E85 question?

[GGMark]

The GF drives a 1996 Chrysler town and country.  In the manual for the car it mentions that the car can run on a ethanol mix.  I seem to remember hearing somewhere that it should say somewhere ON the car., gas cap, the door sticker, whatever.  Or does someone know for sure if this car can run on e85?  the station at the corner from us carries e85, and its 3.65 a gallon as opposed to the 4.19 a gallon for normal gasoline.  Any help?

[coopasonic]

Ne aware that you'll likely get reduced mileage on E85, worth checking into. I can't remember where I read about it.

[coopasonic]

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/byfueltype.htm

I see the T&C using ethanol starting in 2000, not 1996. Also, for the 2000 gas: 22 Hwy, 16 City; E85: 17 Hwy, 12 City - dooesn't make E85 sound like much of a bargain.

[GGMark]

i did fid a site that FINALLY listed the cars, and it appears that in 98, they switched to ethanol engines..  oh well.  thanks for the help though.

[Isgrimnur]

Scientific American, January 2007, p.46:

The first problem is that a standard barrel (42 gallons) of ethanol is worth about 28 gallons of gasoline because it contains 80,000 British thermal units (Btu) of energy, versus about 119,000 for unleaded regular  If you fill your tank with E85, you will run dry about 33% sooner.  Even if a gallon of ethanol were cheaper at the pump, drivers would have to buy many more gallons to go the same distance.
...

Producing  a gallon of ethanol, with its 80,000 Btu of energy currently requires about 36,000 Btu of natural gas.

[PaulBot]

Consumers Reports says E85 is not worth it. The reduced MPG isn't offset by the cheaper price, so they say to not even bother with it.