Running E85

If you don't have way to do a legitimate accelerated test, about 10 years.

 

...guess we need to use the real McCoy grain alky @200 proof.

 

What is an acceptable fuel line life for you?

 

Politics aside, what factors go into E85 vs. E10 pricing? Is there less state tax on E85? Does bulk ethanol vs. gaso price spread go into the equation?

 

don't waste your time. other people did that for you:
fuel pump after 3 years of E85:


Fuel system after 3+ years on E85 - evolutionm.net

Every car made after 1980 is made to tolerate ethanol as we used gasohol for many years.

The difference in FFVs is fuel sensing and difference in injector timing.

 

Because a Mitsubishi Evo has the same fuel system, line, components, etc. as a Prius? Or, Toyota has been known to engineer and test their fuel system components for long-term 85% ethanol compatibility on vehicles not listed as being E85 compatible?

Even the Prius c manual has a statement to not use E15 (I commented on it at http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-c...h-prius-c-manual-available-4.html#post1454717) and Toyota also opposes the use of E15 per http://www.toyota.com/about/environmentreport2011/02_energy.html:

See my earlier post w/the video from Motorweek. Does the OP only plan to keep his Prius, when he buys one, for only 3 years?

The Prius was made to tolerate 10% ethanol, not 85%, at least per the owner's manual.

 

Yup, Motorweek in the Gosses Garage (spelling) segment showed all the parts that ARE different between two GM cars, one "flexfuel" one not (same model and engine). It was quite a pile of stuff.
If someone tells you different, ignore them. They are misinformed.

They did another show comparing "fuel efficient" cars and trucks. In that one the GM PU "flexfuel" truck, running on E85, cost more per mile for fuel than if it ran on regular gasoline. Due to the terrible mileage it got. Now I'm -sure- someone will disprove this. They always do.

 

key point also was

I think this is for 100% E85 so the MPG hit for the blends that WE0H was using could be less. But the point is probably little need for running E85 from fuel cost savings perspective. Many of us would rather get the full MPG we can get on 100% gaso because 50 MPG looks so nice on the Prius display. Others feel displacing petroleum is the key objective and see no problem entrenching us in the <49 MPG purgatory due to E10+. ​

 

Someone, please post pictures of destroyed fuel system components in late model Toyotas, caused by using high ethanol concentration.

There is no meaningful difference between E10 and E15, so Toyota's statement (from marketing people) is bullsh1t.

Somebody wants to run a long term test of >E50 in a Gen II, I have at least 1 complete fuel system that I will give you if you can produce a component damaged by such use.

 

From a cost point of view, http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/ has the E85
MPG/BTU adjusted price showing that there is no cost savings to running E85. After adjustment, E85 is more expensive.

 

I also posted this link where a story says E85 is only E70 in winter to improve cold weather performance. If this is true WE0H may not have been running straight E85 as he thought, and he may get different results in the summer when E85 really is E85.

Since I keep my cars a long time I don't want to risk corrosion, so I'll stick to Toyota's recommendations. E85 isn't even available in my area, so this is a moot point for me anyway.

 

I watched that too, and it is a big pile of stuff. I'm sure it adds to the cost of the car. The fuel type sensor is a pure adder, and stainless steel parts and pretty much all the parts probably cost more too (I'd think all those parts would be used on all cars if they didn't cost more).

Since it seems the Prius could handle E85 if Toyota wanted it too, but may add to the cost of the car, it might be nice if Toyota at least offered E85 capability as an option. Some people might be willing to pay for that. Or some might decide they'll run E85 anyway, without that option (like a few already have). If lots of people start doing this, and cars start failing as a result, it may give E85 a bad name (or give Toyota a bad name, as happened already with oil sludge, which may have sometimes been due to inadequate maintenance by owners, or as happened with unintended acceleration, some of which may have been due to driver error).

Maybe this is one more reason Toyota doesn't want us using E85. They don't need anything else causing cars to fail and giving them more bad press.

 

That's for average prices, but will depend on local pricing variations. I think some cars do better with E85 than others too, depending on how well their fuel system adjusts. In my state diesel costs much more compared with gas than it does in some other states. I don't even see E85 here, so I can't compare prices on that.

 

Err mike, try 13.5:1 static compression for a gen 2

 

I have pump, hoses, injectors, filter all wraped up and ready to go incase of failure. If you want parts for distructive testing, Im at 120000km never ran on anything less than E20.

 

Mike was talking about the CR of his SUV.

The high CR of the Prius does make E50 +/- somewhat more compelling. The cost benefit has the potential for a favorable outcome.

 

The Prius CR is not that high. The intake valves are held open to "bleed" the air during part of the compression stroke. That's why it's called an "Atkinson cycle" engine (it's actually pseudo Atkinson cycle). Long stroke but not high compression. Service manual states "standard compression reading 128 PSI" which, if assuming 15 PSI atmospheric pressure, about 8.5:1, but it's probably just over 9:1 mechanical.

That's for the GII, but I suspect the GIII is not too different. Don't have the service manual for it yet.