Is E85 ethanol making a comeback?

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Sun 9 Oct 2022 17:59
Is E85 ethanol making a comeback? - Speedbird 747

I remember Ford selling Focus dual fuel cars in France back in 2006. Never took off due to limited opportunities to refuel.

I was surprised therefore at my local French supermarket, that the E5 98 octane choice on the pump had been removed for E85.

E10 95 octane petrol is currently on sale for €1.56 a litre or £1.37 a litre at the current exchange rate. This is due to a government subsidy that finishes the end of November. A reduced subsidy will be offered after that.

E85 though retails at just €0.65 a litre or 57p a litre. However, who has cars that can fill up with this fuel? In France Dacia also had success with dual fuel petrol/LPG cars. Is it likely that in future, Dacia will make cars whose engines will accept E85?

Edited by Speedbird 747 on 09/10/2022 at 18:04

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 9 Oct 2022 18:49
Is E85 ethanol making a comeback? - elekie&a/c doctor
I’ve only ever seen E85 flex fuel cars in the the USA . Not too sure if it’s likely to be seen here .
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 10 Oct 2022 01:01
Is E85 ethanol making a comeback? - Terry W

The energy balance is marginal - depending on which study one examines it takes as much energy to produce (planting, fertiliser, cropping, processing etc) the ethanol as the benefit gained from its use.

Global food stocks diverted for ethanol production are under real pressure due to Ukraine conflict. Whether E85 makes sense may even be a moral choice - do we feed people or drive cars.

Basing a decision on a possibly short-lived tax advantage skewing the market which can be withdrawn at any time may make little sense.

Edited by Terry W on 10/10/2022 at 01:02

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 10 Oct 2022 12:52
Is E85 ethanol making a comeback? - focussed

Hi - I'm also in France with a Dacia.

If you go to Dacia.fr and search for E85 you will find replies that indicate that it is necessary to fit an ethanol adaptor kit to run on E85 - not supplied by Dacia so no warranty.

No particular advantage running E85 that I can see.

Plenty of potential problems though - water in the fuel etc ethanol is hydropylic.

One of the replies reads:-

"Why spend 1000€ for an ethanol kit when you drive at almost the same cost with LPG?"

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 10 Oct 2022 14:40
Is E85 ethanol making a comeback? - Andrew-T

.... ethanol is hydropylic.

That's a new one on me - you must mean hydrophilic. In fact ethanol mixes with water in all proportions, as anyone familiar with beer and spirits will know :-)

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 10 Oct 2022 15:24
Is E85 ethanol making a comeback? - Manatee

I think it is hygroscopic as well as hydrophilic. It will absorb and mix with water, and also absorb it from the air.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 10 Oct 2022 16:52
Is E85 ethanol making a comeback? - skidpan

How can E85 be making a comeback, in the UK we have never had it and the cars sold here are not capable of using it as far as I know.

Companies need to invest in the technology people will use in the future and not this nonsense.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 10 Oct 2022 23:44
Is E85 ethanol making a comeback? - focussed

How can E85 be making a comeback, in the UK we have never had it and the cars sold here are not capable of using it as far as I know.

Companies need to invest in the technology people will use in the future and not this nonsense.

There are only a small number of UK cars around these days that can run on E85 (super ethanol) fuel. It was more widely available in the UK about 15 years ago but has fallen out favour, partly due to the space required to grow the crops for the fuel being needed for food production in the UK. Look for cars such as the Ford Focus FlexFuel (FFV), these were specially adapted to run on E85. A normal car should generally not run on E85 as it can eat fuel seals and damage components.

www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/172427/which-car...l-

2 August 2022

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide