In my continuing effort to learn about all things automotive, I have learned the one big draw back about E85 ethanol, and the draw back in quite simply, the loss of about 30% of your gas mileage, I’ll be the first to admit, this is a huge blow to the idea of running E85, other then that I can’t seem to find the down side of E85.
I have found that the power out of both fuels is about the same, if there is a difference, it’s nothing that you could tell from behind the wheel of the car, it does have more octane, and this is a huge hump for the old cars, they need the octane to run correctly, otherwise you get after run, and detonation, both of which can destroy your old car’s engine, it’s hard to locate gas above 92 octane these days, this would have killed my old Camaro that I used to have.
If you can put up with less gas mileage from your old car, well now the octane is at the pump again, but if not, then you best look for a gas station that still pumps high octane gas, they do exist, unless you happen to be a hot rodder that hugs trees, then your just out of luck, unless you want to run E85, it does have a lot less emissions, for those of you who worry about such things.
My conclusion about E85, is yes it’s the answer for the emissions problem that fossil fuel creates, but it’s most defiantly not the answer if you want to spend less time at the pump and more time driving, in that case you might just want to stick with oil based gasoline and call it good, but id you can put up with 30% more stops at the fuel pump, well then E85 may be the answer for you, but do yourself a favor, and weigh the Yay’s and the Nay’s, and make the right decision for you, and don’t weigh in what other people tell you, it’s your car, not theirs.
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I’ve been in the automotive business for about 20 or 25 years, I have worked in all facets of the industry, from parts to restoration, all different makes and models, I just want to keep people interested in the old cars because it’s where my heart is.
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