Which is better E85 or 100 octane?
E85 has higher octane than regular gasoline. This means that E85 is a lot better for your car's engine than regular gasoline. It is also a cleaner fuel with lesser harmful emissions. On the downside, E85 burns faster and produces lesser energy than gasoline.
Using this calculator Octane Calculator - www.bazellracefuels.com it suggests 11 gallons of E85 and 8 gallons of 93 octane will give a 100 octane formula.
E85 gas (also known as flex fuel) is a high-level combination of ethanol and gasoline that consists of 51 percent to 83 percent ethanol blended with gasoline.
E85 has an octane rating higher than that of regular gasoline's typical rating of 87, or premium gasoline's 91-93. This allows it to be used in higher-compression engines, which tend to produce more power per unit of displacement than their gasoline counterparts.
“The reason for that is because the main ingredient in E85 - ethanol - is priced far below gasoline right now. You look at the wholesale terminals where the fuel is blended and ethanol today is selling for about $2.80 a gallon. That compares to gasoline that is selling for about $4.20 a gallon.
The drop in fuel economy is because ethanol has lower energy content per gallon than gasoline. E85 also burns faster than regular gasoline because it vaporizes faster. So your engine may eat through E85 faster than regular gasoline.
There are two grades of 100 octane aviation gasoline. One is identified as 100LL and is blue in color. The other is 100/130 and is green in color. The second number (130) shown for the green fuel is a measurement using a supercharged octane test engine.
E85 fuel can give you a significant boost in power and torque without breaking the bank for racing fuels. It has a base octane rating of 105 and has the bonus of added cooling properties that add even more knock resistance than racing fuels with the same rating.
Simply put, higher octane gas won't lead to better car performance, more speed, better mileage, or your car running cleaner. Most cars require regular gasoline, and using higher octane means wasting your coins.
This fuel's chemical make-up is derived mostly from biomass materials such as corn. If you accidentally put E85 fuel in a car built for regular petroleum-based gasoline, chances are your check engine light will come on. And while that's never a good feeling, a one-time mistake shouldn't cause engine damage.
Why should I not use E85?
Ethanol has a corrosive action on fuel-system components, magnesium, aluminium and rubber. Running E85 on older model engines without tuning and replacing some components will ruin the engine in short time. Replacing fuel hoses, fuel pumps, gaskets, seals, fuel filters, fuel injectors, throttle bodies, etc.
E85 is actually safer for your engine than regular gasoline is. E85 flex fuel not only powers your engine but also cleans your engine, fuel lines, and fuel injectors.
Faster Burning. E85 fuel has a faster ignition time and flame propagation when compared to gasoline. This leads to higher cylinder pressure, as well as increased engine torque and power, gaining up to 20%.
What is the octane rating of E85 compared to gasoline? E85 has an octane rating ranging from 100-105, making it a high performance fuel. In comparison, regular unleaded gasoline has an octane rating of 87.
110 Octane Leaded Racing Fuel that is Ethanol free is the standard for modified engine looking for peak performance where oxygenated fuel is prohibited. This fuel was designed high performance V8 engines in mind. This is a great choice for engines with compression ratios up to 13:1.
| E85 | GASOLINE* | |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel economy, mpg | ||
| City | 7 | 9 |
| Highway | 15 | 21 |
| 150-mile trip | 13 | 18 |
" said Adams. Adams tells News 10 if you drive a vehicle that can use E85 ethanol, you lose about 25 % of your gas mileage. He said with the prices where they are now, it is best to use regular unleaded gasoline.
It can last years, or it can go bad in as little as three months. Its longevity depends on a lot of factors, including: The amount of moisture in the air. Whether the fuel system is sealed.
Ethanol takes more time than gasoline to vaporize. This is why a car with E85 doesn't necessarily run or idle the best in cold weather until the engine is warmed up.
While E85 is typically cheaper per gallon than gasoline it might be more expensive per mile. Since ethanol contains less energy per volume than gasoline, FFVs will generally get 15%-27% fewer miles per gallon when fueled with E85, depending on the car and the driver's driving habits.
Can you switch between E85 and regular gas?
Using any octane level of gasoline in a flex-fuel vehicle is acceptable. The sensors in an FFV detect whether the fuel is pure gasoline or 85% ethanol and make necessary changes for optimal fuel injection and timing of combustion. Putting E85 in a car not designed for flexible fuel can be harmful.
Higher octane fuel will not offer any better fuel mileage, increase engine horsepower, or make the engine start quicker. Higher octane only increases the likelihood that the combustion will be controlled, and your engine will perform as it was designed.
100 octane is about $10/gallon. I use the recommended two ounces per gallon of 91 to make around 96-98 octane.
- Regular (the lowest octane fuel–generally 87)
- Midgrade (the middle range octane fuel–generally 89–90)
- Premium (the highest octane fuel–generally 91–94)
E85 alone (even with a tuned engine) won't make your car louder. It may change the way your exhaust sounds, but most of the time there isn't a noticeable change in volume. Some car owners have reported a growlier sound with E85 and smoother running engine, but the sound isn't louder.
E85's cooling effect equals lower inlet temperatures, this added with its greater knock resistance allows racers to creep up boost levels higher than traditional gasoline blends. An SME built 540ci block-Chevy strapped with an F3-139 ProCharger cranked out 2,500 horsepower at 30 psi on E85.
The good news is E85 doesn't cause white smoke. It can cause steam to come out of the tailpipe. Steam isn't a bad thing. It's an indicator of extra water in the exhaust system.
High octane fuels are used in high-performance engines such as turbocharged cars. In such machines, high octane fuels are required as they do not burn prematurely.
100 octane fuel is designed specifically for sports cars. Sports cars have engines that run at very high compression ratios. Under such a high pressure, regular gas tends to self-combust like in a diesel engine.
Its 100 octane rating will allow increased boost levels in supercharged or turbocharged applications compared to premium pump gas. Sunoco SS 100 can be used in high performance vehicles both old and new. It can also be used in applications such as motorcycles, ATVs, karts, and other smaller engine vehicles.
Do engines run hotter on E85?
E85 burns cooler than gasoline. This means less heat build-up in the engine. When enough heat builds up, the engine loses power.
If you don't have a flex fuel vehicle, putting E85 in it isn't recommended. “Using high-content ethanol (E85) in an engine not designed for it can also void the manufacturer's warranty,” AAA wrote in 2019.
Cost Savings Through Better Chemistry. Simply put, if you mix 5 gallons of 91 octane pump gas with 5 gallons of E85, you get 10 gallons of a 96-octane fuel that's very close to E50, or 50-percent ethanol and 50-percent gasoline.
Commonly, it is 25% to 35% less expensive than other high-octane fuels. You'll see big savings on fuel. E85 can lower your vehicle's MPG by up to 25%, but many vehicles only lose 15% to 20% in fuel mileage. Even if you see a 25% drop in your vehicle's mileage, you'll still save money anyway.
The reason for E85's price increase is attributed to corn prices, which have risen more than 50 percent in the past few months. And with roughly a bushel of corn required to produce 2.8 gallons of ethanol, the price of fuel keeps climbing. But rising prices don't necessarily translate to decreased demand.
Regular fuel typically has an 87 octane rating, mid-grade fuel typically falls between 88-90, and premium fuel is typically rated at 91-94 octane. Racing fuel typically has a higher octane rating, such as 98-octane Sunoco Green E15. E85 is rated at 100-plus octane, up to 105 octane or more.
Having said that, E85 fuel has a higher octane rating than regular — and even premium — pump gasoline and is sometimes used as a performance fuel.
Simply put, yes, you can put higher octane gasoline, or racing fuel, in your average car. However, you'll just be wasting your money. According to a consumer notice from the Federal Trade Commission, using higher octane gasoline than what the owner's manual recommends will not benefit you.
So, the moral of the story is; unless you have at least 12:1 compression (of more), do not run any 110 octane or higher race gas in it or you'll go slower. If you have 10:1 - 11:1, you can run up to about 100 octane and be fine, but if you have in the 9:1 area, don't even bother.
The specialized NASCAR fuel is Sunoco Green E15, a 98 octane, unleaded fuel blend specifically engineered for high-performance engines and race cars. It's called Green E15 because the racing fuel is actually green in color.
Does E85 make more power than race fuel?
E85 fuel has a faster ignition time and flame propagation when compared to gasoline. This leads to higher cylinder pressure, as well as increased engine torque and power, gaining up to 20%.
E85 Cools Your Engine Better Than Regular Gasoline
It requires lower combustion temperatures. Also, it creates a thermodynamic cooling effect that regular gasoline doesn't offer. This is quite beneficial because E85 helps keep the engine cool. This helps keep the engine healthy.
While E85 is typically cheaper per gallon than gasoline it might be more expensive per mile. Since ethanol contains less energy per volume than gasoline, FFVs will generally get 15%-27% fewer miles per gallon when fueled with E85, depending on the car and the driver's driving habits.
In fact, E85 is the highest octane fuel on the market. It allows the engine to run more optimally, spark advance, and resist knocking. This extracts more power out of an engine.
E85 is such an effective cleaner that some people run about 1 or 2 tanks worth of E85 through their engines instead of using a fuel injector cleaner. A surefire way to ensure that your engine remains clean is to use E85 often (or all the time).
- The availability of E85 fuel is somewhat limited. ...
- The ethanol content in the fuel can be variable. ...
- It still releases greenhouse gas emissions. ...
- The alcohol in the fuel can break down rubber seals. ...
- There are agricultural impacts which must be considered.
So the colder the weather, the more time and energy it takes for ethanol to vaporize. Ethanol takes more time than gasoline to vaporize. This is why a car with E85 doesn't necessarily run or idle the best in cold weather until the engine is warmed up.
It can last years, or it can go bad in as little as three months. Its longevity depends on a lot of factors, including: The amount of moisture in the air. Whether the fuel system is sealed.
Putting E85 in a Gas Car
The check engine light will most likely illuminate, but you can top off the rest of your tank with regular gasoline and ride it out. A one-time mix-up with E85 gas shouldn't cause any long-term damage.