[sailor]

With debate continuing on fuel choice vs. power & economy, a fresh thread was needed for CIVIL commentary on personal choice & results.

The 2.0 TiVCT and it's flex fuel variant can operate on a wide range of fuels effectively, as opposed to older tech. that was comparatively limited.

The power output & mileage resulting will vary, and that's where personal experience/results and any test data becomes interesting to assist others in making choices.

Have fun commenting & debating on this tech., results achieved, how it works and any pro's/con's you can think of.

Please keep it civil in this fresh thread on the subject, anything more adamant than "I Disagree" may be removed based on the prior history of "discussion" on this topic!

 

[Elizabeth]

When 100% gasoline used to still be available in neighboring (western) counties.. I would often try to buy gas there. Instead of the 10% ethanol stuff required in the Lakeside counties.
I found in the 1999 Contour SVT I owned, that the 100% gasoline would give me a 4mpg gain over 10% ethanol. And the car felt better with 100% gasoline.

After awhile the 10% stuff became required anywhere I would drive.

So IMO the 10% ethanol is cat poo.
Is that nice enough?

I would wish with all my heart that the government would recognize that we really do not have any need for ethanol gas anymore. And stop mandating it entirely.
Though gradually, and especially with the current droughts, that corn growing should be kept for food use. And that might help sway things (more than the ethanol industry political donations will.)
Please legislators stop the ethanol requirement. Let folks who like it use it. Let those of use who hate it NOT use it. Make a special tax just on 100% gasoline. Like an extra $0.10 a gallon just for 100% gasoline gas... i would pay it gladly! to have 100% gasoline again.

 

[Humphrey]

Not being able to have ethanol fuel sit for a while and being able to use it, lets say after a 3 month period- in a small engine, should tell you there that ethanol is bad.

100% fuel 100% of the time is best imo but only can find one store around here that sells it.

 

[sailor]

"Cat Poo" works for a description of E-10, the only advantage to the user is that "dry gas" is seldom needed - ethanol & possible water content comes with the fuel...

 

[wavsine]

Since the other thread was killed, I will just summarize why I loathe E85 or E15 or anything in between. Look past the 100+ octane rating to understand that ethanol has a lower latent energy than gasoline. Fuel economy is impacted. Corrosion and deterioration of seals used to be a problem but manufacturers have solved much of that with flex fuel vehicles. But here is the biggest problem with ethanol: hygroscopicity; simply put, hygroscopy is the ability of a substance to attract and hold water molecules. Water can mix with other substances to form acids.

In a perfect world, underground fuel storage tanks would be pristine and you would never have water contamination. We know that storage conditions are less than ideal. In fact, ethanol blended fuels have been found to be responsible for the corrosion of underground storage tanks, further compromising the quality of the fuel you are pumping into your tank.

http://www.dieselnet.com/news/2014/07nist.php

The government mandates ethanol in certain areas but is it better for the environment? The debate goes on:

http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/7/4/045901/article

Ethanol blended fuel corrosion:

 

[GhostTribute]

Liking what I am seeing so far....

Down with ethanol []

I am glad to know that my Province still has non ethanol premium. I don't mind spending the extra $0.04 - $0.07 for it! Considering that I get an extra 100km/tank. So it more than pays for itself.

Dealer also told me that if I were to use premium more often that I would not require fuel system (combustion chamber) cleaning as often. Bonus! That is obvious, premium fuel with additives = less combustion chamber carbon buildup = less injector cleaning required. $$$ in my pocket!

 

[felixthecat]

Wow Roger, Opening a can of worms, huh!!! Of course you need to upgrade your motor w/ bigger injectors, pump & lines & a tune to start. Add more compression to take advantage of the fuel. You'd be running it for power & yeah it keeps the motor cleaner. So really you'd need to setup the motor to run it & your running it for power.

 

[CunFFS13]

There's no ethanol for sale here

 

[sailor]

Well Bruce, you could say I did. It's a replacement for a couple octane threads that got a bit too heated.

Staying within the capabilities of the Stock 2.0 TiVCT GDI engine, your comments reflect the degree of changes that might be optimal for dedicated ethanol or E85 use vs. the flex fuel option avail. & the stock version that's not flex fuel capable.

 

[TooOld]

There's no ethanol for sale here

Lucky!

 

[mikebontoft]

50% ethanol blend ftw.

 

[FoFoTi]

87 octane E -10 works fine for me & the price is right []

 

[GhostTribute]

We'd be lucky to have 2 stations that even have E85 pumps here...lol Obama and his corn.... best leave it for eating the way things are looking.

 

[mac.mogul]

I use 100% Gasoline 91 octane because that's the only level it is available at my local station. They buy 91 E0 and blend it to get 87 E10 and 89 E5.

I will not put ethanol fuels into my vehicles.

 

[TooOld]

Since I purchased the vehicle to replace aging Ford Escort economy cars, and treat the Focus as an economy car, 87 octane with (unfortunately) 10% ethanol is my choice.

I do not, for my style of driving, get better fuel economy with anything else. 87 octane is my best choice for distance / cost.

 

[Humphrey]

Lucky!

seconded

 

[tallted]

91 all the way. I've never seen blended before, but plenty of stations offer e-85. My Focus isn't a flex car though. Plus I'm weary of it anyways. Too much controversey. Everyone agrees normal gas is fine to run so I will stick with that.

 

[Kabigon]

We don't get much of a choice here in Calif.

Fortunately, the fuel that I'm currently using (76 premium, which is 91 octane) is maxing out the relative octane reading (100.0) and giving me a nice idle LTFT value of -4.7.

During the winter (with winter gas), the LTFT goes up significantly which means that the mileage goes down.

 

[TooOld]

we don't get much of a choice here in calif.

Fortunately, the fuel that i'm currently using (76 premium, which is 91 octane) is maxing out the relative octane reading (100.0) and giving me a nice idle ltft value of -4.7.

During the winter (with winter gas), the ltft goes up significantly which means that the mileage goes down.

ltft?

 

[sailor]

ltft = Long Term Fuel Trim

A number you can get by accessing ECU data with a scan tool.

stft & ltft show current & long term adjustments to fueling amounts used by the system.