So kinda been reading up on e85 conversion kits figured I bought my FEH on the cheap so maybe a conversion kit would be something great to do as the gas prices keep rising. My question is has anyone else put some thoughts into a flex fuel conversion kit?

 

Seems there are some options now: https://eflexfuel.com/us

But even with a tune does the MPG not go down.

 

Why? To subsidize the corn industry? E85 has lower energy and if you believe you're going to get more horsepower from it, well, it's silly.

Your Escape Hybrid runs well on 87 octane pump gas and higher octane is a complete waste of money. This is not a turbocharged vehicle, and even if it was, the benefits are dubious.

 

Like.

 

O I am aware that there are some claims of more HP but not interested in that and the environment is gone as it is so don’t care about that either my thoughts are more on my out of pocket costs. Sure I won’t be getting the same mpg as I would with conventional fuels but say for doordash around town wouldn’t it be more beneficial? I mean cutting corners here and there is what I am thinking of. Still love the idea of gas but being able to also use E85 would not be the worst thing now would it?

 

How much are E85 and E10 in your area?

 

A good kit lets you tune as I posted above. In theory you could tune for better power or better mileage with e85, e10, e15, etc. But the math as to whether it works out and what your MPG will be after dropping $500 on a kit is a mystery.

Even if you break even on mileage, E85 is about 80c cheaper by me. So it would take over 500 gallons before you make up the price of the kit.

 

If a theory breaks thermodynamic rules, it's not a theory. It's BS. At absolute best, E85 will get 15% WORSE economy than E10 assuming ideal conditions (not doordash) and professional tuning. Large data sets indicate typical is 20-25% less mpg.

Let's say you're paying $3.60/gallon for E10 (about the cheapest in the country according to AAA) for E10. $0.80 off that is a discount of 22%. With numbers like these, the conversion kit breakeven point will be well after the car is in the salvage yard.

Waste money.
Harm the environment.
Support BS government subsidies.

Sounds like a lose, lose, lose proposition.

 

Oh should have mentioned i live in California so gas prices are around 5.40 avg per gallon and i think e85 is 3.50 avg per gallon thus why i suddenly sparked an interest in the flex fuel conversion kit. Not trying to do this for any other reason but saving some dough so yeah everything else is extra.

My only worry is can my FEH handle it. Do love the car and don't want to blow it up 😁

 

I used E15 and mixed up E30 without any big issue. If the car can't handle the ethanol content it will just not run.

Calculate cost per mile at those prices and I guess compute in a 20% mileage drop and see if it makes sense for you.

E30 gave me a lower CPM but it was too much effort for the $100 a year I would save. E15 was close to E10 but it's only 5c cheaper here.