Jump to content

e85 mpg drop

fred walters

Recommended Posts

fred walters Enthusiast

fred walters

Posted
Posted

Have a 2011 5.3 V8 flex fuel Sierra. Have ran top tier regular fuel since purchase 12/2010. Filled up (20 gallons) last week. Usually get 14.5 mpg around town on reg. gas. Now getting 12 or less on the first tank of E85. Is this average for switch over, will it improve? With the price difference vs milage not sure I am even saving anything.

  • Replies 60
  • Created
  • Last Reply
GPSilverado Enthusiast

GPSilverado

Posted
Posted

A general rule for my truck is to expect 15 to 20 percent less mileage from E85. The E85 produces less energy than 100% gasoline, thus more is burned to produce the same results. In my area, the E85 is rarely more than .20 cheaper per gallon, which just doesn't make up the difference. It would need to be about 70 cents per gallon cheaper to equal out.

MikeNH Senior Enthusiast

MikeNH

Posted
Posted

The article is very interesting but a couple tanks isn't enough for me to put full faith behind it.

RyanbabZ71 Senior Enthusiast

RyanbabZ71

Posted
Posted

I have run e85 95% of the time out of 22k miles, yes my mpg is lower but honestly I do not care. 50 cents less per gallon is my break even point. E85 is normally 40-60 cents cheaper here and pretty abundant (3 local stations)

 

Yesterday when I filled up 93 octane was 3.69 a gallon and e85 was 2.99

 

 

 

 

Ryan

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

mike94silverado Senior Enthusiast

mike94silverado

Posted
Posted

I never had much luck with it in my rig but the lone station selling it only discounts it about 30 cents so its really not cost effective. Plus I ran my test tanks in the winter months so Thats not really optimal either

01SilveradoLT Enthusiast

01SilveradoLT

Posted
Posted

Yesterday when I filled up 93 octane was 3.69 a gallon and e85 was 2.99

 

 

Comparing E85 to 93? Apples and Oranges. Im guessing 87 was 3.49 then. I would fill up with 87 over E85 every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Less horsepower and worse fuel economy. No thanks.

PhilB Enthusiast

PhilB

Posted
Posted

The EPA website - http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/ethanol.shtml - says that the fuel economy of E85 is 25%-30% less per gallon than regular gas. Everybody has their personal price point and everyone's vehicle gets different MPGs. What each person should do is calculate the cost per mile for a gallon of each type of fuel.

 

So for simplicity sake - say your vehicle gets 20mpg with regular gas. And assume you get 25% less with E85, your mpg would be 15. Regular 87 octane gas at 3.50 and E85 at 3.00. The math for regular gas is $3.50/20mpg = $.175 per mile. For E85 the math is $3.00/15mpg = $.20 per mile. $.03/mile doesn't sound like much but when you add up the miles - those pennies add up. And they'll add up more if you're getting 30% less mpg with E85.

 

Each person will have to figure out what is more "financially" economical for their vehicle.

 

To each their own. Sometimes it's more a mental thing than actual logical thing. (e.g. I'm spending less so I'm saving money).

AzDragonLord Enthusiast

AzDragonLord

Posted
Posted

While it's true the average MPG will drop between 15-20%, e85 is 105 octane and I can tell when I use it....definitely more responsive than using gasoline alone. While cost-per-mile is something to watch for, there are several benefits to using e85 over gasoline...mainly it burns cooler, cleaner and is American-made. Sometimes cheaper isn't always better!

 

http://e85prices.com/

PhilB Enthusiast

PhilB

Posted
Posted

While it's true the average MPG will drop between 15-20%, e85 is 105 octane and I can tell when I use it....definitely more responsive than using gasoline alone. While cost-per-mile is something to watch for, there are several benefits to using e85 over gasoline...mainly it burns cooler, cleaner and is American-made. Sometimes cheaper isn't always better!

 

http://e85prices.com/

 

 

Thanks for the E85 website. Good info there. I didn't know that E85 had a higher octane than regular gas. I "googled" E85 octane and one of the results that came back was for Wikipedia. Lots of info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E85 It has a blurb that refutes the 105 octane but does say that the octane is around 94-96. Still better than gas.

Morgan1986 Senior Enthusiast

Morgan1986

Posted
Posted

one thing you have to consider is how much father you have to go to fill up . For me to fill up my tank its about a 5 min drive. For my parents its about a 15 min drive. If your burning fuel quicker your going to have to drive more and just waste more of your 80 year life or so filling up gas.

MikeNH Senior Enthusiast

MikeNH

Posted
Posted

Comparing E85 to 93? Apples and Oranges. Im guessing 87 was 3.49 then. I would fill up with 87 over E85 every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Less horsepower and worse fuel economy. No thanks.

 

 

Not at all. the 6.2 reccommends premium fuel so the comparison is reasonable. And the engines made for it will make more power on E85, that is a fact.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Latest Articles

  • Posts

    • silveradosid
      Replacing 2.7L on 2021 Silverado with 2023 2.7L

      By silveradosid · Posted

      same here , i have a 2020 first gen and the cost to repair these engines far excedes replacement
    • KARNUT
      OCI, not when but why?

      By KARNUT · Posted

      But Grumpy I did show several subdivisions that had homes starting in the 170K range. If you bought a Townhouse or Condo you could go cheaper. Same with a car 3000 dollars in the 70s translates to around 20K today. There are several models at that price. You actually get more for the money. In the 70s I drove a 3000$ car bought a 28K home and made 4.50 per hour. Thank goodness for overtime. Today I could buy a 170K house drive a 20K car and make 25 dollars an hour operating the same machine today. The difference the house, car, machine would be better and have AC. And I wouldn’t be taxed on overtime. And statistically your wife works too. Easing the burden. I thought we agreed to disagree. I brought receipts earlier, showing examples. I think you’re more stubborn than me. I was done with this debate. 
    • Coastie05
      Replacing 2.7L on 2021 Silverado with 2023 2.7L

      By Coastie05 · Posted

      I’m definitely interested to hear the end result here. 
    • MASONV88888888
      Another 6.2L engine failure!

      By MASONV88888888 · Posted

      My 2025 Silverado 1500 had to receive a brand-new engine (long block) under warranty last month at only around 16,500 miles. Before the replacement, the truck repeatedly displayed "Engine Oil Level Low" warnings, even though the Oil Life Monitor still showed around 50% remaining after about 6,000 miles since my last oil change. After seeing the warning several times, I checked the dipstick with the engine cold, and the oil level was completely normal. The next day, the message escalated to "Add Engine Oil." At first, I assumed it was just a faulty oil level sensor, so I brought the truck to the dealership. After inspecting the engine, they found internal cylinder wall scoring and ultimately replaced the entire long block under warranty. Before this happened, I was planning to install a 4-inch lift and suspension upgrade on my truck. After needing a new engine at just 16,500 miles, I honestly don't see the point anymore. I also contacted GM to ask whether my vehicle qualified for a buyback, but I was informed that it does not at this time. Anyway, this experience has left me with serious concerns about the long-term reliability of this engine. I sincerely hope NHTSA expands the current investigation or recall to include 2025 model and performs a thorough inspection of affected vehicles. My biggest concern is that these engines may fail shortly after the powertrain warranty expires. If GM truly stands behind this engine, then at the very least, please consider extending the powertrain warranty to 10 years for affected owners. That would go a long way toward restoring customer confidence.
    • Grumpy Bear
      OCI, not when but why?

      By Grumpy Bear · Posted

      Without exception but then I'm the odd duck, right? I know what goes into that test, how it is calculated and thus how to beat it. But EPA values are often not beaten by the general public and the government has in past years adjusted the means and methods to come to those values to more closely approximate "Joe Average".    The only real trick to beating that EPA average is don't drive like "Joe Average".    It's the same method you used to profit from "Economic Migration" and in doing so beat the 'stats'. But you, like me, are not "Joe Average".     The thing you don't seem to grasp is this "Purchasing Power Index" isn't forward looking. It doesn't predict what it going to be but looks backward and states what it was. They are not telling us what the THINK, they are telling us what they MEASURED. Example:    Wife says "I'm going to lose 40 pounds by Christmas". May she does, maybe she doesn't but the doctors office who weighed her when she made that statement and again at Christmas only REPORTS what the RESULT was. You and I can banter about what was possible and what aunt Tilly did till the cows come home but the result is the result. Arguing otherwise is.....irrational. That's all I'm saying. This isn't about:      What you are calling a 'Statistic' is a RESULT not a CALCUATION and as a result the RULE. Like gravity as a rule, it can not be broken. 

  • GM-Trucks.com Clubs

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...