punchit61 Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Does anyone have any idea when (or if) the ability to use E85 (flex fuel) in the 2012 Ford Focus will be available? With E85 being roughly 60-70 cents a gallon cheaper here in corn country, it is a very big deal to me. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Does anyone have any idea when (or if) the ability to use E85 (flex fuel) in the 2012 Ford Focus will be available? With E85 being roughly 60-70 cents a gallon cheaper here in corn country, it is a very big deal to me. Why do you want to lose money? At 70 cents per gallon cheaper you're saving about 20% per gallon, but running E85 will lower your fuel economy by 25%! So using E85 is still more expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 My local Ford dealer said that flexfuel capability will be added to the 2012 Focus "later this year". He didn't have any additional details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nkempf01 Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Why do you want to lose money? At 70 cents per gallon cheaper you're saving about 20% per gallon, but running E85 will lower your fuel economy by 25%! So using E85 is still more expensive. It does depend on the vehicle, and the price of e85 and regular. I have a flex fuel Chevy Impala 3.9 L currently, and save about 33% where I am right now on fuel costs with e85 vs regular($3.01 for e85 and $3.99 for regular), and my fuel economy went down less than 20% when I made the switch over to e85. (Went from 25 MPG on an average tank of gas, to 21 MPG). I also have 2 family members that run e85 on their flex fuel GM vehicles, and both also noticed similar declines in MPG, but at least in my area, is does save money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgc333 Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 The only time E85 makes sense is if you are building an engine where you can take advantage of the higher octane rating to make more power. If the engine is designed to run on 87 octane then you just lose gas mileage using it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 It does depend on the vehicle, and the price of e85 and regular. I have a flex fuel Chevy Impala 3.9 L currently, and save about 33% where I am right now on fuel costs with e85 vs regular($3.01 for e85 and $3.99 for regular), and my fuel economy went down less than 20% when I made the switch over to e85. (Went from 25 MPG on an average tank of gas, to 21 MPG). I also have 2 family members that run e85 on their flex fuel GM vehicles, and both also noticed similar declines in MPG, but at least in my area, is does save money. That's not a 33% saving - it's a 25% saving (0.98/3.99). It would be a 33% increase to go from $3.01 to $3.99. And you're lucky if you only lost 4 mpg. EPA says combined drops from 21 to 16 on E85. But let's do the math on a 500 mile week. $79.80 for gas vs. $71.66 for E85. So you would save a little but your results are not typical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 The only time E85 makes sense is if you are building an engine where you can take advantage of the higher octane rating to make more power. If the engine is designed to run on 87 octane then you just lose gas mileage using it. Speaking of which: Compared to port injected engines, do spark ignition direct injection engines (like the 2.0L in the 2012 Focus) exhibit a less pronounced increase in fuel consumption when fueled with E85 rather than gasoline? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punchit61 Posted June 9, 2011 Author Share Posted June 9, 2011 It does depend on the vehicle, and the price of e85 and regular. I have a flex fuel Chevy Impala 3.9 L currently, and save about 33% where I am right now on fuel costs with e85 vs regular($3.01 for e85 and $3.99 for regular), and my fuel economy went down less than 20% when I made the switch over to e85. (Went from 25 MPG on an average tank of gas, to 21 MPG). I also have 2 family members that run e85 on their flex fuel GM vehicles, and both also noticed similar declines in MPG, but at least in my area, is does save money. I've read that 'newer' vehicles, e.g. post 2001, do a little better on the mileage, and that yes, the mileage reduction varies widely across vehicles, time-of-year [winter vs. summer], and highway vs. city. Corn prices are sky-high right now, if they come down at all and ethanol follows suit, I'd sure like to be able to take advantage of it. To me, the very rare availability of flex-fuel in a compact car was what sparked my initial interest in the new Focus over Civic and Elantra. Of course, after driving one, it was obvious Ford nailed the "fun to drive" target with this vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punchit61 Posted June 9, 2011 Author Share Posted June 9, 2011 My local Ford dealer said that flexfuel capability will be added to the 2012 Focus "later this year". He didn't have any additional details. Thanks! That would dovetail nicely with my purchase timeframe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Corn should be used for food, not big cars. How about making yard waste into fuel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 How about making yard waste into fuel? :yup: Coskata's semi-commercial cellulosic ethanol plant: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgc333 Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Speaking of which: Compared to port injected engines, do spark ignition direct injection engines (like the 2.0L in the 2012 Focus) exhibit a less pronounced increase in fuel consumption when fueled with E85 rather than gasoline? Ethanol doesn't have the energy content of gasoline so I don't see where it would make a difference. The advantage of direct injection is you can more precisely control the when the fuel is injected during the cycle this allows for more compression which results in more power. Also, because of the more precise control and the the better atomization of the fuel you can run much leaner mixtures under light load conditions which results in improved fuel economy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nkempf01 Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 That's not a 33% saving - it's a 25% saving (0.98/3.99). It would be a 33% increase to go from $3.01 to $3.99. And you're lucky if you only lost 4 mpg. EPA says combined drops from 21 to 16 on E85. But let's do the math on a 500 mile week. $79.80 for gas vs. $71.66 for E85. So you would save a little but your results are not typical. Sorry about the bad math. That's what happens when I post before having a cup of joe in the morning! Now it certainly does make a difference with the EPA estimates being that is combined. Right now nearly 90% of my driving in highway, so that seems to help the difference, because if I do have a week off work or something and do any driving around the city, the gap of what I had with regular vs e85 does widen. I do know either way you cut it, it's not saving too much, but it's more personal for me. In my area I am personal friends with owner of an ethanol plant. I prefer to patronize my local businesses, and I know he purchases his corn locally and distributes his product locally. That's my biggest reason, not necessarily the minimal cost savings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Sorry about the bad math. That's what happens when I post before having a cup of joe in the morning! Now it certainly does make a difference with the EPA estimates being that is combined. Right now nearly 90% of my driving in highway, so that seems to help the difference, because if I do have a week off work or something and do any driving around the city, the gap of what I had with regular vs e85 does widen. I do know either way you cut it, it's not saving too much, but it's more personal for me. In my area I am personal friends with owner of an ethanol plant. I prefer to patronize my local businesses, and I know he purchases his corn locally and distributes his product locally. That's my biggest reason, not necessarily the minimal cost savings. Like I said it seems to work out for you but your situation isn't typical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louie Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 So to answer the original posters question,,,, when will the E85 option become available? I see a cost savings and very little mileage drop on my 2002 4.0 4x4 Explorer when I fill the tank half regular gas and half E85. Only 1 maybe with a heavy foot 2 mpg loss. Very interested in the flex fuel option as a further cost save and a great asset to have on a beautiful high mpg car. When will we see the E85 option? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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