E85

[swathdiver]

Yes, you can do it that way instead of trying to find a station that offers lower percentage mixes. Thing is, what's listed at the pump will be the maximum ethanol percentage (E30 = maximum 30% ethanol). IIRC the actual ethanol percentage is usually less and is dependent on how they mix it.

EDIT: here in Colorado E85 is not generally available, and I've never seen Sunoco around here, nor a station that offers blends other than E10 and E85. Of course, the E85 mix could be E60. It is what it is.

You blind man! You can't drive past a station along I-25 from Pueblo north to Cheyenne without passing one. Get "Gas Buddy" for your phone. Prices are pretty low right now in the mile high city, under or around $2 a gallon. Must be a half dozen or more brands that carry it too.

 

[Fless]

Aaah, that's the problem. No drive I-25. Too many drivers one **** over the line.... 'course they're all over this place. I think Hickenlooper (our former gov., heard his name?) must be smokin' it if he thinks he can be the Democrat nominee for President. Not far enough Left. But I digress.

Does the Gasbuddy app show E85 locations, then? Their web site doesn't. Now, we used to have a Western Convenience station in Parker and that still seems to show up on these E85 sites, but that was sold long ago to Phillips and they don't offer the E85. Another site shows some oil business office as having it, but there's no gas station in that office park. Hard to find reliable info on locations, confidence level is too low to get past the hassle.

 

[swathdiver]

Aaah, that's the problem. No drive I-25. Too many drivers one **** over the line.... 'course they're all over this place. I think Hickenlooper (our former gov., heard his name?) must be smokin' it if he thinks he can be the Democrat nominee for President. Not far enough Left. But I digress.

Does the Gasbuddy app show E85 locations, then? Their web site doesn't. Now, we used to have a Western Convenience station in Parker and that still seems to show up on these E85 sites, but that was sold long ago to Phillips and they don't offer the E85. Another site shows some oil business office as having it, but there's no gas station in that office park. Hard to find reliable info on locations, confidence level is too low to get past the hassle.

Yes, the app shows the stations. Prices are reported by users and if nobody reports, the station will show up but there will be no pricing. You must have a hundred or more active stations selling E85 from $1.84 per gallon. Heard of Hickenlooper, he's a nut.

 

[Ilikemtb999]

If you’re in Denver there really aren’t a ton of places. There’s like 5 stations along i25, there’s a station in golden off i70 and 470 (the one I go to) or there’s one in Arvada which closes early and they lock the pumps.

 

[randeez]

http://www.e85freaks.com/e85-fill-stations/#/find/nearest?fuel=E85

has been pretty good about finding/reporting e85

 

[Mickey_7106]

$3.09 today in Berkeley. $4.07 for premium

 

[Mickey_7106]

$2.66 in Berkeley, CA

 

[Fless]

My son just sent me a pic of an E85 test they use at their shop. Now all of you who want to know how much ethanol is in the gas you pump can test it in 5 minutes. Rev-X makes a couple different testers for ethanol / E85. Here's one:

@swathdiver

 

[JonnyTahoe]

$3.09 today in Berkeley. $4.07 for premium

Cali has such a wide range of prices.

 

[JonnyTahoe]

Costco update; 1.14 Reg(87) By next week it should be getting close to a dollar.

 

[gooffeyguy]

My son just sent me a pic of an E85 test they use at their shop. Now all of you who want to know how much ethanol is in the gas you pump can test it in 5 minutes. Rev-X makes a couple different testers for ethanol / E85. Here's one:

@swathdiver

I just look at my torque pro app that's connected to a Bluetooth dongle plugged into the OBDII port to find out the Ethanol content in my tank.

2001 Yukon SLT
2012 Yukon Denali XL
2011 Yukon Denali RIP 5/20/18

 

[Fless]

I can do that, too, with the Tech 2 but not right from the pump.

 

[George B]

Just spent the last hour reading this thread. Sounds interesting. Gonna give E85 a go once I get back to driving more often.

 

[itsbo1313]

I prefer e85 but right now here in Riverside County, CA e85 is $2.15 and premium is $2.59, so I'm running premium. The corn fuel has to be at least 70 cents a gallon less than premium to make the mileage hit worth it.

 

[Mickey_7106]

I can check ethanol content with my obdlink scan tool through my phone

 

[Fless]

So can I, but my point is to be able to see what you're putting into the tank, not the composite mix that results. "E85" does not always have the same ethanol content, it varies widely. Rare that they even post a minimum % at the pump.

 

[JonnyTahoe]

I can check ethanol content with my obdlink scan tool through my phone

No need to check the content here when Reg fuel is so cheap.

 

[JonnyTahoe]

I just look at my torque pro app that's connected to a Bluetooth dongle plugged into the OBDII port to find out the Ethanol content in my tank.

2001 Yukon SLT
2012 Yukon Denali XL
2011 Yukon Denali RIP 5/20/18

Bluetooth Dongle. Torque Pro app. Think I need a newer truck.

 

[George B]

At what price difference does E85 break even with 87? Truck says I am averaging 14 mpg after a 139 mile trip. E85 is about 5 cents cheaper than 87 here.

 

[iamdub]

At what price difference does E85 break even with 87? Truck says I am averaging 14 mpg after a 139 mile trip. E85 is about 5 cents cheaper than 87 here.

No way is that enough of a difference. E85 returns considerably lower fuel economy. It varies with the actual net alcohol content and you have to calculate it by cents per mile. But, without doing the math, I can tell you that $.05 isn't enough of a difference.


Having said that, I'm currently planning on having mine tuned to be optimized on E85 when I get it tuned for the cam, raised compression, headers, etc. Mine being a weekend toy at most means I can get out to an E85 station as needed for a fill-up rather than having to find one along a daily commute. I'm not concerned as much about splitting hairs with MPG as I am getting as much power as reasonably possible.