So i got my STI tuned for e85 a few weekends ago and other than a little hiccup (Nuke fixed) it has been a new found joy. I live in Crystal, around here BP sells 93 for around $4.00 a gallon. e85 at holiday usually runs $2.99 a gallon but i drove to Eagan (where i grow up, Deerwood Trail) today and found it for $2.49!!! Maybe other places are cheaper…. We use more fuel but i think i'm still ahead when you compare $2.49 to $4.00, right? Any of you guys run e85 all year round?
You are ahead with the "new found joy" otherwise no. I do try to take advantage any coupons or grocery store cards if I can. I did in my previous WRX, it took some tweaking by Nuke to not have cold start issues. But those winters weren't like last winter.
http://mnsubaru.com/threads/e85-year-round.42668/#post-703720 http://mnsubaru.com/threads/e85-availability.41517/#post-686382 And a very good article for you to read.. http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=803341
I get my E85 from the same pump at the same Holiday in Apple Valley whenever possible. Definitely notice the price seems artificially higher in the north metro. Not sure what's up with that. Also not sure what's up with the gap between 87 and 93 going from 20 cents a copule years ago to $1+. The additives didn't get that much more expensive, so... Wouldnt' surprise me if this is a "because we can" thing now that domestic manufacturers have figured out forced induction isn't such a bad idea.
I feel like I come out ahead with E85 compared to current 93 prices even not taking the extra power into consideration. My normal mixed city/hwy gas mileage went from 20-21mpg on 93 and now I get 15-17mpg on E85. Obviously it all depends on how you drive but if anything my right foot is heavier now that I switched to E85 because it is so much more fun. On the way back from LAX I got almost 25mpg with E85 and with 93 the highest I was ever able to get on the highway was 27mpg. The prices for 93 now are just ridiculous like surly said so IMO it is worth it for sure.
I believe the E85 prices went up because the government subsidy went away. Matt - the Holiday on 252, just north of 694, normally has very competitive E85 prices. And we checked their ethanol content last year (almost exactly a year ago) when I switched and it was 83%...which is as high as it will get.
I'm talking 93 vs 87 octane. The E85 subsidy phasing out made it so E85 was like 50 cents less than 93 when I switched two years ago. Now it's well over a dollar cheaper for E85 again. Somebody got greedy on the gasoline side... E85 is inexplicably cost effective again eve after the subsidy loss.
reading comprehension > me To your point about more forced induction cars on the road...a lot of the newer cars are tuned to run on 87 or at least that's what I've noticed. There is still a high percentage of cars that use premium besides the new forced induction cars...basically any luxury car, from BMW's to Acura's.
It could. Either get it retuned for winter blends or switch back to pump gas in the winter. Nuke recommended that I switch in the winter. Ethanol is super thick like syrup in the winter and makes cold starts hard (although it can be done).
Yeah he said its like putting alcohol in the freezer to chill. Thick consistency. I kind of miss the snow. Got the car for awd
Here ya go, read up: http://wpdev.injectordynamics.com/articles/everything-you-never-wanted-to-know-about-alcohol/ Read the section on Volatility and the section right below that. This article recommends getting tuned on the "summer blend" (higher ethanol content) if you are only going to run one E85 tune. I feel like everyone should read that article prior to going to E85. Not to scare people away, but just to provide people with the proper information for understanding and maintaining an E85 vehicle.
I have stored my e85 car for the last two winters by pouring a entire bottle of Heet in it and fill the tank to the absolute max. Drive the 2 miles to the storage facility and park for the winter. I short fill it in the spring.
Used to have these issues when I ran E85 in the winter with an EVO X. Cold starts on anything below 20 degrees was a little rough and anything below 10 degrees was even worse (below 0 F was scary as I thought it wasn't going to start a few times). It also took 3x as long for the engine/fuel to warm up and I'd get surging issues (think of trying to drive with a clutch that is totally shot and that is how the car moved until the engine/fuel lines warmed up). I ended up switching back to pump gas for the winters as a result (daily drove the EVO for 3.5 years before I switched to a practical car).
