CITGO Gas

[tjf67]

Contain no ethanol and you get 10% better gas mileage.

I have a v-8 and used to get 22.5 MPG. Then it slipped down to 19.5. Figured out it was the ethanol. I am back to 22.5.

 

[drjeff]

Just another of Hugo Chavez's ways to have some "fun" at our expense

 

[ctenidae]

Just another of Hugo Chavez's ways to have some "fun" at our expense

Uhm, okay.
Seems to me this would be a benefit to drivers, since they'd need 10% less gas.

 

[MichaelJ]

Just means that many more farmers are ploughing under their wheat to plant corn for ethanol, driving up the costs of wheat and even other corn-related products (corn syrup is in tons of foods)>

 

[ctenidae]

And all the while we can't import ethanol from South America (where it's dirt cheap) because of tariffs s upported by the US sugar industry.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Just means that many more farmers are ploughing under their wheat to plant corn for ethanol, driving up the costs of wheat and even other corn-related products (corn syrup is in tons of foods)>

Screw the corn farmers..

 

[mondeo]

I boycott CITGO, but that's as far as I'll go with that statement.

It's not 10%, either. Ethanol has 73% the energy density as gasoline, so with a 10% mix you're down around 3% in mileage. Your mileage may have gone down 10%, but ethanol can only be part of that.

 

[snoseek]

Isn't ethanol bad for your engine? thought I read that

 

[Hawkshot99]

Isn't ethanol bad for your engine? thought I read that

Depends on the vehicle. If it is not a flex-fuel vehicle then yes it is

 

[ctenidae]

Depends on the vehicle. If it is not a flex-fuel vehicle then yes it is

If it's more than about 15% of the fuel. Otherwise, no, not really.

 

[mondeo]

Depends on the vehicle. If it is not a flex-fuel vehicle then yes it is

If it's higher than 10%, it will start eating away at rubber components. Pretty sure that 10% and below, all engines are designed to accept it.

 

[tjf67]

I boycott CITGO, but that's as far as I'll go with that statement.

It's not 10%, either. Ethanol has 73% the energy density as gasoline, so with a 10% mix you're down around 3% in mileage. Your mileage may have gone down 10%, but ethanol can only be part of that.

I did not post this to debate. The fact is that I was getting ten percent less mileage using gas with ethanol. I am astounded how few people have noticed the decreased MPG.

That being said. Why cant they refine the oil to improve MPG. They should not only require car companies to improve the MPG but also the oil companies to improve the MPG in th gas distributed.

 

[ctenidae]

That being said. Why cant they refine the oil to improve MPG. They should not only require car companies to improve the MPG but also the oil companies to improve the MPG in th gas distributed.

That'd be great, except for the whole thermodynamics issue. Without adding something with a higher energy density than gasoline, you can't make gas more powerful. While I'm sure there are substances that would work, they'd most likely be A) noxious, 2) expensive Third, corrosive, or lastly, all of the above.

 

[danny p]

i have heard that ethanol can attract/cause moisture in your gas tank, not sure if its true. I thought in New York State fuel must contain a certain percentage ethanol, but I could be wrong on that?

 

[tjf67]

If they have ethanol they have to advertise that they do.

 

[mondeo]

That'd be great, except for the whole thermodynamics issue. Without adding something with a higher energy density than gasoline, you can't make gas more powerful. While I'm sure there are substances that would work, they'd most likely be A) noxious, 2) expensive Third, corrosive, or lastly, all of the above.

Or Part 4 of the trilogy, not be amenable to spark ignition systems. Diesel fuel has 15-20% higher energy density than gasoline, part of the reason it shows better mileage, but I don't see anyone putting that in their tank.

But mpg is a meaningless number unless you're talking about the same fuel; it doesn't really matter how much volume/mass you're using, it's the energy. Incidentally, if you're worried about CO2 emissions, the same argument holds. A gallon of diesel produces 15-20% more CO2 than a gallon of gasoline.

i have heard that ethanol can attract/cause moisture in your gas tank, not sure if its true. I thought in New York State fuel must contain a certain percentage ethanol, but I could be wrong on that?

Yes, but again, it's dependent on the mix. 10% works decently well, but one of the main issues with alcohol as fuel is that you can't pipe it anywhere because of the moisture it picks up on the way. Think about how vodka, for example, is about 40% alcohol and 60% water. And then think about how oil and gasoline naturally separate from water. That, in essence, is the issue.

 

[bigbog]

...

Just means that many more farmers are ploughing under their wheat to plant corn for ethanol, driving up the costs of wheat and even other corn-related products (corn syrup is in tons of foods)>

I think the phrase is "helping drive up the cost of everything planted in the soil...".