News RTP Commuters Don't have to buy Flex Fuel Vehicle to use E85

RTP Commuters Don't have to buy Flex Fuel Vehicle to use E85

With the focus on clean air, reducing CO2 emissions that contribute to global warming, and volatile gasoline prices, RTP commuters have options when it comes to fueling their car. E85 is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. It reduces CO2 emissions by up to 46% and is much cleaner than gasoline. Local government fleets in Raleigh and Durham are already using E85 as a way to fulfill Triangle Clean Cities alternative fuel targets. Cruizers Convenience Store #20 at Hwy 55 and Sedwick, came on line with E85 last summer supplying RTP commuters the clean burning alternative fuel.

Motorists believe they have to purchase a 'flex fuel' car, many now available - but unless you happen to be in the new car market, how can you immediately take advantage of the benefits of E85 fuel today? There are at least 2 conversion kits available that easily plug in to your car's ignition system, which will allow you to efficiently use E85, sometimes exceeding your current miles per gallon you may be getting on gas.

For about $500 the installation can be completed by many car owners, or if you prefer, you can have your local garage handle the install for about $100.

In the past, frightening stories have been circulated among consumers scaring them away from such pro-activism, but today's cars are much different than 20 years ago. Many dealership will install your converter and usually doesn't void your car warranty. Most cars have all the parts necessary to burn ethanol and even gasoline at the pump now may have up to 10 percent. Many of the domestic car manufacturers have been selling the same components in Brazil where E85 up to E98 is commonplace.

For newer model cars with fuel injection, the conversion really comprises only of a computer adjustment to your car rather than swapping mechanical parts. If you have an older car, or high mileage car, the carbon deposits from gasoline use may need to be cleaned out before going to the ultra-clean E85, typically by having a good fuel injector cleaning at your local lube shop. You may also need to have the fuel filter changed about 600 miles after the regular use of E85. Be sure to get as much information as you can from your converter distributor.

What does this look like from the perspective of the commuter actually doing it? I have a 2006 Ford Explorer with 8800 miles on it and after looking at two popular converters, the Flextek and FullFlex Gold, I purchased the FullFlex Gold (www.fullflexint.com) which is ODB 2 EPA compliant, based on Colorado State University's EPA lab test. I investigated having the install done by a Ford dealership in the area that was listed as an installer, but after looking over the install instructions, I decided to go it alone. Basically the operation consisted of unplugging each fuel injector electrical plug, plugging it into the harness then plugging the Fullflex plug back onto the fuel injector. Then connecting the ground wire to the negative on my battery and I was done. Took about 15 minutes and the task was complete. I do recommend that if you are not familiar with the engine on your car, you should definitely have a mechanic do the install, as there are opportunities to make mistakes. The module allows the car's computer to handle the mixture as usual, but adjusts the injector for the E85 fuel you are using. You can use regular gasoline up to any mixture of E85 with the Fullflex Gold, so on those road trips away from E85, I can fuel up with regular gas.

I noticed that while driving up to get my first tank E85 fuel, my engine did run lean on regular gas and actually improved my gas mileage. If you don't like this, you can adjust the unit to run a bit more rich. On the way back home, I really didn't notice much difference between the two fuels. What I did notice was a little smoother acceleration and my trip computer reported an improvement in mpg. It isn't uncommon to get a few miles better gas mileage, but most documentation on ethanol will tell you that it will drop by a couple of miles per gallon. I'll take the slightly cheaper price, clean burning American fuel and half the CO2 emissions.