Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
If I understand what you are saying, Ethanol is more weight dense than gasoline but less energy dense? How does oxygen make it "so energy efficient" and compared to what?
Since oxygen is floating all around, it seems lugging it about in a fuel tank is a waste of space and weight.
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Yup, counter-intuitive isn't it? Oxygen is what makes the alcohols more energy efficient though. Granted there are engines that get MPG based on energy content, I've seen studies to verify this but then there are cars that people are getting much less to almost no loss that haven't been tested or aren't even FFVs!
Another thing to remember is that while E10 has 97% of the energy content of "pure"(I use that to mean no Ethanol) Gasoline. E85 has 71%, E70 has 76% of the energy content. By my calculations. The difference between E10 and E70 is 22% less energy. That doesn't explain the 15%-5% loss some people are getting but people forget the blends change or don't have a test kit. It's not as impressive if people are seeing a 15% loss on E70. But it's still an improvement :/