On my 02 Isuzu Rodeo Sport I get about 200 miles during the summer blend. But I'll be lucky if I get 170 miles with the winter blend. I have about 11 gallon tank
thats about right, maybe a bit off, but 15% is average. Alcohol ain't got the umphh in it. That's why the jets are drilled out. You also need more alcohol to cool it down.
In my truck on 87 octane, I get the exact same mpg year round, about 11.5-12. In my Vette on E85, I also get the exact same mpg year round, about 15-16. keep in mind for both of those, its rarely any highway cruising. In the Vette on 93 on the highway, I get about 25 I track every fill up with an app that calculates my mpg based on what I pump into the tank and how many miles I drive. I also check the E85 content at every other fill up with a tester, always measures 80-82% from Sheetz. Loving that consistency. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says conventional summer-blend gasoline contains 1.7 percent more energy than winter-blend gas, which is one reason why gas mileage is slightly better in the summer. So on a 200 mile tank, that would be about 3 less miles in the winter.
First of all Ethanol is the alcohol in the gas and not methanol. And Gas did not change blends last year. everyone has been on the same gas since Sept of 2014. Johnston does not change anyway, only Wake county.
Isn't this more dependent on the Refinery the gas is coming from? The refineries typically do all either summer or winter grade and have a turnaround to convert.
North Carolina and Florida are not required to switch, however, since neither state has a refinery the gasoline comes from an area which still may be required to switch and the production to meet the market which is required to switch makes it more likely that all refineries will produce the winter/summer blend in order to maximize their market options.
No. In Selma in prior years we have had both 7.8 RVP gas ands 9.0 RVP gas available during the summer months. Depending which County we were delivering to. The summer blend never came in last year. And all gas in Selma comes from Texas via the colonial pipeline. We generally cover the area from about the US1 corridor east to the coast.
Still either way you look at it, it's only about 2% less energy in the winter blends. So if you got 20 mpg on the summer blend, you would get about 19.6 mpg on the winter blend. You burn more gas in the winter usually though since many people idle their car to warm it up when it is cold outside. Also small things like having more stuff in your car, or having a lower pressure in your tires (it gets lower as the temperature drops unless you fill it back up), can all affect your mpg.
In checking it seems the refineries technically may not change their process. They provide a base mixture (RBOB) to the terminals who add the ethanol and other additives. It is these additives, such as butane, which change the RVP designation. The terminals can be more regional specific than a refinery too.
It seems you may know more about the gasoline than those of us who choose which gas we pickup and to deliver to various locations. You must have access to the terminals in Selma.
Or a classmate who works in the petrochemical industry in Texas that gave a quick explanation of the commodity called "Reformulated gasoline Blend stock for Oxygen Blending" and how it was turned into the finished product. This article comes close to his description of the process: http://eprinc.org/2009/06/a-primer-on-gasoline-blending/ A typical summer gasoline blend might consist of 40% FCC gas, 25% straight run gas, 15% alkylate, 18% reformate, and 2% butane. The RVP of the gasoline blend depends on how much of each component is in the blend, and what the RVP is of each component. Butane is a relatively inexpensive ingredient in gasoline, but it has the highest vapor pressure at around 52 psi. In a gasoline blend, each component contributes a fraction to the overall RVP. In the case of butane, if there is 10% butane in the blend, it will contribute around 5.2 psi (10% of 52 psi) to the overall blend. (In reality, it is slightly more complicated than this, because some components interact with each other which can affect the expected RVP). This means that in the summer, the butane fraction must be very low in the gasoline, or the overall RVP of the blend will be too high. That is the primary difference between winter and summer gasoline blends.
I use Gas Buddy to keep track of my gasoline usage. It can also show the prices in areas, good when traveling. I have it on my computer and when I buy gas, I write my mileage on my printed receipt and enter the information when I get home. Gas prices went up yesterday and down today in the 40-42 area.
"Colonial transports various grades of gasoline, diesel fuel, home heating oil, jet fuel and fuels for the U.S. military. The products Colonial carries are fungible, meaning they are interchangeable. The different brands of gasoline take on their specific brand qualities when additives are placed in the product by our customers, and after the product has left the pipeline."
