No!! It would not exist. Because there would have been No BRIEF MOMENT of confusion. You’re still making something out of nothing.
It’s all about a very real color coding of pumps. Green means diesel. That’s not a “law” - it’s just a norm. And the “standard” for regular gasoline (87/89/93) is black (see @asemaster 's post above). I’ve never noticed any “yellow = high ethanol” content as I’ve never been interested (even when I had a car that could do E85).
I did have a WAWA open open up somewhat near to me recently, which was nice because they have ethanol free. But it becomes something of a chore to find a pump. The sell normal E10, E85, ethanol free, and diesel. But not all are at all pumps. So their “color codes” are - well, GREEN = DIESEL; black for normal E10; blue for ethanol free; and, IDK (not interested) - probably yellow for E85/15. So the best way to find your pump is by colors.
Green does not belong on a normal E10 pump. But there is no one in this discussion that would need the BP stations’ stupid color-coding set-up explained to them. It just might take a second to get your bearings. That’s all. No one was looking for a lecture on how much common sense it take to interpret a gas pump.
Ok, since the subject of E-85 fuel came up, has any of the members who operate a Flex vehicle run a cost per mile test to see which is cheaper to operate their vehicle?
The E-85 contains something like 50% to 80% “corn syrup” (ethanol) and that means only about half at best is real gasoline and ethanol contains a lot less energy that straight gas so even though it costs less, the vehicle burns a lot more…
So, what costs less to operate your car… I know the price difference can vary widely. Today the average price of regular gas is $3.21 while the average price of E-85 is $2.84
For your Information…
The 2023 Ford F150 Pickup 2WD FFV 3.3 L, 6 cyl, Automatic (S10), which use Regular Gasoline or E85 gets an average of 20 MPG so it uses 5-gallons to drive 100-miles for a cost of $16.05. While it averages 15 MPG it uses 6.7-gallons of E-85 for a cost of $19.03
And the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 6.2 L, 8 cyl, Automatic 8-spd, Supercharger, Premium Gasoline or E85 gets an average of 13 MPG so it uses 7.7-gallons to drive 100-miles for a cost of $24.71. While it averages 9 MPG it uses 11.1-gallons of E-85 for a cost of $31.52
Inquiring Minds Want to Know, how does your mileage stack up?…
I now live in a senior citizen appartment building with 101 units. Our credit card operated washers and dryers have only stylized pictograms for instructions no words. None of us have the slightest idea of what they mean. Today’s consumer goods designers are idiots.
If everyone on the planet new about cars as much as we do, then this forum would be mostly useless… It is not about hitting a button, it is about grabbing the wrong nozzle rather it would work or not… And how many people come on here that don’t know how to check the air in their own tires or own oil level using the dipstick?? Their are a lot of young people out there driving that never had anyone teach them anything about a car or maintenance, as well as talking/texting or watching videos on their phones while stopping to get fuel, and they might even see the different buttons as different levels for diesel as well, remember no one ever told them anything different, so why not hit the 93 button for the green hose and pump your little 2000 Jetta diesel with gas, when after all their friend drives the same Jetta with a bigger engine and that is what he/she uses…
Don’t think about what we would do, think about what someone else might do… Remember, you have made a living off people that don’t know how to work on their vehicles…
My 1999 Grand Caravan could run either, way back in 2000ish I thought about using it but then thought about the 25%ish less fuel mileage and figured even then that it would cost more to run E85 vs E10/E0 so I never fell for it…
The reason the high HP boosted engines (not direct injection stuff) run E85 is cause it is much cooler with a much higher octane (85%=105) like cheap race gas that helps control preignition so you can run more timing without burning a hole in your piston… when running 93 the tune in the computer will pull timing out for safety and less HP…
For a N/A engine producing about 530 to 550HP that was built to run on 91 (EDITed from 89) octane, you might gain 10-15 flywheel HP running E85 over E10/E0, but again, you are having to retune and using 25%ish more fuel…
E85 is more for the environmentalist then anything else, for the average consumer there are very little to no benefits, if it makes you feel better to use it, more power to ya…
Are there any of these in land based vehicles?
Could be, Yamaha does pretty good on their outboards.
Though for 530HP on 89 octane, I think you might be looking at seven liters As far as I know, NA engines obtaining those HP rating require 91 octane minimum. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
Google was no help.
It was not an OEM engine, I think it was an aftermarket Blue Print LS 6.2L w/10.7:1 engine with really good cam and heads to make that power on pump gas… Advert
Oops, yes it was 91 octane, sorry TN runs 87/89/93, the engine was tested on 89/91 and race 110/116 and finally E85… It was S6 E2 Does Octane Make Power? of Engine Masters… I remembered it was not as high an octane as what I run and forgot Cali runs a lower octane 91 vs 93…
Yellow handle E85 only? Should make the cover white.
Since the E15 is higher octane rating than Regular, and le$$, why not use the E15?
Could the E15 damage older cars’ components? After what year would it be OK?
Thank you.
I guess you did not read my post about it nor Load Thunders about the added cost due to fuel mileage lost… lol
There is no performance advantage to run E85 for the average consumer… It cost more per tank then E10/E0 does due to loosing about 25% of your current fuel mileage…
Again read Load Thunders post, he did some math about it…
Yes!! Continually filling a standard gasoline car with E85 can result in serious fuel system corrosion, metal gas tanks can rot out/through causing leaks as well as eat up the rubber hoses, seals and gaskets throughout the fuel system, very bad for carburetors/injectors… Most vehicles produced in/after 1994 are immune to ethanol.
But E85’s air/fuel ratio is about 9.7:1 whereas regular gas is 14.7:1, so if the timing is not adjusted properly as well as the A/F ratio properly by you or the computer (depending on carb or not), you can damage the engine and void the warranty on an engine not calibrated to run both…
A guy I worked with shipped his Infinity Q50 Red Sport 3.0L twin turbo off to a performance shop to have it capable of putting down 800ish flywheel HP, spent a ton of money on it and they blew up 3 engines getting it right over the flex fuel sensor not working right… He had 3 different tunes in it for street/strip… It was stupid fast… It ended up with 691 RWHP on a chassis dyno…
Yes, even lawnmowers, have problems with E10. My late 90s lawnmower required fuel line replacement and carburetor replacement due to E10. My current lawn mower and 1977 twostroke outboard only get non-ethanol gas.
BTW, when getting gas at my usual station, local Yamaha dealer was filling up one of their demonstration boats. I asked him about running 89 E10 in their motors as Yamaha indicates. He stated they run much better using 90 octane non-ethanol, that is what he was using to fill the boat.
Maybe for a one tieim use, but who knows who else previously tried this “money saving tip?”
Many newer flex-fuel vehicles are specifically designed for E85 ethanol fuel. This fuel’s chemical make-up is derived mostly from biomass materials such as corn. If you accidentally put E85 fuel in a car built for regular petroleum-based gasoline, chances are your check engine light will come on. And while that’s never a good feeling, a one-time mistake shouldn’t cause engine damage. Still, you should consult a trusted mechanic to make sure your vehicle won’t develop any issues.
Much greater risks occur when E85 is used in a non-flex-fuel vehicle over time. Continually filling a standard gasoline car with this high-ethanol fuel can result in serious fuel system corrosion. Plus, when you accidentally put E85 fuel in a car, it may void your engine warranty. That means you could be on the hook for the repairs, even if your car is brand new.
So, I guess the “Financial Benefits” of using E-85 over the use of regular gasoline with the reduced mileage and additional cost are much the same as having you car loan “underwater…” NONE!
Public Service Announcement:… I truly believe that E-85 is less harmful to the environment, so I am not discounting that fact.
Being Registered tree-huggers and Greenies, we have a garage-sale battery-powered lawn mower.
Would be.tter if push mower.
Used thelectric lawn mower 4? years and bought (inexpensive then) motorcycle batteries for it.
(It is nice not having to store gasoline, clean the air filter and change the 4-cyclengine oil.)
The lastime I bought gasoline for it, on the way home I had to turn around and rush blood 261 miles to a hospital. Should have poured it in the gas tank.
Unless your owners manual specifically allows E15, don’t use it. Elastomers in your fuel system may be damaged. It’s cheaper because it contains less energy, resulting in lower mpgs.
Were we to use E15 (allowed) in themergencyehicle, would the RX350 Miles to Empty show less Range?
During a long distancemergentransport I became concerned that we would need to stop for fuel.
Arrived athe hospital reading Range 2 miles!! (Probably 12)
People have been saying E10 is a gives you 0.95 the miles per fill. On some vehicles it is even worse. I think these are detuned engines that already have sub optimal ignition timing advance. So E15 would reduce your miles per fill by 0.025 more.
In order to make E85 economical, the engine compression needs to be raised to make use of the much higher octane rating of E85. You would need customized cylinder heads and then you wouldn’t be able to use regular gasoline anymore, or you would be stuck using premium depending on how far you raised the compression.
Not to continue this silly discussion but I drove a diesel for many years and seems to me black was for diesel where I shopped, not green. But it’s been a while. Never saw a truck stop with green nozzles, but I’ll look now.
If you selected e15 though, which nozzle from the above, do you think it would come out of? The left labeled for e85 or the green for every thing else? I’m not going to look again but seems to me four yellow buttons lit up at night, and one gray. I suppose if nothing came out you’d put the nozzle back and start over again. Yet two e selections in the gray shaded area. But the nozzle just labeled for 85. Then again for the color blind it would all be brown. What I’m told anyway. I
As part of my senior research project, we studied two 1994 Geo Metros - one was kept stock @ 9.0:1 CR and 87 octane and the second was converted to 12.0:1 CR, E95 (not E85), and port fuel injection - throttle body was stock. Both cars were driven 10K identical miles. Ethanol vehicle fuel economy (MPG) was 27.4% less than gasoline. Drive wheel horsepower was 14% higher on E95 with the higher compression, port injection, etc. Fuel efficiency (MPGe - equivalent MPG per BTU) was 17.5% better for ethanol. The study was funded by the MN Corn Grower’s Association and MN Corn Processors, Inc., so MPGe threw them a bone.
