Hi Octane Fans and Ethanol Haters

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... One of the greatest and most unexpected bonuses of an eastward journey along Highway 26 is that the vehicle mileage unexpectedly improves. Especially if you happen to be piloting an SUV — and big AWD vehicles are de rigeur for residents of the Western mountain ranges who must from time to time navigate 3-meter snowdrifts and roads that require an all-wheel drive vehicle, and often snow chains as well.

And there’s a third kick – high octane gives you more power, too. Sliding along the coast roads in a small sedan, you’d hardly notice it, especially with an E10 fuel. You might notice, if you are a sensitive driver, that when you put in E85 into your sedan and try and accelerate from a standing start, the car really pops — or, you get your usual acceleration without quite so much flooring of the gas pedal.

In the high plains, there are all those up and downs of the folded western mountains — and that thirst for a little power that an SUV needs to get rolling when on an incline — well, it can help with fuel consumption and driving a high-octane fuel can make a small difference in the pocketbook — and also in the sensation that there’s, as Exxon used to put it, a tiger in your tank.

For all those reasons, it’s reasonably surprising to have read about one driver’s journey along the road from Idaho Falls in into the wonders of Jackson Hole — also a journey from ethanol indifference to becoming an ethanol-hater.

It’s become something of a cult in recent years. In the US and Canada, according to puregas.com, there are some 12,000 outlets that sell ethanol-free gasoline. That’s almost four times the number of outlets that sell a high-ethanol blend such as E15, E30 or E85. And these days you can buy anti-ethanol swag — bumper stickers and t-shirts are the more popular items.

Today, for example, E85prices.com reports that the average E85 price nationally is $1.97, compared to a $2.38 price for standard E10 blends, and $2.62 for ethanol-free gasoline. E30 blends — considered by several experts to be an “optimal blend” of ethanol in terms of engine efficiency, checks in at $2.01 per gallon.

Now, a car that travels 30 miles on a gallon of gasoline can expect to travel around 29 miles per gallon on E10 fuel unless there is a specialized engine that can take advantage of the high octane content to improve engine compression — and that can substantially reduce the mileage gap.

So, it’s interesting. If you can travel 29 miles for $2.38 (the price of E10), and 30 miles for $2.62 (the price of ethanol-free gasoline), the driver is paying $0.24 for that last mile.

Over a year spent traveling 13,000 miles (that’s the average in the US) in a vehicle that gets 25 miles per gallon (for E0, and 24 mpg for E10 — that’s the US average), the E10 user will spend $1289 for fuel. The ethanol-free customer will spend $1362.

High Octane — the Racer’s Edge

There’s a flip side to all this, and that’s a small but growing cadre of high octane aficionados — many of these are converts from racing fuels.

“The benefits of using E85 such as increasing power, reducing emissions, along with the lower fuel prices made the switch inevitable,” said Propel customer Tony “Speedmaster” Lee. “The overall increase in horsepower and torque was like night and day between 91 (gasoline) and E85. The E85 made it so that the tuner could squeeze more power, raise the boost, and operate at a lower engine temp.”

“E85 is truly connecting with today’s smart, savvy drivers who want more value from their fuel than gasoline is giving them,” said Rob Elam, CEO of Propel. “Millennials are our fastest growth segment, as more drivers of high performance cars are seeking a powerful fuel to meet their needs.” READ MORE