E-85 is great!

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Aug 14, 2013 | 01:42 PM

Amelio

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E-85 is great!

I have been curious to see how my truck reacts to E-85......I have been using it for some time in both my cars for the performance gains of the 104 oct. Both my cars have lots of compression one from a turbo and the other just pistons so the oct rating of E-85 helps.

I tanked up my truck this past weekend....filled it full for $90....at $3.19 a gallon its easier on the wallet. I noticed right away the off throttle response is snappier and the mid range power is much improved. I am very happy with the improvements.....my mpg's have dropped a little but its too early to tell exactly what the average will be since I have not run through this tank yet.

I have been curious about getting a tune........I dont wanna void my warranty so I will hold off. However the performance gains I have noticed with the E-85 I dont feel like I need to rush to get a tune anyway. I never thought the truck was under powered to begin with I thought it ran great. But the little gain from the E-85 makes a noticeable difference.

just passing my thoughts and experience

Aug 14, 2013 | 01:54 PM

2000silverbullet

Lead Driver

Joined: Aug 2004

Posts: 5,326

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From: Gilbert

Some good info in this thread about E85. I haven't tried, it's not readily available near me so I stick with the good stuff (93)...

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...2011-6-2l.html

In my eyes, the top 2 changes with my tuner were the trans shifts and the throttle response. The added hp is nice but the shifts and response make it worthwhile.

Keep us posted how it works out though, not alot of info out there that I've seen with E85 and the 6.2.

Aug 14, 2013 | 04:03 PM

rvpuller

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From: Home Base Nebraska

When we can through Iowa last week I stopped and filled with E10 for 3.40 and a little ways down the road they had E85 for 2.60 but I was full and pulling the trailer. I will try it soon to see how the truck runs on it.

Denny

Aug 14, 2013 | 04:43 PM

Amelio

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I don't drive much so the affect on the mpg's does not bother me too much. I really enjoy The better Throttle response I have not towed with it But I suspect it will be an improvement due to the added power up top.

Aug 14, 2013 | 06:21 PM

Worbly

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From: Miami, FL

I run E85 in my truck quite a bit, in fact, I run it more often than regular gas. Where I'm at in MN, it typically goes for exactly $1.00 less a gallon. Regular gas has been $3.49, so E85 has been $2.49.

I have noticed a mpg difference of about 1.5 to 2 less mpg than regular fuel, so I estimate using E85 to be about 15% cheaper per mile, than regular gas. This was actually a contributing factor to me buying this truck over a diesel, since I live near three different stations that carry E85.

Aug 14, 2013 | 06:33 PM

ATP Pilot

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FYI...owners manual:

It is best not to alternate repeatedly between gasoline and E85. If you do
switch fuels, it is recommended that you add as much fuel as possible—at
least half a tank. Do not add less than five gallons (18.9 liters) when
refueling. You should drive the vehicle immediately after refueling for at
least 5 miles (8 kilometers) to allow the vehicle to adapt to the change in
ethanol concentration. If you exclusively use E85 fuel, it is recommended
to fill the fuel tank with regular unleaded gasoline at each scheduled oil

change.

For flexible fuel vehicles, if you are operating on E85, you may
experience poor starts or an inability to start the engine and
driveability problems until the fuel trim and ethanol content

have been relearned.

Every oil changeinterval:
If ran exclusively on E85, fill the fuel tank full

with regular unleaded fuel.

Aug 14, 2013 | 06:43 PM

Worbly

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Joined: Aug 2013

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From: Miami, FL

Quote:

Originally Posted by ATP Pilot

FYI...owners manual:

change.

For flexible fuel vehicles, if you are operating on E85, you may
experience poor starts or an inability to start the engine and
driveability problems until the fuel trim and ethanol content

have been relearned.

Every oil changeinterval:
If ran exclusively on E85, fill the fuel tank full

with regular unleaded fuel.

I should add that I never swap fuel types unless I'm down to less than a quarter tank.

I have 9000 miles on the truck and no problems.

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Aug 15, 2013 | 07:58 AM

Amelio

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Posts: 481

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Quote:

Originally Posted by ATP Pilot

FYI...owners manual:

change.

For flexible fuel vehicles, if you are operating on E85, you may
experience poor starts or an inability to start the engine and
driveability problems until the fuel trim and ethanol content

have been relearned.

Every oil changeinterval:
If ran exclusively on E85, fill the fuel tank full

with regular unleaded fuel.

Thats a good note...I did not know that.......I just knew its a flex vehicle so I jammed a full tank of E-85 in. I plan to run E-85 from here on out and would not go back to regular fuel unless I go out of town on a trip which I will be doing next month. The station that the E-85 is at is about 15 miles from my house so I do not anticipate any issues that the manual has stated.

I do know that it does affect cold start up and can cause a rough idle until the engine is up to temp. I mix roughly 30% E-85 in my vette....its a 12:1 small block so I need the octane. I really need minimum of 110 oct in it but I can get away with it due to big flowing aluminum heads and a big cam however the E-85 mixture helps a lot but causes a little rough idle until shes warm.

Thanks for the post