I have an Acura MDX and a Honda CRV. Would it benefit me to make them E85 compatible?

Question

Are these cars already E85 compatible or would I have to modify them? Is it cost efficient to get E85 or just environmentally friendly? Do most gas stations have E85 fuel?

I'm not positive but I would guess that my CRV is 1999 and my MDX is 2004.

OK I obviously wouldn't get E85 if my car wasn't ready for it. This is assuming that I have changed the parts necessary to allow my car to take E85. In that case, considering the fact that in most places E85 costs less than gasoline, would it be cost efficient to get E85 over gasoline and would there be any downside to have E85?

Answer 1

I do not think your cars are compatable yet.

E85 is at least 85% grain alcohol and contains 15% or less gasoline.

Some of the newer cars that are designed to run on E85, include
Daimler Chrysler, Ford, General Motors,Isuzu, Mazda, Mercedes, Mercury, and Nissan if your car is not among these then you should not run E85 without converting first.
You can get conversion information at http://www.flextuneusa.com/?OVRAW=E-85&OVKEY=e%2085&OVMTC=standard&ysmwa=rbQl42PG7HfGGxx-4E_r2WetlKkYYKCp6AouAGW21iILK9LNyh7dHq5WB-hpK395

Depending on where you are at it may be hard to find an E85 station. There are currently only 4 stations in the big state of California that carry it.

You cannot find it in the states of Vermont,New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Louisiana, Alaska, or Hawaii.

I hear you can get it pretty easily if you live in the midwest Corn belt.

It has been my experience that it is NOT COST EFFICIENT.

In California it is about one dollar more a gallon than regular gasoline.

I did not get very good gas mileage when I used it.

And I hear it will corrode your fuel system and engine if you don't use a special additive.

But it is very clean burning and good for the enviroment.

And I would gladly pay the extra price if I could be sure that the middle east countries would never see another American dollar again.

It would be much better for the enviroment if they took the gasoline out of the mix altogether. But they won't do that for two reasons;

The first reason is that the oil companies would eventualy be obsolete. ( This would actually be the best thing to happen in our enviroment since God said "Let there be light." )

The second reason is people could drink it without getting poisoned. The liquor stores and spirit companies would lose profits because anybody could then buy Moonshine or White lightning for around 3 dollars a gallon because that is what grain alcohol is.

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Answer 2

Not cost efficient. E85 is very corrosive to engine parts (more so than gasoline). That means that you will fill up your CRV or nice Acura maybe 5 times before everything starts to go wrong. For a conversion you would most likely need new fuel injectors, lines, fuel pump, etc. that are all stainless steal of corrosion resistant. Of course, aside from costing more than gasoline, E85 also yields worse fuel economy since it has less energy content than gasoline. On the flip side, like others above me have said, E85 does burn cleaner... And of course you would be helping the U.S. economy.

Answer 3

You didn't mention the year of your cars, but I believe they are quite capable of running on gasohol. Gasohol is 10% alcohol. The new E85 fuels are 15% alcohol. So, upgrading further would be a waste of time and money. This E85 flex-fuel thing is a gimmick. All cars sold in America since the late 80s have been gasohol capable. They should be able to run on 15% alcohol and 85% gas without problem.

Answer 4

If I were U, I'd get em fixed up.