E85 gas mileage

[clipto]

So I know e85 like takes like 33% more fuel but daily driving does anyone have some ruff estimates on mpg I should exspect? Or what kind of mpg you guys are getting on E85? Going to run 1000cc and evo3 16g.

 

[Devilsfutbol17]

I get 21mpg on 92 octane. Over the summer I got a best of 18mpg staying out of boost as much as possible on E85. When I first switched to E85 and was tuning with many WOT pulls, I saw 15mpg. I'm not driving the E85 galant right now, so I don't have any current estimates.

Two weeks ago I tested the E85 at the Pacific Pride in Richland, WA and it was E80 also. My estimates were all on a E316g.

 

[clipto]

yea figured it be around 15 mpg from what I heard. I get my E85 from English Racing.

 

[jrohner]

2G 5spd: My best on E85 was 23, but I usually get about 20 on the highway. I think my best on premium was 26.

1G auto: Best on E85 < 18; never ran it on anything else.

I've ran E85 in a quite a few cars and many different conditions, and it's usually only changed my mileage 2-3 MPG from what I've noticed. I actually haven't used gas very much in DSM's; I switched my 2G to E85 6 years ago.

The biggest change in mileage E85 vs gas is if you let your car idle for quite a while or are revving it while not moving (to do tuning tweaks).

 

[Captn]

I hear the winter blends are more fuel efficient too, I forget where I read that though. I lost about 7 mpg's when I switched to e85 ( in a honda though ). I think it equals out price wise since its so cheap. My only issue with it living in WI is there isn't enough stations around me! 20 min drive for the stuff I love e85 though I wouldn't go back to pump unless I had too.

 

[Imback]

I get around 18mpg. There are ways to get better mileage. If you were to lock the car in openloop then make your own map you would no longer be running rich at idle or cruise.

 

[CanadianTalonTC]

I get around 18mpg. There are ways to get better mileage. If you were to lock the car in openloop then make your own map you would no longer be running rich at idle or cruise.

Shouldn't you be going from rich to lean around stoich at idle and cruise?

Joel

 

[Black-Out]

Wrong fuel to be worrying with milage....If I were you I'd seriously just run E85 when your planning to beat on the car, then have another map handy for normal use and just forget about that cause you use so more E85 that it makes it a bit ridiculous to use it as an everyday fuel source for your car......That is unless you don't mind getting to know your filling station clerk by they're first name ....

At any rate with 1200cc injectors and a 300lph pump my buddy's wrx managed a staggering 13mpg city on E85 .....about 17mpg on the highway out of boost.....Thats comperable to a carburetted big block Cheverolet from back in the late 60's........just wish fuel was as cheap now as it was then.

William-

 

[Dyesuperman]

I'm getting terrible mileage out of mine, I'm lucky to see 100 miles from 1/2 tank just city driving, so around 13mpg being very easy on it. I'm thinking I have some some other issue for having such bad mileage because I used to get 15-16mpg earlier this year. It sucks, but at least it's cheaper

 

[knewblewkorvett]

So I know e85 like takes like 33% more fuel but daily driving does anyone have some ruff estimates on mpg I should exspect? Or what kind of mpg you guys are getting on E85? Going to run 1000cc and evo3 16g.

Yeah you'll get a 30% drop. My stock Talon TsiAWD gets about 24 mpg with a combination of highway and city driving. I'm sure with your upgrades you get less than 24 mpg. So, in the best case you'll get 16.8 mpg, so expect no more than 16 mpg

 

[Calan]

The 33% drop with E85 is a bit misleading. It's offset some by the fact that you can run a leaner AFR and more timing, and it varies widely depending on your tune, actual blend percentage, and driving habits.

The biggest reason you get worse mileage with E85 is because it lets you put your foot into it without knock...which is the whole point of running E85 in the first place.

FWIW - I can usually get around 29-31 mpg highway on straight gas, and around 23-25 with E85, if I drive conservatively.

 

[knewblewkorvett]

FWIW - I can usually get around 29-31 mpg highway on straight gas, and around 23-25 with E85, if I drive conservatively.

29-31 mpg WTF Tell us your secrets

 

[Calan]

Tune it and keep it below 70mph.

I haven't checked it in a while, but I've definitely hit those numbers several times on the way home from work. I got a little over 340 miles on a tank of about 13.5 gallons during a long trip last weekend, but that was with a couple of on-ramp pulls and driving 80mph also.

Tuning AFR and timing for best torque during cruise conditions is key.

 

[knewblewkorvett]

I still have the window sticker from when I purchased the car (Talon TsiAWD 5-speed) back in 1991. It lists city at 20 mpg and highway at 25 mpg so you are doing GREAT!

keep it below 70mph

um, that'll be hard to do

 

[98mitsubishigst]

i get about 14-15 on E85.

 

[zcoh2gdsm]

my STi was tuned for e85 for about 4-5 months, i saw probably a 4-6mpg loss. i know it's a different car but it's just an estimate.

your sacrificing fuel economy for price and power. it's pretty even if you ask me.

 

[norcal_drifter]

i get about 160 miles to the tank...

 

[Black-Out]

my STi was tuned for e85 for about 4-5 months, i saw probably a 4-6mpg loss. i know it's a different car but it's just an estimate.

your sacrificing fuel economy for price and power. it's pretty even if you ask me.

Well....yes and no. If you crunch numbers a little you'll find that you'll never really be close enough to call it even especially when your beating on the car. Let me just take some basic numbers and throw them out,I know they won't be perfectly accurate, but this is for example purposes only so bear with me.

If for arguments sake we say the vehicle in question had a 14.5 gallon tank and you hit the 25mpg the car got when it was new. On premium unleaded fuel (priced here locally in Austin, Tx) you'd pay about $3.59 per gallon

14.5 gallons at $3.59 per gallon = $52.055 at 25mpg that breaks down to about $2.08 per mile.....


14.5 gallons of E85 totals out to be $45.675 at $3.15 per gallon. This works out to be around $2.85 per mile if you can still manage 25 miles to the gallon (which would be a theoretical stretch to say the least)

Your still paying nearly $0.77 more per mile and that's if your a good boy.

Now here's where a good dose of reality sets in. Most of the people who've commented on this so far have recorded a lower mileage of about 13-16mpg.
If you run the calculation for that mileage and compare the differences between gas and E85 you'll find the cost per mile to be far more lopsided.

At 13mpg I calculated E85 at a cost of $3.51 per mile........I can bet your gonna get much better than 13mpg with 93 pump.....You may pay less for E85 but because of how much you use (and of course this depends purely on how good of a drive-abilty tuner you are) I think you'll ultimately end up spending closer to what it would cost to put 100 octane in the tank.

But this is all hypothetical. On a car with what I would classify as W.O.T. tuned D.I.Y.'er with a poor light throttle map (and you guys don't take offense to this ya'll know ya'll don't give a damn about part throttle maps...)

I still think your spending way more than you should if your using E85 for your daily driver....

Calan would you be willing to carry out this experiment from a real hard facts type stand point? If you're getting that kind of mileage on E85 I'd love to see what you would pull down on a fuel with more volitility

William-

 

[gofer]

I drive like a grandma thats 3 hours early to Sunday church service, 70mph never going into boost and shifting at 3k or lower, and average 18mpg but 21mpg if I drive long distance highway only. Heres something I did awhile back to show the annual cost difference between running 91oct and E85.

Heres how it compares now assuming E85 hovers around $2.89ga and 91oct hovers around $3.47ga which we all now isn't going to happen...

E85 STATS
E85 Price: $2.89ga
E85 MPG: 18mpg
E85 cost per mile:$0.161
E85 miles per dollar: 6.228​

91oct STATS
Gas Price: $3.47ga
Gas MPG: 24mpg
Gas cost per mile: $0.145
Gas miles per dollar: 6.916 Best​

How everything adds up...
Miles you drive per year: 12,000
Cost per year, fueled with E85: $1,926
Cost per year, fueled with gas: $1,735
Gasoline not imported by fueling with E85 (per year): 400 gals
Reduction in green house gases with E85 (per year): 2,883 lbs[/INDENT]

 

[Calan]

...that breaks down to about $2.08 per mile...This works out to be around $2.85 per mile...At 13mpg I calculated E85 at a cost of $3.51 per mile....

William... while I like the effort, you need to redo your math. There is no way that anyone is paying $2 to $3 a mile. That would mean that a 300 mile trip would cost about $900.

Cost per mile = cost per gallon / mpg

FWIW - I can usually get around 29-31 mpg highway on straight gas, and around 23-25 with E85, if I drive conservatively.

In case anyone missed the key words there.

I rarely drive conservatively in an effort to save fuel for any great length of time, so I don't "normally" get those nice numbers; I can, but usually don't. I actually log every fill-up, along with the price, type of fuel, mileage, etc. in a handy phone app...but haven't analyzed it in some time.

While DD'ing my car and playing with on-ramps, etc...I'm probably closer to 24-26 highway on pump, and 21-22 on E85.

 

[Black-Out]

My bad- definitely screwed the pooch on that one...... Calculated using tank volume by mistake .....

 

[98SpyderAWD]

When I was running E85 in Texas I was getting 11-12 mpg. This was with a good tune from JMS and the AEM with O2 feedback and not really beating on it. The car is not my daily so when I do drive it, I drive it hard....

 

[Hult250R]

I get around 18mpg on E85 with my 1G auto awd and 1350's on the highway.
In town beating on it its probably more like 9mpg

 

[VETDRMS]

I have been running E85 for the last couple months in my 2.4 auto. Commuting to/from work 16 miles each way (which can take between 40-45 minutes), I get about 12mpg with some spirited driving when possible. On a long highway trip I got 21mpg.

E85 cost just as much as regular gas here so there is no cost advantage. I was using ~100 gallons per month, at $3.80 per gallon.

I switched back to pump gas a couple days ago so no comparisons yet but it will obviously be better. With winter rain/cold E85 power levels would just get me into trouble. So far at 21psi I have no knock on pump..

 

[Bud92gsx]

1g auto stock- around 18 mpg on 92 ish premium..

1g auto with a shift box-20+ on same fuel..

E85 I havn't the slightest idea....YET