Well the oil company mandated gas for several states gets less MPG

[Omaha Steve]

The lower 84 octane gas was forced on several states by the oil companies. It takes less higher grade oil and chemicals to make it. It also costs less to make. 84 octane is not high enough to run in ANY car by itself. It must be mixed with ethanol or premium.

Believe me the ethanol is way cheaper.

Allowing for the difference in mileage between summer and (cold starts) winter, it looks like our cars are both down approximately 7-10%. This is the only change to our driving habits. We keep the tires properly inflated, use a synthetic oil, change filters, etc.

Is anyone else paying attention.


http://www.ne-ethanol.org/?page=news&article=122

Oil Refiners Change Nebraska Fuel Components
October 23, 2013

Background: After mid-September, 2013, legal, minimum octane, non-premium grade gasoline will no longer be supplied to Nebraska fuel terminals by U.S. petroleum refiners. Refiners manufacture gasoline and ship it, usually via pipelines, to bulk fuel terminals across the country. Going forward, refiners will supply 84-octane gas to eastern Nebraska terminals in lieu of the minimum 87-octane gas required by law. In the western quarter of the state, where 85-octane is the standard because of generally higher elevations, refiners will supply 82-octane gasoline. At present, refiners continue to supply 91-octane premium gasoline to Nebraska terminals. This new product slate was initiated by refiners in response to the Renewable Fuel Standard, a federal law requiring renewable fuels in the country’s fuel mix. Nebraska and Iowa are among the last states to see the new practice implemented.

Implications: Terminal operators are prohibited from distributing the sub-octane fuels now supplied by refiners. As a result, all non-premium grade gasoline leaving Nebraska terminals must be blended with another product or products to boost octane levels to minimum federal standards. In some cases, premium grade 91-octane gas will be blended with sub-octane gas to meet the standard. In other cases, ethanol will be blended with sub-octane product to reach the standard. With a rating of 113, ethanol is the highest octane fuel component on today’s market. Prior to the introduction of sub octane gas, the most common practice across the country was blending 10% ethanol with 87-octane gas to produce an 89-octane or “mid-grade” product.

FULL story at link.

[Motown_Johnny]

1. Ethanol gets fewer MPG than gasoline

http://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/e85-vs-gasoline-comparison-test.html

^snip^


The Final Score — Fuel Economy and Cost

After refueling we put the fuel amounts and the prices paid into a spreadsheet and compiled a clear, side-by-side comparison for both fuel consumption and cost. Remember, these results apply only to this vehicle and to the prices in effect during our 667-mile test.

Gas Result:From San Diego to Las Vegas and back, we used 36.5 gallons of regular gasoline and achieved an average fuel economy of 18.3 mpg.

Gas Cost: We spent $124.66 for gasoline for the trip. The average pump price was $3.42 per gallon.

E85 Result: From San Diego to Las Vegas and back we used 50 gallons of E85 and achieved an average fuel economy of 13.5 mpg.

E85 Cost: We spent $154.29 on E85 for the trip. The average pump price was $3.09 per gallon

Gas/E85 difference: The fuel economy of our Tahoe on E85, under these conditions, was 26.5 percent worse than it was when running on gas.



Also, you maybe confused about what octane is....



http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/transportation/consumer_tips/regular_vs_premium.html


^snip^

There is little difference in energy content of regular versus premium gasoline. They both contain about 111,400 British Thermal Units of energy per gallon.



Octane is defined as a fuel's resistance to knocking. There is no benefit if the octane is higher than what the engine needs. Engine knock occurs when fuel in a combustion chamber ignites before it should. This disrupts the engine's operation. But electronic knock sensors are now common and have nearly eliminated engine disruption.

The American Petroleum Institute says if you find that your car runs fine on a lower grade, there is no sense switching to premium. The Institute recommends following manufacturer's recommendation, but even those manufacturers say that it is more of a suggestion than a command.





Lower octane gasoline won't decrease your gas mileage. A higher percentage of Ethanol will. Ethanol is not really cheaper. It costs less per gallon but isn't worth it. Then when you consider the amount of energy it requires to produce a gallon of (corn based) ethanol, it really is just a huge waste of time, money, energy, water, land, etc. etc. etc.


I sure wish someone would get around to producing a GMO strain of sugar cane that would grow in cooler climates. What we need is sugar cane based ethanol. Corn based is worse than worthless.

I assume nobody would go nuts about a GMO that we use as a fuel. At least I hope so.

[Omaha Steve]

2. My fault

I should have said we were already using 10% ethanol. Have used it since the late 70's.

So this represents an additional loss. I'll know about the highway difference in a couple months, now that football season has started.

OS