Just curious on what type of gas everyone is using on their HCH II to get the best mpg. Does anyone prefer E85 over 87? E85 is still pretty limited in Kansas except in a few larger cities.

 

The fact: E85 is almost pure alcohol. Our cars are not designed to use it, and it contains less energy per unit volume than does gasoline.

The personal opinion: E85 is political pandering to the corn lobby, and makes good sound bites for politicians to sound "green." It isn't going to do squat for anybody in terms of getting us off oil, and the sooner Joe Sixpack and Jane Soccer realize this, the sooner we can get to finding real solutions.

 

There's been quite a bit of chatter on these Civic Hybrid forums lately concerning E85 and other fuel variants containing more than the maximum recommended amount of ethanol and I purposely stayed off of it.

However, I find the situation to be a little unsettling because it may lead to more than one person trying it on the HCH. So without disclosing any more information than what I have to, I would suggest you contact Honda before you try anything with more than 15% ethanol. This way, you'll have the proper appreciation for what's at stake.

But on the other hand, if you feel technically vigorous and certain that nothing bad will happen then please go right ahead.

Cheers;

MSantos

 

I can't say I would ever try E85 in my HCH II. However, I have heard other people say that they do and they are getting better gas mileage and wasn't sure if it was even safe. The manual states nothing about E85 and I haven't heard a lot about the E85, especially since it is fairly rare in Kansas. (Kansas is usually last in getting anything.)

 

Yes it does. It's one of the first things in the Before driving off section -- fuel recommendation. It says that it supports up to 10% ethanol. Therefore, E85 is right out.


(I'm looking at the 2007 manual. More specifically, the French edition, because the English one is in the car and I'm not going to go there just to look this up)

 

I run E85, with some minor modifications. I definitely do NOT get better gas millage. It is nearly a dollar cheaper than regular gas in my area. It is purely experimental and I do not recommend doing it if you don't want to risk voiding your warranty.
Personally, I don't think that E85 will get us off foreign oils. I don't think that it's going to stop global warming. I don't think that it's going to solve any problems. There are a lot of supporters and critics of ethanol. There is so much information out there (on both sides) that all contradicts itself.