When will the Volt run on E85 gasoline?

[BlackVolt]

Long before the Volt was released GM advised the Volt will run on E85 gas. There are still video's out there advising of this. Is there any word on if the 2012 Volt can use E85 gas? Checkout the link I have posted of a video on Youtube that has been posted by Chevrolet. It mentions "as long as you stop to refill with E85 ethanol or gasoline, you can drive the volt like a traditional car". When will we be able to do this with the Volt using E85 gas?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NM_DzUSlZA

[Bob_Livonia]

I don't shed any tears over the lack of E-85 capability. There are better uses for corn when there are so many hungry people in the world. The only thing ethanol has accomplished is pushing up corn prices for farmers, who no longer collect government price supports because the crop prices are so much above the established support triggers.

The only positive I can think of for E-85 capability is that as the EPA and Congress is pushing us to accept higher and higher levels at the pump, the additional enhancements (at a cost) to the fuel system will make it more robust against the corrosive effects of ethanol.

[Bob_Livonia]

If you are one of the Volt owners who use the gas engine so infrequently that the vehicle has to enter the maintenance mode to keep the fuel fresh, do you really want the highly corrosive E-85 sitting in your tank all that time? (Assuming it had E-85 capability, which it does not.) I know it's a pressurized system to help maintain fuel quality, but what happens to E-85 when it sits unused for 6 months?

Even though the EPA says the new E-15 they have foisted on us can be used in all model year 2001 and newer cars, do you really want E-15 in your Volt? Right now, E-15 is identified by warning labels (that most people don't bother to read), but the day may be coming when you don't have a choice.

[BlackVolt]

I don't shed any tears over the lack of E-85 capability. There are better uses for corn when there are so many hungry people in the world. The only thing ethanol has accomplished is pushing up corn prices for farmers, who no longer collect government price supports because the crop prices are so much above the established support triggers.

The only positive I can think of for E-85 capability is that as the EPA and Congress is pushing us to accept higher and higher levels at the pump, the additional enhancements (at a cost) to the fuel system will make it more robust against the corrosive effects of ethanol.

What about E85 that is made out of recycled products? E85 production is improving dramatically and can now be produced from waste products. Looking forward to run my Volt on E85 rather than full strength gas. I know the Volt is not compatible with E85 at the moment. But I am sure GM will work out what to do with E85 and will be no different to the maintenance mode the vehicle has at the moment.

[ronr64]

Bob, this is what is know as "hijacking a thread". The OP asked if anyone knew when E85 would be available for the Volt. It was not an open invitation to discuss the pros and cons of E85. And now we have a second poster who has now responded to your redirect of the subject of this thread. I know this is easily done but we all have to be on guard. In fact one could argue I just did the same! I too would like to know when E85 would be available in the Volt or for that matter a natural gas or diesel engine would be desirable as well. It is my understanding that each of these would have much longer storage periods than regular gas. Does anyone know what needs to be changed on the Volt to use E85? Is there actually nothing that needs to be done other than certification?

[DonC]

I think the E85 option for the Volt is definitely on the back burner. I don't think we've heard anything about E85 for the Volt is a long while, and back in 2007 we heard about it a lot. I don't think adding it would be a big deal but the payoff isn't that obvious. There just aren't many E85 stations where I am -- I'd have to drive 40 miles to fill up which seems counter productive. My impression is that the E85 experiment has more or less ended. Unless the manufacturers will get larger CAFE credits it seems like we'll see fewer rather than more E85 capable cars on the road. At least until there is a better bio-fuel, though then we won't have E85.

@ron64 -- It happens. Threads go where the interest is.

[BlackVolt]

Does anyone know what needs to be changed on the Volt to use E85? Is there actually nothing that needs to be done other than certification?

I found this on the internet.

"E-85 ethanol is used in engines modified to accept higher concentrations of ethanol. Such flexible-fuel engines are designed to run on any mixture of gasoline or ethanol with up to 85% ethanol by volume. The primary differences from non-FFVs is the elimination of bare magnesium, aluminum, and rubber parts in the fuel system, the use of fuel pumps capable of operating with electrically conductive (ethanol) instead of non-conducting dielectric (gasoline) fuel, specially-coated wear-resistant engine parts, fuel injection control systems having a wider range of pulse widths (for injecting approximately 60% more fuel), the selection of stainless steel fuel lines (sometimes lined with plastic), the selection of stainless steel fuel tanks in place of terne fuel tanks, and, in some cases, the use of acid-neutralizing motor oil. For vehicles with fuel-tank mounted fuel pumps, additional differences to prevent arcing, as well as flame arrestors positioned in the tank's fill pipe, are also sometimes used."

I don't think it would be hard to implement this as GM has already talked about making the Volt E85 compatible.

[therfman]

Wouldn't using E85 seriously affect mileage and range in CS mode?

[BlackVolt]

Wouldn't using E85 seriously affect mileage and range in CS mode?

Well ethanol does burn quicker than regular gas. But is cheaper and can be produced from waste products so I see it as a win win.

[petefoss]

E85 has 75% of the energy content at 85-90% of the price in the US.