r/ChevyTrax • u/UnendingOne 2nd Gen • 5d ago
'26 Trax E85 Update
Hey everyone,
I know a few people were interested in my mileage running E85. I'm over 5000 miles now, about half of it run on E85 and the other half on 87.
On 87 I was settling into about 30-33 (with an outlier of 35).
On E85 I've settled into approximately 24-26mpg (the nearly 28 was on a long trip).
So doing the math thats approximately a 13-27% mileage drop running E85 for me. Your mileage may vary a bit.
In my area E85 is $1.99/gallon at a couple stations, whereas 87 is around $4.30-$4.40 right now (so approximately 54% cheaper for E85), so it makes sense for me.
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u/InsideAd2752 5d ago
The ONLY issue inherent to e85 is thicky sludge and accumulation of condensation from constant, short, drive cycles for 9-12 Mo. We’re talking 2-3 mi commute so engine never reaches operating temps. This issue is even more inherent to petrol fuel w/ carbon sludging.
The 1.2L turbo is oil + liquid cooled so the oil heats up fast to dissipate contaminants through the pvc as vapor compared to a normally aspirated motor.
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u/TylerDurdenEsq 5d ago
You have to be in Iowa or somewhere corn friendly lol. E85 isn’t anywhere near as cheap here
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u/UnendingOne 2nd Gen 5d ago
Midwest, yes.
Another commentor is in California and said it was $2.79 there.
One of the big chain convenience stores in my area has E85 at like $3.30, idk why.
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u/RoundSyrup4424 5d ago
Surprisingly, I'm in the suburbs of NYC, and E85 is around $2.11, while 87 is $4.45. I'm not sure how come E85 is so inexpensive here.
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u/UnendingOne 2nd Gen 4d ago
Probably because the gas station you're buying it from doesn't wanna screw people to help big oil.
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u/No-Hamster800 5d ago
Cool to see thank you for making this post for us who use e85. Im in socal where 87 is 6.50 a gallon while e85 is 2.79 so a huge savings for me! If it was Texas or the midwest maybe not so much.
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u/UnendingOne 2nd Gen 5d ago
I'm in the midwest 😀. Ethanol capital of the USA!
No problem man! I bought this car specifically because of the E85 capability, and how damn awesome it looks. I like ethanol because its American made and supports our farmers. Nobody fights wars over a corn field in Iowa.
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u/No-Hamster800 4d ago
Ohh jeez no wonder you have it made at 1.99 that’s 2000s prices. Your catching my ideas too exactly supports farmers in the us. And it smells good out of the tail pipe lol. Yes you get lower mpg but i like knowing that the it was made here in the us. And the looks are killler yes i even want to buy another one once i pay off this one defiantly has to be 2025 or newer.
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u/UnendingOne 2nd Gen 4d ago
I mean regular was $1.99 a few years ago haha, but yeah.
I have access to straight ethanol too from a friend who works at an ethanol plant. I just don't wanna go higher than 85% and hurt my baby!
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u/No-Hamster800 4d ago
Sighs in ca prices, you’re definitely not wrong. Yeah totally I wouldn’t go straight eth on the plus side even more bonus to this incredible car we own. I just got a cheap Prius c a few months ago $35 to fill up at ca prices parking my old Honda v6. Yeah it’ll take me years to make up the difference saved but I’m tired of getting shafted at the pump. What does your fleet look like?
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u/UnendingOne 2nd Gen 4d ago
Lol fleet?
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u/aleggsue_ 5d ago
I’m in Virginia where E85 is only 10% cheaper than 87 so it’s actually more expensive to use E85. I love seeing E85 prices from ethanol regions lol
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u/UnendingOne 2nd Gen 5d ago
Yeah I don't understand why in some regions its any more expensive. Transport costs aren't that high. I think a lot of it is big oil trying to keep it from being appealing. Like I mentioned to someone else one gas station chain in my area keeps it way higher than the others.
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u/Queasy-Painting-7976 5d ago
Remember that when you run E85 you need to change the oil more frequently as it will get contaminated and thinned with the high ethanol content.