Ethonal on MPG

I know this topic comes up a lot and we all know that ethonal in our fuel does decrease fuel mileage. But I wanted to know exactly by how much does it effect the Ranger's old 2.3L engine. Because the effect can widely change on different cars, I installed a ScanGauge II on my Ranger to keep an eye on average fuel mileage and fuel trim's. From what I have been seeing, cruising down a road at 40mph or faster, using 100% unleaded fuel, my fuel trim has been -4% ~ 0%. So the PCM has been giving the engine -4% to 0% of the calculated ideal mixture. Now with 15 gallons of E10 fuel added to my 20 gallon tank, I'm already seeing a 4% ~ 8% increase of the fuel trim. So now my fuel trim is 0% ~ 4% cruising down the same roads at 40 mph and faster. My last 3 fillups have been consistent at 21mpg, so with the 8% increase of the fuel trim, I may see as low as 19 mpg. I will find out once I reach the last quarter of the fuel tank and fill up. And I will post my results later on.

I know nothing of fuel trim. However, 10% ethenol would naturally reduce fuel milage by at least 3%. Ethenol has 30% less energy than straight gasoline. Using E85 generally results in 25-28% less milage.

I amost always get 21 mpg in around town driving. On the highway I get 26-28 mpg in my 92. Before ethenol I'd get 23 around town and always 28 on the highway.

i get 25-30mpg using E10. truck is all tuned up and using 3.45 rear gears. its more than acceptable for me

Gas mileage has been dropping on both my vehicles & my motorcycle for the last 2 years......

However....I did get a fill-up a while back that gave my vehicle 5 mpg's more on the same highway and conditions......

Makes you wonder how much of each gallon is "filler liquid"....

You know................kinda like buying a "mixed drink"................

doorgunner said:

Gas mileage has been dropping on both my vehicles & my motorcycle for the last 2 years......

However....I did get a fill-up a while back that gave my vehicle 5 mpg's more on the same highway and conditions......

Makes you wonder how much of each gallon is "filler liquid"....

You know................kinda like buying a "mixed drink"................

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Yup, I've noticed it around here for longer than that. My Ranger I kept meticulous records of fuel economy. I could tell when I got a bad tank of gas, when someone stole gas (and how much), and what the ethanol was doing to my fuel economy. When you could still get gas without all the crap in it around here, my Ranger would get 21-23 mpg around town and 27-31 highway consistently. When I'd get a tank of Ethanol laced stuff, I would get 17-19 mpg around town and 21-23 mpg highway. Bad gas would get me around 14-16 mpg around town and 17-19 mpg highway or less, and it would ping like no other.

Crazy thing is, my Ranger was supposed to run on E-85.

My F-150 was getting 13-14 mpg around town last year. With the "winter" gas crap they gave us this winter, I got 10 mpg. Now that we are back to "summer" gas but with up to 15% ethanol, I'm getting 11.9 mpg running 89 octane and 10.8 mpg with 87. Now it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that something is wacky here....

My truck runs like absolute trash with ethanol. I ran a tank without and could really feel the difference. I went back to ethanol on this tank and after 100 miles it's running like garbage again.

Have you all seen the list of ethanol free stations on this site?:

http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp

They say at our small engine schools that "E10" can vary as high as E30 in the real world.

85_Ranger4x4 said:

They say at our small engine schools that "E10" can vary as high as E30 in the real world.

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Thats opposite of what those E10 stickers say. Supposely the fuel shouldn't contain more than 10%. If I get one those tank full of over rated ethonal, my fuel trim should go away into the positive %. Right now, with the E10, it is within range of normal (-/+ 10% fuel trim). With current data that I'm seeing, the old 2.3L may be able to handle ethonal fuel up to 20% without mod's.

I know some people say fuel additives like STP Fuel Treatment are only "snake oil" and don't do anything....but I been using it the last couple months. I don't have much money so I usually only put in 10 to 20 bucks at a time when I get gas and I almost always drive the same way to the same places so I can tell when my truck uses more gas. The whole bottle of treatment usually treats from 15 to 21 gallons depending on the size of the bottle so I just "guestimate" how much to add. It seems to make enough difference in mpg's that it easily covers the cost of the treatment and runs better.

Up your compression, adjust the timing and run E85. You'll gain a bit of mileage, some power and have that warm fuzzy feeling from helping the environment and breathing martinis Only downside is you'll spend more converting it than you will save in fuel.

Let me preface this with the fact that I am a fuel inspector for the state of Oklahoma and that I deal with gasoline on a daily basis.


I'm not trying to start crap,just trying to debunk a few things.

lil_Blue_Ford said:

Yup, I've noticed it around here for longer than that. My Ranger I kept meticulous records of fuel economy. I could tell when I got a bad tank of gas, when someone stole gas (and how much), and what the ethanol was doing to my fuel economy. When you could still get gas without all the crap in it around here, my Ranger would get 21-23 mpg around town and 27-31 highway consistently. When I'd get a tank of Ethanol laced stuff, I would get 17-19 mpg around town and 21-23 mpg highway. Bad gas would get me around 14-16 mpg around town and 17-19 mpg highway or less, and it would ping like no other.

Crazy thing is, my Ranger was supposed to run on E-85.

My F-150 was getting 13-14 mpg around town last year. With the "winter" gas crap they gave us this winter, I got 10 mpg. Now that we are back to "summer" gas but with up to 15% ethanol, I'm getting 11.9 mpg running 89 octane and 10.8 mpg with 87. Now it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that something is wacky here....

Click to expand...

What is "bad gas"?

During the winter months refineries dolower the octane rating on fuel for a winter blend.

shane96ranger said:

My truck runs like absolute trash with ethanol. I ran a tank without and could really feel the difference. I went back to ethanol on this tank and after 100 miles it's running like garbage again.

Have you all seen the list of ethanol free stations on this site?:

http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp

Click to expand...

Switching back and forth between e10 and regular gas can be hard on your fuel system, because the ethanol is cleaning your fuel system. and will clog your fuel filter. When stations switch from reg to ethanol, it is recommended that they sweep their tanks to get rid of the deposits in the bottom of their tanks. They also switch filters 3-4 times after the switch.
If they do not sweep their tanks, it can take up to 60 days to clear the E10 out.
Shouldn't we do the same for our vehicles?

85_Ranger4x4 said:

They say at our small engine schools that "E10" can vary as high as E30 in the real world.

Click to expand...

In Oklahoma,we allow E10 and E85. The E 10 cannot have more than 10% ethanol in it. I have 2 methods to test for ethanol and have yet to find it over 9%. It averages around 6-7%.

LearjetMinako said:

Thats opposite of what those E10 stickers say. Supposely the fuel shouldn't contain more than 10%. If I get one those tank full of over rated ethonal, my fuel trim should go away into the positive %. Right now, with the E10, it is within range of normal (-/+ 10% fuel trim). With current data that I'm seeing, the old 2.3L may be able to handle ethonal fuel up to 20% without mod's.

Click to expand...

Read your manual on what it can take. My 92 F150 says it is compatible with E10. Ford was ahead of the game on this. Most vehicles weren't compatible til 94.

RustedRanger said:

I know some people say fuel additives like STP Fuel Treatment are only "snake oil" and don't do anything....but I been using it the last couple months. I don't have much money so I usually only put in 10 to 20 bucks at a time when I get gas and I almost always drive the same way to the same places so I can tell when my truck uses more gas. The whole bottle of treatment usually treats from 15 to 21 gallons depending on the size of the bottle so I just "guestimate" how much to add. It seems to make enough difference in mpg's that it easily covers the cost of the treatment and runs better.

Click to expand...

Ethanol is an alcohol, the main ingredient in most fuel treatments. It also cleans your fuel system,so why use a fuel additive. It also boost octane levels.

country0001 said:

In Oklahoma,we allow E10 and E85. The E 10 cannot have more than 10% ethanol in it. I have 2 methods to test for ethanol and have yet to find it over 9%. It averages around 6-7%.

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It isn't supposed to but it happens.

We recommend to only run premium (over 90 octane) because it is straight gas, and to put a gallon or two in your vehicle first. Otherwise if you happen to gas up behind someone that got a heavy dose of "E10", you can get most of that in your little 1 gallon 2 stroke jug that was left in the hose... and your warrenty is voided when you lock it up and drag it in to us having more than 10% in the tank.

A little water seperates the mixed gas out from the ethonal, all of the sudden your two stroke engine is trying to run on pure alchohol... and it will for a little while. That applies to E10 too.

I hate the crap...

{you can get most of that in your little 1 gallon 2 stroke jug that was left in the hose...}


that would explain how my brand new 2-stroke leaf blower ran a little "slower" each time I refilled it & "melted" by the time i used the gallon of oil-mixed unleaded!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The repairman verified that the fuel/oil mixture was correct & warrantied the new engine....(I guess he didn't test the fuel for excess ethanol?)

In Oklahoma even the 91 octane can have ethanol in it.

Country, by bad gas I'm talking gas that has sediment in it (because the station has old tanks and doesn't filter the gas like it's supposed to) or gas with water in it.

And yes, there are stations that have water in their gas tanks, whether by accident or on purpose.



One thing about ethanol laced gas is that it attracts water and will absorb it into the gas readily. That and ethanol separates from gas as well if it sits for an extended period of time.

Oh, yea, ethanol laced gas also does bad things to carb'd motors, especially things like older lawn mowers and tractors. It'll gum up carbs, mess with the A/F ratio, and burn hot enough to burn some motors out prematurely - since most of those motors are air-cooled and moving at a hot 2 mph doesn't do much to cool them.