Research performed in the USA is indicating that the majority of modern, unleaded, petrol engine vehicles on the roads today actually will perform better if they are run on E20 ~ E30 ( a 20% ~ 30% blend of ethanol in unleaded petrol) compared with straight, unleaded petrol. This poses the question: why is the ethanol mandate only set at 10%, when maybe it should be higher?

But for the average motorist who is able to find E85, by using some creative fuelling techniques it is possible to fill your tank with 1/4 E85 and 3/4 E10 to produce about E30 mixture in your petrol tank. If your car has been built to handle E10 then it is safe to use E30, as all components in your fuel system are ethanol compatible.

By creating the mixture as described above, you could save as much as 15 cents/ litre, see better mileage and have a cleaner running car. Now who doesn’t want this?

Personally I have been running my 94 Toyota Camry on an E30 ~ E40 mixture and it's just loving it. I, too, have seen better mileage, a smoother quieter running engine and more power with less accelerator pedal. The car does drive differently and it has an amazing power band that is experienced at about 3,000 rpm. You have to feel it to believe it... Obviously at this engine speed, the right fuel / air mixtures are being obtained and the full power of the E30 fuel mix coming into play.

Here is a report on the finding from the University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Centre.

Sioux Falls, SD (December 5, 2007) – Research findings released 6 months ago show that mid-range ethanol blends—fuel mixtures with more ethanol than E10 but less than E85—can in some cases provide better fuel economy than regular unleaded petrol, even in standard, non-flex-fuel vehicles.

Previous assumptions held that ethanol’s lower energy content should always directly correlate with lower fuel economy for drivers. Those assumptions were found to be wrong. Instead, the new research strongly suggests that there is an “optimal blend level” of ethanol and petrol—most likely E20 or E30—at which cars will get better mileage than predicted based strictly on the fuel’s per-gallon Btu content.

The new study, cosponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), also found that mid-range ethanol blends reduce harmful tailpipe emissions and that vehicles without any adjustments can operate well on higher ethanol blends than previously thought.

“Initial findings indicate that we haven’t begun to recognise the value of ethanol," said Brian Jennings, executive vice president of the American Coalition for Ethanol. “This is a compelling argument for more research on the promise of higher ethanol blends in petrol. There is strong evidence that the optimal ethanol-petrol blend for standard, non-flex-fuel vehicles is greater than E10 and instead may be E20 or E30. We encourage the federal government to move swiftly to research the use of higher ethanol blends and make necessary approvals so that motorists can have the cost-effective ethanol choices they deserve at the pump.”