paper fuel filters.
Another important detail to factor in is that the fuel pump usually has gas flowing around the pump and motor mechanism that lubricates it. It's so easy for someone to borrow your ride and accidentally fuel up with E85 and later tell you that they got a great deal on 'gas' today, so they filled 'er up for you!
If you're the lucky recipient of such great fortune Unless you have done your research and replaced all of your hoses, lines, gaskets, fuel pumps, etc. One bottle will provide you the much needed protection for many, many miles. Automotive enthusiast, passionate about Jeeps, hot-rods, turbos, performance, efficiency, diesels, fuels, high performance oils, additives and anything with an engine.
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