Hey Matt--can you check my math? I can't see how I'm wrong--and the results were pretty surprising...
It's well documented that the ethanol fuel mixes get less fuel economy, because ethanol has less energy per-volume when compared to petroleum-based fuels. (Hence, ethanol is a crap product--and only excels at increasing global hunger and starvation.)
Anyway, theoretically--an E10 mixture (10% ethanol, 90% petrol) results in a loss of 3% fuel economy relative to 100% gasoline. So if a car gets 30 miles to the gallon on traditional gasoline, then 3% of 30 mpg is 0.9 in lost economy. Thus you'd only getting 29.1 mpg on E10. Now let's convert that into money lost...
Is it safe to say that a 3% loss in fuel economy functionally translates to 3% waste on the price of "gas" (i.e., E10)? So if E10 is 4.00 a gallon, then you're actually losing 12 cents per gallon of fuel economy (relative to traditional 100% gasoline)--all because you're using a crap ethanol product? I can't see where I'm wrong--but it seems like 12 cents per gallon is a bit steep.
So I guess the moral of the story is that buying "gas" based on price isn't the way to go. The way to go is to avoid E10 mixtures at all cost. And after you rule out all the E10 service stations, then buy on cost and convenience.
It's well documented that the ethanol fuel mixes get less fuel economy, because ethanol has less energy per-volume when compared to petroleum-based fuels. (Hence, ethanol is a crap product--and only excels at increasing global hunger and starvation.)
Anyway, theoretically--an E10 mixture (10% ethanol, 90% petrol) results in a loss of 3% fuel economy relative to 100% gasoline. So if a car gets 30 miles to the gallon on traditional gasoline, then 3% of 30 mpg is 0.9 in lost economy. Thus you'd only getting 29.1 mpg on E10. Now let's convert that into money lost...
Is it safe to say that a 3% loss in fuel economy functionally translates to 3% waste on the price of "gas" (i.e., E10)? So if E10 is 4.00 a gallon, then you're actually losing 12 cents per gallon of fuel economy (relative to traditional 100% gasoline)--all because you're using a crap ethanol product? I can't see where I'm wrong--but it seems like 12 cents per gallon is a bit steep.
So I guess the moral of the story is that buying "gas" based on price isn't the way to go. The way to go is to avoid E10 mixtures at all cost. And after you rule out all the E10 service stations, then buy on cost and convenience.
posted by Greg | 8:36 AM
1 Comments:
Your math needs no checking. Ethanol is as useful (maybe less) as the odoriferous stuff generated by my sick dog.
Post a Comment
<< Home