Is it true that ethanol increases torque but reduces MPG?
With a 113 octane rating, ethanol is the highest performance fuel on the market and keeps today’s high-compression engines running smoothly. Starting in 2007, the Indy Racing League (IRL), home to the Indianapolis 500, uses 100% ethanol as its official race fuel. There are many variables with regard to fuel economy, including the season, the weather, and the state of tune of the vehicle, road grade, tire pressure, and the use of air conditioners. In fact, some carbureted vehicles that run rich experience an increase in fuel economy with ethanol-blended fuels. Other tests and studies suggest that fuel economy may decrease by approximately 2% in fuel-injected cars, such that a car averaging 30 miles per gallon (MPG) on the highway would average 29.4 MPG using an ethanol-blended fuel (10% ethanol), not enough to be detected by the average driver. For E-85, it has a much higher octane (ranging from 100 to 105) than gasoline. FFVs are not optimized to E-85, so they experience a 10% to 15% d
