Here's one to ponder...I just spent six months in Florida with my 2000 Jeep Cherokee. When I arrived from Cleveland area, I was getting 16-17 mpg. After a week I noticed gas consumption decline rapidly, down to 12-13 mpg. It didn't make much difference if the a/c was on or not.
I then checked plugs & wires & air filter all good. Returned home. and guess what ? Gas milage increased to 16.4 mpg doing the same type of driving as in Florida.
Only explaination I realized could be that Florida has 10% ethenal and Ohio does not. If thats the case ethenal defeats its purpose.

 

The point of ethanol is its cheaper at the pump. The trick is your MPG drops because it's a lower octane. So the money you save at the pump you lose in your MPG. it's basically a draw and pointless. Not to mention gasoline is far more proven.

 

I wish mine was 16 mpg. :\


And Cleveland ohio?

 

Octane has nothing to do with it. In fact ethanol is higher in octane. You can expect a 25 to 30 percent drop in fuel economy using E85 and maybe a 3 to 4 percent drop using E10. This is due to the lower energy content of ethanol versus gasoline.

Source: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/ethanol.shtml

 

maybe a altitude difference would cause it? not sure tho

 

differance in wheather

 

Thanks for the info RobertJ...It explains the difference in mpg.

 

Ethanol increases profit margins of fuel producers. Only get the up to 10% content at pumps here. We do get an automatic gas line antifreeze for our winters.