5.0 and E85?
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New User
Joined: Feb 2018
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From: Loudon, TN
5.0 and E85?
Been doing some research on it, so I'm familiar with what it is, how it works, and a lot of the misconceptions and what not. Just curious if anyone is running it? ... any thoughts or praises on running E85. Thanks!
Laughing Gas
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 941
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From: Port huron MI
For most people its not easily available still. There isn't a price savings for the most part anymore which i think has hurt its growth, plus nobody gets that you will see 20% less mileage with it so they get mad about that. It's great if you have a forced induction engine you want to make some power on lol.
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New User
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From: Loudon, TN
Interesting. I have 5 stations within 20 miles of my home or work. I just filled up with E85 the other day for a 1.75 a gallon at a Speedway in west Knoxville. I'm getting 15 mpg city/hwy on my 2018 which has roughly 700 miles on it. E85 is about 60 cents less than reg gas in my area. So, I'm triyng it out. The coyote seems to like it better than 90/10 pump gas, she feels a little stronger and smoother running in my opinion. The "experts " claim a 5-10% increase in power with the 100-105 octane of E85. Plus, I like the way it smells when it's burned, like sweet popcorn lol. It burns cooler and doesn't produce a ton of carbon like gasoline. Another positive is less dependency on foreign oil, as most of it's made in the U.S. midwest and Brazil. I'm okay with a couple mpg less and gaining a little more power. I drive my little ranger if I went to get better mpg.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 941
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From: Port huron MI
I have 1 station around me and its normally over $2 a gallon where e10-e15 is 2.40-2.90(live on a border, they gouge the canadians on the weekend) so the savings can be some but not as much as i think they made it out to be in the beginning. Should run similar, just uses more fuel.
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New User
Joined: Feb 2018
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From: Loudon, TN
I have 1 station around me and its normally over $2 a gallon where e10-e15 is 2.40-2.90(live on a border, they gouge the canadians on the weekend) so the savings can be some but not as much as i think they made it out to be in the beginning. Should run similar, just uses more fuel.
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2017
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My wife has been running it exclusively in her 2017 5.0. Runs great but yeah, mpg suffers and unfortately even though it is increasingly common in DFW, the price difference isn't much where we need it. That being said, it's her choice as she tends to vote with her wallet. No problems to speak of.
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Joined: May 2005
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From: San Antonio, TX
Taking the cost of E85 and the reduction in fuel mileage into account, it usually costs more permile to use E85.
Read the owner's manual. Using E85 requires more frequent oil changes. So you have to factor that as part of the cost of using it too.
Read the owner's manual. Using E85 requires more frequent oil changes. So you have to factor that as part of the cost of using it too.
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New User
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From: Loudon, TN
I work for a pretty good sized Ford dealer and have sold hundreds of F-150s over the years , so I'm familiar with the owners manual. Fuel mileage is a non-factor/concern for me. I drive 6,000-7,000 miles a year or so. I change my engine oil myself every 6 months or so. I get 8 qts of motorcraft oil from my parts dept for 19 bucks on employee cost, and the motorcraft filter is like 4 or 5 bucks. So oil changes are pretty cheap as an employee and DIY.
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New User
Joined: Feb 2018
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From: Loudon, TN
Indeed it is. I was just curious if anybody that was running e85 for a while had any thoughts or praises on running it... if anyone noticed a slight increase in power or anything. I have a stock 2018 truck with magnaflow exhaust, and look to possibly get a bdx programmer and an e85 tune down the road. The new truck runs really good stock though, better than my 2016 5.0 (basically the same exact truck).
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2017
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Indeed it is. I was just curious if anybody that was running e85 for a while had any thoughts or praises on running it... if anyone noticed a slight increase in power or anything. I have a stock 2018 truck with magnaflow exhaust, and look to possibly get a bdx programmer and an e85 tune down the road.
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2016
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I've put a few tanks through mine (bone stock), and there was no perceptible change in performance. But if you are going to put a "tune" on it, it should make a more noticeable improvement. If you had an Ecoboost, even more of a difference, since it will allow for more boost than normal gas.
If you are going to compare performance to pure gas, make sure you are comparing to premium. If you compare to 87 octane, then yeah, the E85 is going to make more power, since the naturally high octane rating will allow for more timing advance. These trucks have fairly high compression, and you won't make optimum power with anything below 91 oct.
If you are going to compare performance to pure gas, make sure you are comparing to premium. If you compare to 87 octane, then yeah, the E85 is going to make more power, since the naturally high octane rating will allow for more timing advance. These trucks have fairly high compression, and you won't make optimum power with anything below 91 oct.
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2017
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I've put a few tanks through mine (bone stock), and there was no perceptible change in performance. But if you are going to put a "tune" on it, it should make a more noticeable improvement. If you had an Ecoboost, even more of a difference, since it will allow for more boost than normal gas.
If you are going to compare performance to pure gas, make sure you are comparing to premium. If you compare to 87 octane, then yeah, the E85 is going to make more power, since the naturally high octane rating will allow for more timing advance. These trucks have fairly high compression, and you won't make optimum power with anything below 91 oct.
If you are going to compare performance to pure gas, make sure you are comparing to premium. If you compare to 87 octane, then yeah, the E85 is going to make more power, since the naturally high octane rating will allow for more timing advance. These trucks have fairly high compression, and you won't make optimum power with anything below 91 oct.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jan 2006
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From: Arizona/Texas
I can't find a requirement for an increase in oil changes when using E 85 for the 2016. Is there a change to the owners manual?
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2016
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I was talking about a difference in performance, not price. I even wrote it, quite clearly: If you are going to compare performance to pure gas, make sure you are comparing to premium. If you compare to 87 octane, then yeah, the E85 is going to make more power, since the naturally high octane rating will allow for more timing advance. These trucks have fairly high compression, and you won't make optimum power with anything below 91 oct.
When I tried it, my mileage was down by around 35%, so it wasn't much of a cost savings, either.