Do you own a Flexible Fuel Vehicle (FFV)?
What in the world is a Flexible Fuel Vehicle? It’s a car or
truck that is capable of burning certain alternative fuels. Now
we’re not talking gasoline vs. diesel engines here, we’re
talking about gasoline engines that can also burn ethanol,
natural gas, propane, hydrogen, methanol, and p-series fuels.
According to some chemist at the U.S. Department of Energy,
p-series fuels are “a unique blend of natural gas liquids
(pentanes plus), ethanol, and the biomass-derived co-solvent
methyltetrahydrofuran” just in case you were wondering.
Anyway, if you own one of these flexible fuel vehicles, and you
could own one without realizing it, then you might be able to
save yourself a whopping amount of money now that gas is nearing
the price of gold.
Although some of the more exotic alternative fuels may not be
flowing out of the pumps at your neighborhood service station,
there is a good chance that ethanol is.
Ethanol is alcohol-based and it’s made by fermenting and
distilling corn, barley, or wheat. It can also be made from
“cellulosic biomass”, which is just a fancy phrase for “chunks
of trees and grass”, except that this version is called
“Bioethanol” instead of plain “Ethanol”.
E85 is an Ethanol/Gasoline product that’s being sold at a lot of
gas stations. It’s a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. E95
is a 95/5 blend of ethanol and gasoline. Both blends are capable
of being burned by most Flexible Fuel Vehicles.
Some service stations are selling an E10 (10/90 ethanol/gasoline
blend), that doesn’t really qualify as an alternative fuel. Its
primary purpose is to reduce carbon monoxide levels, and it can
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be burned by most any engine that burns gasoline.
Unlike Hybrid Vehicles, flexible fuel vehicles are not
necessarily more expensive because of the alternative fuel
option, and they aren’t anywhere near as rare. In fact, there’s
a chance that you’re driving one right now. If the salesperson
didn’t tell you, and you’re not the kind that reads owner’s
manuals, and you’re ignoring the sticker that’s probably on the
inside of your gas tank cover, you could be in for a cash-saving
surprise.
If you’re not sure if you own an FFV, or you’re planning on
buying a new car soon, then visit the U.S. Department of
Energy’s Flexible Fuel Vehicle
(http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/afv/models.html) list.
If there isn’t a FFV in your life, there’s still hope. You can
have an aftermarket conversion done. When you do a conversion,
your gasoline-only engine ends up being able to burn some
particular alternative fuel such as compressed natural gas (CNG)
or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG, or propane), or Ethanol. You
have three conversion choices; “dedicated”, “dual-fuel”, and
“bi-fuel”. Dedicated means that your engine only burns one fuel
after the conversion. Dual-fuel engines can burn two different
fuels, and with a bi-fuel conversion, your engine burns two
different fuels at the same time. So, if you think that you have
no choice but to continue paying through the nose when you’re
paying at the pump, look into getting a Flexible Fuel Vehicle or
an aftermarket conversion
Diane Nassy
http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/do-you-own-a-flexible-fuel-vehicle-ffv-452.html
February 19th, 2010 at 3:27 pm
how do I know if my 2001 Mercury Sable is an FFV (flexible fuel)?
My mercury sable says ethanol or unleaded gasoline only on the inside of the gas tank door. I put in 1/4 of ethanol fuel and it worked just fine. Then I added more after it was almost empty and now the enghine is starting to act jumpy. Is this normal? Do I need any E85 modifications on the engine? Should I worry? where in the vin does it indicate if it is an e85 vehicle?
February 19th, 2010 at 8:29 pm
The 8th character of the VIN will tell you if it is a Flex-Fuel Vehicle.
On the Sable, a "2" in that position would make it a FFV.
(but i don’t think the Sable was available in 2001 as a FFV, I could be wrong though)
If it is not a 2, then you should not use E85.
For more info about E85 vehicles, go to
http://www.e85fuel.com/e85101/questions.php
References :
in the auto business since 1983
http://www.e85fuel.com/information/vin.php