ARubicon

I have done a little experiment. I have bought fuel at two differnt statoins one with ethynol and one without. I have noticed that when buying the fuel without ethynol that my jeep is much more responsive. when buying the fuel with ethynol i found the jeep was sluggish and weak. Has anyone else noticed this or have any comments on this subject.

saltman

Yeah that is pretty standard. You also get worse mpg with the ethanol added fuels. They put it in because it is cheaper and it reduces ozone depletion in the winter months. Most stations around here advertise no ethanol because nobody wants it here.

RATM

Ethanol is proven garbage.

We had to fill up with it in Southern Indiana and my dads Sequoia which averaged 17 on the tank before dropped to 12.9 under the same load and conditions.

The government can't even mandate a decent alternative fuel yet many idiots think it can decide what govt provided health care is best for them.....this should be interesting....

As a matter of fact the fuel line exhibitor next to us at the Rod and Restoration Show in Indy was full of horror stories as were the folks coming to his booth. Ethanol is nasty stuff.

Area-51

A drop in mpg using ethanol is almost a given.

I see between 1 and 1.5 mpg drop using ethanol. I don't notice that it is any more sluggish however...just that I can get farther on a tank of non ethanol blend.

Now in my area, ethanol blend is usually 10 cents a gallon cheaper than non ethanol blend at least, sometimes up to 15 cents a gallon cheaper. Which at least makes the loss in mpg close to being a wash.

MoTec

I recently made a round trip from San Antonio to Dallas. On the way up I filled up with gas with no ethynol. I got, according to the in-dash mpg gage, my best mileage for a tank, to date, of 19.8mpg. This was also the longest trip I've made in my Jeep, about 300 miles.

Before I headed home I filled up with gas with 10% ethynol. The return mileage was identical to the mileage headed up - 19.8mpg. I didn't notice any loss of power, either. But, then again, it's only 10%. Maybe elsewhere it's a larger percentage.

Jsmithgillespie

I can also confirm a 2-3mpg loss when using 10% enthynol. It is getting ridiculous. Oh yeah did I mention that state Law now mandates the use of 10% enthynol in gas fuels sold in state! Way to go legi! Also it is well known that using the in dash computer to calculate your MPG is not the way to go.

azeeb

In my opinion it's better than polluting everything with MBTE. I'm no tree hugger, but I don't mind losing a MPG or 2 if it means significantly less pollution. Also, the main reason it causes less power / lower mileage is because engines aren't designed and calibrated for it. Straight ethanol is 113 octane. If the ethanol percentage was standardized across the country, engines could be specifically designed for it, and you wouldn't see a performance drop. It's also good in the winter in cold climates, because it absorbs water that forms in your gas tank, negating the need to use dry gas.

4x4jkx

Ethanol sucks. Some stupid environmentalist talked bullshit to a politician and like always he bought it. He told the rest of the politicians who followed it without any further thought (see lemmings) and they all jumped off the cliff for it.

You get no increase in MPG, it robs performance, it can lead to engine buildup because it is less efficient, and best of all it has an affinity for water.

Funny side fact: Lemmings don't actually jump off cliffs in mass suicides. They were tricked into doing it by a documentary crew and the concept forever stuck.

azeeb

It's funny how you see so many "Buy American" threads on here, but when it comes to fuel, people would rather buy gas from the Middle East than ethanol from the USA.

jasonclarkusaf

Actually I'd rather buy gas that is refined from oil drilled in the US, but unfortunately that is becoming a less likely option.