i just started driving a fuel truck so alot of this is still new to me. But from what i know shell is now useing a 10% blend of ethanol illso know as E10. the ethanol burns hotter and can bring the octane of the fuel up a little more.

or i could be way off. just my 2cents =)

 

In Nebraska state law requires that all stations offer E10 fuel (which can be offered along-side various octanes of fuel that don't contain ethanol). Its my understanding that the hotter burning ethanol will actually cause a slight (very marginal, tough to measure) DECREASE in fuel economy. I've been using E10 in mine and I seem to get about the same mileage as I did off of premium grade fuel. The price reduction and higher octane rating are worth a marginal decrease in fuel economy. My driving style has a much much larger impact.

It could be something else affecting your mileage however...

A couple years ago some local repair shops noticed a trend of cars coming in with weird engine problems and sluggish performance. After testing the fuel in each car's gas tank they noticed many of them had 75-90% water in their gas! They were able to track it back to a Sinclair gas station (at Galvin Rd & Mission Rd, in Bellevue, NE) whose gas tanks were tested and shown to contain 80-90% water Turns out that a combination of some recent heavy rain and leaks in the tanks caused water to accumulate in the gas tanks under the station. The tanks were purged, presumably repaired, and refilled with 100% gas. Apparently the gas station did cover some of the car repair costs caused by their "gas".

From this event I have learned a number of things:

• The octane ratings on fuel generally are only enforced and checked at the refinery and the tanker. In most places the octane is rarely verified by anyone at the pump.
• There is nothing in modern fuel pumps to detect water in gas.
• It takes a very high percentage of water to really cripple an engine.
• Small amounts of water ( < 25% ) can have a very small impact on performance and may be very tough to notice from a performance perspective. However, it can significantly impact fuel economy.
• Obviously, you pay for your "fuel" by volume even though there is no guarantee how much of the volume you paid for is actually gasoline.

Someone should really do something about this... but unfortunately the $300+ billion oil industry has a much louder voice than the consumer.

 

Ethanol is a huge scam, if you ask me. The energy density of ethanol is (24 MJ/L) is almost 30% less than that of gasoline (34.6 MJ/L). That means that a gallon of gasoline will get you 30% further than a gallon of ethanol.

When you go to the gas pump and get fuel that is 10% ethanol, you are getting less energy than if it were 100% gasoline.


My numbers came from Wikipedia, but they are available in the back of any thermodynamics text book.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_density

 

DOn't buy shell, or Exon/Mobil as they get their gas from the Arabs. Citgo niether as they ae Ceaser Chaves private company.

FOG

 

Adding 10% ethanol has also influenced the rising gas prices. Ethanol is made by local farms and the labor involved producing ethanol costs a marginal sum. Plus WORSE gas milage and WORSE performance for HIGHER PRICES? Is this world backwards or what? I love my family, friends, and everyone on this forum but I think it's time for nature to wipe the slate clean again.

 

I will throw in here.......

When 76 first started using the E10 in Cali I ended up with an amazing 10 to 15% loss in mileage. This was mostly due to the O2 sensors not being able to understand the emissions of E10. They read it as a lean condition and dumped fuel. Go to Chevron and get my normal mileage.

With the bikes I would have to agree that E10 will cost you fuel economy but not HP.

 

DOn't buy shell, or Exon/Mobil as they get their gas from the Arabs. Citgo niether as they ae Ceaser Chaves private company.

FOG

Why wouldnt we buy from the arabs?

 

DOn't buy shell, or Exon/Mobil as they get their gas from the Arabs. Citgo niether as they ae Ceaser Chaves private company.

FOG

cesar chavez was a mexican farm worker and civil rights activist. he does not own citgo (as he is dead). he never did own citgo.

hugo chavez is the president of venezuela, and is probably the man you are thinking of, as citgo is owned by the venezuelan government.