E85 Ethanol (fuel, trucks, regular gasoline, percentage)

[KayAnn246]

I am wondering if I should go ahead and start using E85 to save money on gas. I've had my Tahoe for almost a year and have only used regular gas. I haven't even noticed any E85 gas stations in my area. Can I really save a lot more by using only E85? Can you mix regular and E85? Any other Chevy owners use E85? If so, any feedback?

[SD4020]

When you use e85 your fuel economy goes down. If the price spread is enough to compensate then your you might save money.

[JordanJP]

is it one of the flex fuel Tahoes or are they all flex-fuel now?

[KayAnn246]

Originally Posted by JordanJP

is it one of the flex fuel Tahoes or are they all flex-fuel now?

Yes, it's flex-fuel.

[us66]

I believe you're supposed to let the tank go just about empty before making the big switch. It says in the owner's manual.

[kentuckydad95]

The price spread has to be around 32 to 35 cents a gallon, meaning if regular gasoline was $1.35/gal, ethanol would have to be $1.00/gal to make the price per mile even. And you are supposed to let the tank run low before filling with E85.

[RandyWatson13]

I hate E85 and the govt subsidies to promote its use. Corn belongs on the grill roasted, not in my car.

[Huskyz]

Ugh!!

[bustaduke]

I quit using ethanol when it started causing problems with my motors in everything from lawn motor, motor bike, to cars and trucks.

I pay a little bit more but I only use ethanol free gas in everything and I'm finding I don't have the problems I had before with gunk and grime.

And whatever you do don't put that ethanol crap in your boat motor.

busta

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Singlelady10

I am wondering if I should go ahead and start using E85 to save money on gas. I've had my Tahoe for almost a year and have only used regular gas. I haven't even noticed any E85 gas stations in my area. Can I really save a lot more by using only E85? Can you mix regular and E85? Any other Chevy owners use E85? If so, any feedback?

E85 gets roughly 25-30% less fuel economy than conventional gasoline. Take that into consideration when deciding whether it's worthwhile to change over.

Originally Posted by kentuckydad95

The price spread has to be around 32 to 35 cents a gallon, meaning if regular gasoline was $1.35/gal, ethanol would have to be $1.00/gal to make the price per mile even. And you are supposed to let the tank run low before filling with E85.

It's not a fixed dollar amount spread that matters, it's a percentage spread that matters. As fuel gets more expensive, the price spread between ethanol and petrol has to be even wider as a dollar amount to make it worth the while to switch.