Fuel filler: A nozzle from a fuel dispenser attaches to the receptacle on the vehicle to fill the tank. Fuel injection system: This system introduces fuel into the engine's combustion chambers for ignition.
Fuel line: A metal tube or flexible hose or a combination of these transfers fuel from the tank to the engine's fuel injection system. Other than a few modifications to the engine and fuel system, says Kiplinger , flex-fuel vehicles are virtually identical to gasoline-only models. This technology isn't new. It was first developed in the early s and used in the mass-produced Ford Taurus, according to Car Bibles. By , there were approximately 21 million flex-fuel vehicles on the road.
Let's look at some of the reasons you might want to consider making the switch to flex fuel. Car Bibles states that more people today are concerned about fuel consumption's effects on the environment.
Ethanol burns cleaner than gasoline, which means flex-fuel cars pump fewer toxic fumes into the environment. Flex fuel also contributes fewer greenhouse gases, making it a more environmentally friendly option than traditional gasoline.
One of the greatest advantages of a flex-fuel vehicle is that is can burn whatever proportion of fuel mixture is in the combustion chamber. The car is equipped with electronic sensors that gauge the blend, and its microprocessors adjust the fuel injection and timing. According to Car Bibles , modern flex-fuel vehicles are built using advanced technology such as electronic sensors.
As mentioned, these technological advances allow your car to adjust the way it's operating, including detecting the fuel blend and making any necessary adjustments. Modern flex-fuel cars can contain 10 to 85 percent ethanol. Thanks to the technology it's equipped with, your vehicle will determine the most efficient proportions. Many flex-fuel vehicles run on ethanol, which is sustainably produced from ingredients such as cane sugar and corn.
This makes ethanol a good alternative to purchasing foreign oil. Consumers who drive flex-fuel cars receive tax credits that can significantly reduce or even eliminate their tax obligation. While some might argue that using an alternative fuel source can negatively impact a vehicle's performance, in reality it can have the opposite effect.
Flex-fuel vehicles don't experience a loss in performance when using E85 fuel. In fact, some even generate increased torque and horsepower. Flex fuel does have some disadvantages you should be aware of before purchasing one of these vehicles.
While it's great that flex fuel can be sustainably produced using corn and sugar, its production comes with a downside. Crops designed to be used for flex-fuel production can't be allocated to other sources.
This could potentially drive up the price of animal feed. Corn is also susceptible to disease and weather conditions such as flooding and drought.
While FFVs are increasingly popular, they're not a miracle solution. The good news is they enable you, and your country, to consume fewer fossil fuels, as plant-based ethanol is a renewable energy source. It also burns much more cleanly, which is great for the earth and our health. But flex-fuels get fewer miles to the gallon than gasoline-powered vehicles, they can be pricier, and there currently aren't many gas stations selling E85 [source: Wiesenfelder ]. A flex-fuel car looks just like any other kind of car -- which is why some people don't even realize they own one.
The main differences between the two lie with the engine and fuel system. Before discussing them, let's take a quick look at what fuels a flex-fuel vehicle. Flex-fuels can run on regular gas, various ethanol blends and other types of fuel [source: Bionomic Fuels ].
Ethanol is produced by fermenting plant sugars; in the United States, ethanol's plant sugars mainly come from corn, although sugar cane and other starchy agricultural products can also be used [source: Environmental Protection Agency ]. The main ethanol blends on the market today are E85 and E95, which get their names from their compositions: E85 is 15 percent unleaded gas and up to 85 percent ethanol, while E95 -- typically used in diesel-powered vehicles -- is up to 95 percent ethanol [sources: Bionomic Fuels , Clean Air Trust ].
Back to the mechanics. The internal combustion engine of a flex-fuel vehicle is designed to run on more than one type of fuel -- usually gasoline plus ethanol or methanol fuel, all of which are stored in the same tank [source: Chapman ]. The electronic control module then adjusts the fuel trim , or the engine's fuel delivery control, to compensate for the different fuel mixtures [sources: Heisner , FlexFuel US ].
Components that comprise the fueling system of flex-fuel vehicles are also crafted to be ethanol-compatible. If they weren't, ethanol's higher water content could cause rust to form and damage the fuel system from the inside out [source: Change2E85 ]. Despite these different components, maintenance costs for FFVs are generally the same as for other vehicles, and sometimes are even lower, since flex-fuels burn fuel more cleanly [source: FlexFuel US ].
Whether flex-fuels will become the norm in the future remains to be seen. But at least alternative fuels and vehicles are being investigated.
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