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Ethanol

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4K views 19 replies 15 participants last post by  unknownTitan  
#1 ·
Anyone with an 05 use ethanol for fuel yet? I noticed that some 05's can run on gasoline or ethanol. Pretty cool, but does anyone actually use it? Thanks.
 
#4 ·
I thought ethanol was something they added to the fuel just during the winter to help with emissions.?.

I don't know of any place you can buy straight ethanol here in Vegas. I also think pretty much all the fuel u can buy has some ethanol premixed into it during the winter. It's been like this for so long I haven't bother to read the sticker by the fuel pumps in years.
 
#6 ·
Would like more information please!!!

I live in Iowa and Quik Trip is my choice to get gas. And with out starting another war on gas choices. I would love to use ethanol in my truck, if I thought it was a wiser choice. Iowa uses 10% ethanol with a minimum octane rating of 90.
I am currently switching back to 91 because I feel that I get a little better performance with it.
But here ethanol is the cheapest even over regular 87.
Any further info would be great.


I also have a 99 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the I-6 and it was always fed ethanol but after switching to 87 it runs better and gets more mileage per gallon on that than it ever did on 90.
 
#7 ·
Actually all gas has some amount of ethanol in it. The only reason you see it posted is that they have to tell you if it has 10% or more in it, thanks to the government. If their gas is 9.9995% ethanol they don't have to have it posted on the pump. Little fact.
 
#8 ·
Gm has an option at no cost that will allow you to run on 85% ethanol or any blend of regular unleaded gasoline. I think it has different tuning and larger injectors. My dad has a new Tahoe with one of those engines and you can't tell the difference when driving it from a regular engine. 85% ethanol is cheaper per gallon but usually requires more volume to do the same job=poorer fuel economy. Ethanol usually has more octane but less energy than the same volume of unleaded.
 
#10 ·
The window sticker said it could run on either gasoline or ethanol. I believe it said E85. I'm not 100% sure. Anyway, I took pictures of the window sticker and will try to post them tomorrow night. I'm out of town, so I can't post them right now. And yes, you are correct about it getting less miles per gallon using ethanol. I think it said 10mpg city and 13mpg on highway.
 
#11 ·
Hughey79 said:
I live in Iowa and Quik Trip is my choice to get gas. And with out starting another war on gas choices. I would love to use ethanol in my truck, if I thought it was a wiser choice. Iowa uses 10% ethanol with a minimum octane rating of 90.
I am currently switching back to 91 because I feel that I get a little better performance with it.
But here ethanol is the cheapest even over regular 87.
Any further info would be great.


I also have a 99 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the I-6 and it was always fed ethanol but after switching to 87 it runs better and gets more mileage per gallon on that than it ever did on 90.
Page 9-3 of the owners manual has all the info on recommended fuels.

It states that if an oxygenate-blend other than methonal blend (ethanol,MTBE) is used. It should contain no more than 10% oxygenate.(MTBE may, however, be added up to 15%)

If a methonal blend is used it should contain no more than 5% methanol.(methyl alcohol,wood alcohol) It should also contain a suitable amount of appropriate cosolvents and corrosion inhibitors.
 
#12 ·
Thanks all, I actually read both the 2004 and 2005 manual online from doing a search just last night. I just wasnt sure if ethanol was a good choice for this truck. I have ran it on 87 for several months with no problem paying about .05 cents more per gallon and like I already said I am going to premium at the moment which is only 1 point of octane more than ethanol here per quiktrip.
Thank
 
#13 ·
I've burned 10% ethanol in my vehicles for at least 10 years. I've been told that it helps your fuel system, injectors etc. keep clean. I've never had a fuel system problem.

I've also had someone else tell me that they don't use an ethanol mix and also get better mileage. Guess it may be a trade off. I might try regular unleaded to see if I do indeed get better mpg. I'm getting about 10.5 around town currently.

We have several state vehicles where I work that are flexible fuel vehicles, basically Taurus's, but the availability of independent retailers selling E85 is sparse. They basically have to fill up at state roads dept. pumps if they want to use E85.
 
#14 ·
Typically the higher the ethanol mix the lower the mileage just because ethanol burns a little hotter. The flex fuel titan has the wider injector ports to accommodate the ethanol but any more than 85% and you get problems starting in cold weather because ethanol's flash point is higher than gas. Vehicles I've seen running 100% ethanol all have a small propane tank to assist cold starts. Ethanol is also slightly more corrosive so they put a stainless gas tank in the flex fuel models, with higher grade lines and such. It also helps to have a blower to get plenty of O2 in.
 
#17 ·
I'll scrape off the crud and respond to my post #13 from 2005. I've changed my tune on several planes. I no longer own a TITAN (prior 2004 owner, and almost have my Ridgline paid for). My TITAN was a hanger queen, but no disrespect to those who have had good experiences.

Second, I won't use E-10 (as its usually a dime cheaper here) as I do get better mileage with unleaded. While I don't think E-10 will hurt vehicles, and may help keep injectors clean etc. I'll pass, as I live in a big ethanol state and don't agree with the resources used (mainly water and corn) and the subsidies that we all pay just to have ethanol as an alternative.
 
#19 ·
i have a couple friends with EVOs and AWD Talons running E85. The one Talon runs 11.20's @125ish and is making in the neighborhood of 500AWHP. The thing is, hes running 1650cc injectors in it to compensate for running that E85. Basically E85 is cheap race gas on a F/I car/truck.