Some cites, please? By that, I mean a reference to a source where some objective quantitative testing was done. I suspect your numbers are exaggerations.
Unfortunately not. Search around. You'll find more. I see at least 10% reduction on flat ground, cruise, same speed according to my 335 indication. Completely ticks me off. http://bmwcca.org/forum/showthread.php?p=28163#post28163
Oops. Forgot correct link. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...ethanol-10-06/overview/1006_ethanol_ov1_1.htm
It's OK I have used ethanol in all of my vehicles with no problems. After all, living in Illinois, it's pretty prevelant. Just make sure that it is the 10 percent blend. If it matters, I am a state trooper and have racked up close to about 750 thousand miles in my 20 year career without an engine failure. I have used ethanol pretty consistently. After all, we go through a lot of fuel in the course of work. I know we don't use bimmers for patrol cars. Just make sure that you don't use the 85 percent ethanol blend unless your vehicle is designed for it. So far, that is not the case with BMW. As far as octane ratings, my owner's manual says that I can use 87 in my 2009 328i. If you read closely, you have to use 91 or better in the 335 series. I do use at least 90 ocatane in my car and seem to do fine. Although I can tell a bit of a difference when I use premium.
10% or less. When cars are brought in with fuel system issues the content is checked. If over 10% you have a claim against your fuel supplier and not a warranty issue.
That is about E85. You are not running E85. You CANNOT run E85. So find a relevant reference. At the same time, maybe you should also find out what E85 is.
can't avoid it in Washington... Ethanol blends are required by law here in WA state. Like many (most?) states, we have "summer blends" and "winter blends" to reduce air pollution. In summer, the percentage of ethanol is lower, but in winter, it's up to 10%. All pumps are clearly labeled "contains up to 10% ethanol". My 07 335i does just fine on either. Winter mileage drops for a number of reasons--including the higher ethanol percentage.
Our main transportation is a 2001 Honda Insight hybrid. I keep detailed fuel consumption records for it. It returns incredible fuel economy - with a lifetime average of 3.5 l/100Km or 67 miles/US gallon. The province of Manitoba mandated that all 87 octane gasoline must contain 10% ethanol starting January 2008. From January to June of 2008 I couldn't figure out what was wrong with the car. The fuel economy was down by 10% over the same months in previous years. It took until June for the lightbulb to go on linking the poor fuel economy with the ethanol. I now burn mid-grade or premium in the engine (even though it doesn't need it) and my fuel economy is back to normal. Burning 87 octane regular with 10% ethanol was costing more than burning 91 octane premium without! Luckily the Z4 still runs on pure gasoline! If our governments want to reduce gasoline consumption by 10% they should be mandating that cars burn 10% less fuel rather than mandating that the fuel they burn be 10% ethanol. BMW's fleet average fuel consumption as dropped more than 25% from 1995 to 2008! It can be done and still have cars that are entertaining to drive. Bill
I am so bummed out I just filled up at my favorite BP station in Indianapolis last night and I saw a dreaded sticker on the pump. it said something like this: "10% USA - Produced Ethanol added in all grades" I wanted to throw up
Apparently 10% ethanol is mandated in all cars now, it sucks, does anyone have experience using sea foam additive?
I hate ethanol, there used to be an ethanol free gas station in my town, they just recently had to convert to ethanol and I'm not thrilled about it, IMO, politicians really need to learn when to just stay the hell out of it
For a guy who's a lot more likely to see the end of petroleum feedstocks in his lifetime than I am, you really ought to rethink your position. This little ethanol-free thrill ride isn't going to last indefinitely, so you, and everyone else who feels entitled to additive free pure gasoline, had better get over it.
E15 coming to a station near you soon Starting in November you may start seeing E15 pumps. The federal regulations plan to cover its use in all cars produced after 2001 after the EPA completes its testing. This should be interesting July 6, 2010 EPA Signals Two-Step E15 Approval This Fall; Sets Stage for 2011 Debut http://www.opisnet.com/rfs2rins/headlines.html
Don't really agree with you here. Big Ag is just as evil as Big Oil and also cannot be trusted. We are seeing ethanol in our fuel b/c of the success of the Ag Lobby. Ethanol blended fuel has less energy per volume compared to straight fuel. There is still a lot of oil out there. The problems of this planet come from one thing and one thing only, too many people. We are basically in a large scale experiment of "How many people can we fit in a phone booth".
Although I may have put it in the more parochial terms of the ethanol additive, we do not disagree on the basic problem: that there are too many users and that the supply is not endless. Lifestyle changes are not only likely, they will be necessary, whether purely market-driven or politically motivated. I am only surprised that at age 58, I can clearly see this while those barely a third my age cannot - or will not.
I guess where I am coming from is that ethanol or other food based fuels are not the solution. Currently ethanol in this country is diverting food products towards fuel products and takes a lot of energy to produce, much more than crude. I just believe that ethanol is a poor alternative and is not really helping us with the big picture. Now what happened to BMW's hydrogen powered cars? That side of things has been very quiet recently. And I'll take my fusion powered BMW as soon as it is ready!
They still exist but BMW has semi-shelved the technology due to the problem of infrastructure. Hydrogen-powered cars need hydrogen refueling stations and refueling stations need demand, i.e., cars. The vanguard stations--all of them worldwide, I think--are fully automated, to reduce the risk of accidents, so building them is a huge and expensive gamble. I hope the technology takes hold but its time is another decade out, at least. Failing that, I want a Mr. Fusion too! I produce little household waste as it is; one of those on the car would reduce it to almost nothing.
Color me in the same shade as you (I'm 56). Oil will never completely run out. However, it will be priced so that, like platinum, many people won't own any. Folks my age have been fortunate...We still have affordable petroleum (I thought we would have been much further down the exhaustion path by now, but increases in technology have afforded us a brief (relatively speaking) time period of reprieve). I am convinced my children, and if not them, definitely my grandchildren will see a massive change in the use of petroleum products in their lifetime. Cheap energy, based on petroleum, is all but gone. Folks can expect significantly higher fuel prices as the world pulls out of the current recession. Its gonna happen!
