I've been trying an experiment with my 5.4 FFV. A new station just opened near me that is real convenient. I've switched to Ethanol Free Fuel. It's still early in the testing but it appears that I'm getting at least 1.5 more MPG. As always it depends on your actual driving and for me no two tanks are the same with city & highway combinations but they are very similar.

My question is has anyone else tried this and what were your results? I've never been a fan of ethanol in fuel so maybe I'm looking for a reason not to buy it.

Around here there is a .30 differential between the 87 with ethanol and the ethanol free fuel. By my math if I get an increase of 1.6 MPG then its a wash.

I really screwed up when I ordered this truck with the max tow package. Those 3.73 gears are a killer on MPG's but they do their job when towing.

Any thoughts?

 

I hate the 3.54 gears in mine. I wish I had the 3.73 gears towing is terrible unless i'm going 70 mph.
I get 13 mpg around town and will get 18 on the highway with an empty truck.
I run what ever gas i find when I need gas, so I have no experience with ethanol free as all stations sell 10% here.

 

When we had pure gasoline available locally, I had similar results as you experienced, about 1.5 more mpg.

 

I haven't taken any real road trips in my truck, but with other vehicles I have noticed a measurable and repeatable increase in fuel mileage after filling up in other states that sell regular gas. Its all E10 around here. I use Sta-Bil Marine stabilizer for Ethanol fuels in every gas engine I have. No fuel-related problems so far and catalytic converters stay sweet.
I've seen serious studies that show the use of Ethanol in motor fuel to reduce pollution or save energy is a failed idea since it takes more energy to make Ethanol than the energy it can produce. Additionally, it reduces efficiency and causes corrosion on metal fuel system parts (unless countered with an additive) and raises the price of the crops used to make it which otherwise would be used by humans or as animal fodder. But I guess we're stuck with it at least for now.

 

You're absolutely correct that ethanol blended gas is less efficient than E0 or ethanol free gasoline. The list below is what you can generally expect in terms of the efficiency of ethanol blended gas.

E10 ~ 3.5% less efficient than ethanol free gas
E15 ~ 5% less efficient than ethanol free gas
E85 ~ 25% less efficient than ethanol free gas

Glad you have had success using STA-BIL®! As you've noticed, that product does help prevent a number ethanol related issues.

While STA-BIL® does have rust and corrosion inhibitors, another way to help prevent that from happening is to try and keep the fuel system as full as possible. By doing so you prevent room for condensation to form which will cause that rust & corrosion. Beyond that, the less room you leave for condensation, the less chance you have of phase separation (can occur at only 4 teaspoons of water for every gallon of ethanol blended gas).

Another issue with ethanol blended gas is it's short shelf life. Today's ethanol blended gas can begin to break down in as little as 30 days. Because of this, we recommend a high quality fuel stabilizer/ethanol treatment be used at each fill up.

STA-BIL 360 Protection

Please let me know if you have any questions!

 

Maybe I shouldn't be too disappointed with the 3.73 gears. By the way i do have 20" factory wheels. I guess it would be much worse with 18" wheels. I've also tried a few hypermiling tricks that have helped. My truck shifts into OD at 39-40 mph. I usually ease of the throttle just a bit to get it to go into OD. I notice when I leave the EVIC display on MPG that helps to observe current fuel economy. I'm going to keep monitoring and see how it turns out. I have noticed that most new stations that are opening in my area are offering the ethanol free fuel. I hope the trend continues.