Does anyone know anything about Flex Fuel?

Question

I have seen certain vehicles marked with this type of fuel. Is it new? When did it come to the market? What's the benefit? Answers are appreciated!

the 2007 Chevy Impala's have this type of vehicle that uses this resource.

Answer 1

FlexFuel vehicles are vehicles that are designed to run on regular gasoline and/or ethanol . E85 is an alternative fuel which consists of 15% gasoline & 85% ethanol. Neither is new.
The first FFV's were released by Ford in 1994 (1995 Taurus)
They have produced cars, trucks, & SUV's each & every year since then that can run on either fuel. Ford has more FFV's on the road than any other manufacturer. (I will give you a link later to list all FFV's available)

Chrysler also came on board in 1998 (mini-vans)
& GM also started producing FFV's in 2000 (S10 & Sonoma pick-up trucks)
Mostly just American Auto Manufacturers (& their affilliates) have produced these vehicles, until just recently.
The List of which (yrs., makes, models) vehicles can be found here:
http://www.e85fuel.com/e85101/FFVlist2007.pdf

Now about the fuel:
E85 fuel has been around for many years as well. But untill the last few years, it wasn't "readily" available to the public.
Most of the ethanol in the US comes from corn. It is distilled (much like beer) from feed grade corn. The starches in corn are converted to sugars & then converted to alcohol (ethanol)
The by-product of the process is called 'distillers grains' & is a high protein feed which can be sold back to livestock farmers to feed cattle,etc.
here's a link to a slide show depicting the process:
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/05/0508_makingof_ethanol/index_01.htm?campaign_id=msnbc_ethanol


There are pro's & cons of this alternative fuel. But there is MUCH MUCH more MISinformation & propaganda out there.

I have studied it for YEARS. I am in the Auto industry so I make it a point to research extensively.

The benefits
renewable fuel (vs fossil)

made here in the US (vs OPEC)

cleaner air:
plants such as corn, actually need the CO2 released to grow, so we are in fact recycling carbons rather than releasing fossil carbons into the atmosphere.

Reduces dependancy on foreign oil

note: E85 is generally cheaper than gas, however MPG's are less. The oil companies (& affiliates) have put out A LOT of 'skewed' studies & propaganda !
"They" say you will get 20% less MPG with E85......

Well.... MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE differs !
I have run lengthy experiments myself on various FFV's (FORDs) & I only lost an average ONE mile per gallon !

The availability of E85 fuel to the general public is rapidly growing. In Illinois there was only 12 gas stations in the entire state that offered it 2 -3 years ago. Now there are over 150 stations !

Well I could go on & on but I think I've said enough for now.
For more details please go to
http://www.e85fuel.com/index.php

Oh yea, there are federal tax incentives ($2000 ?) available to those buying NEW FFV's
& some states also offer incentives to USE E85 ( Illinois offers up to $450 a year for each of the 1st 3 years of ownership of a FFV, that can pay for a lot of fuel !)

Answer 2

Flex fuel vehicles are those that can use two types of vehicles. This has more commonly become to mean being able to use Unleaded Gasoline and E-85 Ethanol.

Flex fuel vehicles have been around since the 70's, but with the recent advances in technology and the gas prices increasing, the focus of flex fuels have really become mainstream.

The benefits of flex fuel vehicles are they're able to reduce the need for the primary usage of fossil fuels (Unleaded Gasoline). In some cases, using the alternative fuel, is cheaper in the long run.

Answer 3

Just a word about Flex Fuel in general, yes E85 is a renewable fuel source, but if you are buying a Flex Fuel in hopes of acing your emissions test, think again. Obviously there has been no long term testing done yet, but with the preliminaries it looks like E85 puts just as much if not more nasties into the air.

On the other hand even if you don't drive a Flex Fuel engine you can still use the E10 fuel in your vehicle...up to 10% of your fill up every time, just make sure it's the E10 and not the E85.

Answer 4

Unfortunately no. But you'll be glad it's flex fuel when gasoline goes over $5/gallon in a few months.

Answer 5

A buddy at work has become pretty fascinated with the magnum since i've ordered mine and thinks he might want one. but he is on this e85 fuel kick, he bought a caravan a couple years ago that ran on it, and wants to know if any/all of the magnum engines are available with that option. I didn't know and couldn't find anything on the web that said definitivly either way. so if any one knows...
-Ethan

Answer 6

HI, i hope these links give you the information that you need.

Answer 7

I have no clue but I'll ask my buddy. He knows just about everything SERIOUSLY.