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Consumer reports found that E15 causes a drop in fuel economy that's more than 15% [1], meaning you're burning ethanol with your gas for no apparent gain and to
by Sam_Odio 14y ago
Consumer reports found that E15 causes a drop in fuel economy that's more than 15% [1], meaning you're burning ethanol with your gas for no apparent gain and to the detriment of the environment in the form of increased emissions.
Ironically, on top of it all you're actually increasing your dependence on fossil fuels since since e15 requires more fossil fuel to get you the same distance as e0.
Can someone explain the argument for ethanol-based fuels?
1. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2011/01/the-great-ethanol-debate/index.htm http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2011/01/the-great-ethanol...
- Groxx 14y agoI'm not sure where you're getting the fuel economy drop from that link - it deals with E10 vs E85, where there's about a 30% drop (significant, but far less than the change in gasoline volume).
- sliverstorm 14y agoI'm curious to see how things change when you use an engine designed specifically for E85. I'm told ethanol behaves a lot like high-octane gasoline, which means an engine built for ethanol could have greatly increase compression, which can improve economy. Alternatively, you can run much higher boost, which I believe can directly improve efficiency, or can simply be combined with a very small engine.
- sliverstorm 14y agoCan someone explain the argument for ethanol-based fuels? I can't explain everything, but I do know that in winter ethanol percentages in regular gasoline are increased, as I understand to increase vapor pressure which prevents a host of problems.