[AeroModder]

I recently decided to protest the mandated 10% ethanol content here in Oregon, and sent a letter to the local paper seeking others who would support turning the E10 mandate into an optional program. I recieved a call from a gentleman telling me where I could by non-blended gas. The catch- It's Premium, and about 20 cents more a gallon.

However, I'll still be saving money. I did the math- At my current economy of 28 MPG (on a good tank) and paying about $2.859 per gallon, my cost per mile (fuel only) is 10.21 cents per mile. At 27 MPG, it's 10.59 cents.

We all know ethanol reduces fuel economy. I've heard people go from 30MPG to 22 by switching. I'll be a little more conservative here. The price of unblended Premium gas at a local farmer's co-op is currently $3.019 per gallon. If I see a modest gain of 2-3 MPG to put me at 30, my cost per mile will drop to 10.06 cents. If I see a gain of 5 MPG, my cost goes down to 9.15 cents per mile.

Even though I'll be paying a little more at the pump, I'll be able to go farther on each tank and save in the long run. I'm going to be running this current tank down as far as I can without running dry, then filling it with unblended. I added some fuel system cleaner that removes water from fuel to get any contaminants from the ethanol out. Hopefully it will return some better numbers.

So my question- What have you guys seen in terms of MPG with going from one type of fuel to another?