johnand

I wanted to start this thread as the official discussion thread for the Flex Fuel C-Classes. This thread should be used to discuss peoples experiences, mileage figures, problems, availability, etc of running E85. This thread should make EMRLIQUIDLIFE happy

There a few threads in the archives, but no real good information, and really nothing on the 07's. I know there are a lot of politics and confusion behind E85, mostly around corn based ethanol, and I rather keep those topics out of this thread, as there are plenty of places to debate that.

My experience:

Since I bought my car, I have kept a spreadsheet and chart of my gas mileage, to give as accurate a comparison as possible when comparing mileage and cost of each fuel. So I started running E85 in my 07 about a week and a half ago. My first 7 fill ups were premium unleaded. 1st thing I noticed when driving away from the station was alcohol type smell and that the car's engine braking was drastically increased. Though, after a few miles the smell went away and the engine braking was normal. I assumed the engine braking was the cars engine management system adjusting the the E85. Performance is NOTABLY improved. The car has more power, crisper throttle response, and the touch smoother idle. Of course mileage is down 26%. Which is expected since E85 has 30% less BTU's of energy compared to Premium. Though, E85 in my area is ~25% lower priced then premium, so in essence, it is a wash as far as price per mile. I only have 2 E85 stations in my area, so E85 in my area is much higher priced then some other areas with more competition.

So, I will continue to update this thread and would appreciate anyone else with experience with E85 to do the same.

Here are the links to my gas mileage logs and charts:

http://www.e85benz.com/images/chart.jpg
http://www.e85benz.com/images/mileage.jpg
http://e85benz.com/images/C230.xls

e1000

you need to chmod those pics

rlee02135

don't know much about E85...can it be used in any car?

theres only one E85 station in Boston.

amdeutsch

Don't forget that you might also mention any tax incentives available. In my previous postings I experienced similar mpg drops but the 1:1 tax credit helped; even so it was only for a limited period. Wait til winter time and report on how long it takes for the heater to warm up as well on commutes - direct relation to the BTU figure you posted. In my experience a wash is a negative when considering the other tangibles I experienced. HTH

amdeutsch

NOPE

STFF/STFW

You walked in eyes wide open on that one.

(j/k)

johnand

Are they still not showing? Working on my end.

johnand

No, the only Mercedes models that are compatible:

2007 2.5L C230 Sedan automatic AND manual transmission
2005 2.6L C240 luxury series
2003-2005 3.2L Mercedes-Benz C320's

johnand

I have not been able to find any tax incentives that I qualify for.

I will give it a shot next winter and report back, but I suspect the heating will be an issue. Though, they only run 70% Ethanol at the E85 pumps here in the winter.

Since I live in Washington, but work and fill up with E85 in Oregon, I do have one other plus, and that is not having to pump it

The only disadvantage I currently have is the shorter driving distance means more fillups, which is a little inconvenient.

AsianML

Certain VINs or are they all compatible?

amdeutsch

Incorrect.

I had a MY03 C320 luxury and it qualified. Sport was not offered at the time I purchased mine.

amdeutsch

STFF

You get the same thing rlee02135 got. At least you didn't assume again this time.

johnand

Sorry, fixed my original post. Apparently all C320's for those years were compatible. Part of all the half truths, half right info in the web

johnand

rlee02135 and AsianML,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E85

Moviela

Inside your gas filler door is a sticker. It will specify E85 on that sticker if your car is compatable. In California there is but one public place to buy E85, in San Diego. I tried a tankfull and was not impressed. It was not zippier, and the MPG dropped from 23 to 16. For continued use, I would worry about the highly corrosive nature of alcohol. I know that the car makers use different materials in the fuel systems of E85 cars, but I have seen several Car-B-Ques in Brazil caused by a fuel system that leaked all over itself.

I noticed that John is recording the temperature when he purchased the fuel. This reminds me of one of the greatest cons now going on in the retail gas business. For gasoline, every 15 degrees the fuel temperature goes up, you get 1% less product than shown on the pump. The government has set 60 F as the standard (Hawaii is an exception). I doubt a single gallon is pumped in California at 60 F. The ambient temperature makes no difference, as the fuel is near the "rack temperature" when you buy it. The "rack" is the plumbing system that fills the transport truck. The fuel usually flows through exposed pipes to the rack, and averages 85 F. The underground storage tanks at all stations are now insulated and double walled. This acts like a thermos to keep the fuel at the same temp as when delivered. This means consumers are getting shorted about 2% at the pump. When the air temp is higher we get less, as much as 3% over the summer months. There are temperature compensation devices certified for use on gas pumps, but station owners and the state are not interested in using them. *The state makes more tax money if you are paying for more gallons. It is interesting to note that oil companies do have temperature compensation devices on their pumps that are used to sell fuel to each other, i.e. Shell to Chevron, and on the meter for the rack so station owners get fair measure.

e1000

nope - not showing - at least not for me

amdeutsch

Thats most likely due to the fact that they are in your cache. Here is what I get when clicking on your links.


Forbidden
You don't have permission to access /images/chart.jpg on this server.

Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apache/1.3.37 Server at www.e85benz.com Port 80

AsianML

I'm speaking about MB in general. Did they make all of those models E85 compatible or were they certain ones? That's what I'm asking. I did lots of research a while ago about E85 because our other car was E85 capable. Decided not go with it because the difference in reuglar and E85 here at the time wasn't worth it (especially because of the drop in gas mileage others have reported for the model).

johnand

Should be fixed now. Not sure why but the permissions didn't change last time I changed them.

johnand

Updated chart and mileage table:

Chart
Mileage

SeaCoupe

I just noticed this thread for the first time. How did I get dragged into this?

In any case, yes, this is the type of car talk that interests me.

E

sanf

I just got a recall letter from Benz for my 07 C. The recall is about some user has been having start up problems when using E85 gas. A quick program update (about 1 hour) should take care of the problem.

johnand

Oh, I just figured you'd be thrilled to see another "Official" thread. Just playin

johnand

Hmm, no startup problems for me, YET! Haven't received a letter yet. Though, as you can see the last few tanks were gas, as I went to Seattle, WA and Athol, ID, and there are no E85 stations out there. Filling up with E85 today and will probably run it through most of the summer.

Stormin

I was just about to comment on the lack of E85 in the Seattle area.

C230 Sport Coup

Old Bob make ye some good corn shine fer yer Mer-cedes!

If nothing else, alchohol reduces emmissions.

I used to add 20% when I was going for my smog on my older cars, and I'd pass with no problem. Ha, we're all coming up due for smog pretty soon.
Anyone get one yet?