Mileage (mpg) Using Ethanol Seen 20% Higher Than EPA Says - Bloomberg

[wercal]

29. Correct me if I'm wrong but...

Don't all modern engines with OBDII work on the same timing principal - advancing the timing until the knock sensor sends a signal to back off?

I live in the Midwest, and the majority of the gas I buy has at least 5% ethanol, and there is an E85 station, which I've tried. My car goes through a lot of gas - over 300k miles...one day the fuel line rusted through, from the inside, where it bends to the fuel rail. Re-stringing fuel line was a tad bit frustrating...and I blame the ethanol, quite frankly.

My other list of problems I blame on ethanol: two pushmover fuel bladders, riding mower carb gasket, chain saw fuel pickup tube, weed eater fuel pickup tube, practically new generator carb, and probably some other stuff I've missed. I bought a brand new mower, and the owner's manual stated that ethanol laced gas was only stable for one week! Good grief.

I wish ethanol worked out better...but frankly it doesn't. It does have less energy than gas, and it does give you lousy mileage. Yes, if manufacturers started making cars with higher compression, to essentially run Only on E85, that would change the mileage - but that will never happen. Here's why - ethanol will never be available in large quantity in some of the larger car markets, like California or the east coast. That's because it does not move very well in pipelines...so its mostly moved by truck...and mostly consumed geographically close to where the corn was grown. So, if the major markets couldn't all convert to ethanol, manufacturers aren't going to produce fleets that are specialized to run on ethanol.

I am intrigued by diesel...biodiesel can be traced back to origins of the concept of diesel. Biodiesel can be piped easily, the same pumps that dispense normal diesel can dispense biodiesel, as far as I know there is not limit to the proportioning and mixing of bio vs non bio, it is not more corrosive than normal fuels, and there have been some advancements in the fuel economy of diesels.

I really think the future will see more biodiesel and natural gas...but ethanol will never be a major player.