6.2L Flex Fuel E85 ?
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6.2L Flex Fuel E85 ?
Have any of you guys with 6.2L run E85 yet? Just looking for opinions and thoughts if you have. I previously had a 2014 F150 which I once ran E85 on and what I notice is that it seemed to burn a lot quicker than normal gas.
Hotshot
Joined: Apr 2013
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From: NH
You do indeed get more power out of a Ford 6.2L running E85, but fuel consumption is higher. Back when I had my 6.2L trucks, I was very interested in trying to manufacture my own fuel using essentially a moonshine still and damaged fruit you can collect for free at grocery stores. In my area, there was plenty of damaged fruit available, but it is a very time-consuming process to make mash and distill it all into fuel alcohol, especially in the quantities needed to fuel a 6.2L V8. Ford says "E85" but in reality E100 is just fine. Fuel suppliers cannot sell E100 because of the concern some folks might try to drink it...thus they "denature" it by adding 15% gasoline to the mix. However, there is no issue with the engine hardware being capable of running on straight ethanol.
Cargo Master
Joined: Dec 2003
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From: Saint Augustine, FL
E85 has a number of properties that make it an excellent performance fuel but mileage isn't one of them.
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From: NH
I don't think so. Most gasoline you buy, particularly Top Tier fuels, already contains excellent detergents for keeping the fuel system clean. Keep in mind Ford does not recommend "mixing" tanks. If you are going to run E85, they want you to pretty much fill the tank with E85, and empty it before switching back to gasoline as best you can.
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Cargo Master
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,182
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From: Saint Augustine, FL
I don't think so. Most gasoline you buy, particularly Top Tier fuels, already contains excellent detergents for keeping the fuel system clean. Keep in mind Ford does not recommend "mixing" tanks. If you are going to run E85, they want you to pretty much fill the tank with E85, and empty it before switching back to gasoline as best you can.
And Troverman is correct. The fuel system senors are intended to detect the Ethanol content and adjust the engine mapping accordingly. However, the blending between 100% gas and 100% E85 is done via calculation as they can't build maps for every tiny change in Ethanol content and switch between those maps in real time. So if you want the truck to optimize its fuel then run the tank low before filling with the alternate fuel and repeat.
Tuned
Joined: Oct 2006
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I have run a few tanks and it may be less costly even with the lower mileage. I can't say the truck felt any quicker or slower. It did not sound any different either. The exhaust did smell different, not better or worse just noticeable. Downside is worst mileage and filling up more often, lucky if you can get double digits in around town driving unless you drive like there is an egg under your foot. Highway I would guess 11-12 maybe 13 under ideal conditions. This is all empty btw.
Ford says it can run on E85, but can anyone say if it will affect the long term life or reliability compared to running regular? is it better or worse for the engine. What is different in an engine/fuel system to make it handle E85 (other than the electronic smarts to figure out what amount of the E85 is in the fuel)?
Ford says it can run on E85, but can anyone say if it will affect the long term life or reliability compared to running regular? is it better or worse for the engine. What is different in an engine/fuel system to make it handle E85 (other than the electronic smarts to figure out what amount of the E85 is in the fuel)?
Cargo Master
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,182
Likes: 7
From: Saint Augustine, FL
I have run a few tanks and it may be less costly even with the lower mileage. I can't say the truck felt any quicker or slower. It did not sound any different either. The exhaust did smell different, not better or worse just noticeable. Downside is worst mileage and filling up more often, lucky if you can get double digits in around town driving unless you drive like there is an egg under your foot. Highway I would guess 11-12 maybe 13 under ideal conditions. This is all empty btw.
Ford says it can run on E85, but can anyone say if it will affect the long term life or reliability compared to running regular? is it better or worse for the engine. What is different in an engine/fuel system to make it handle E85 (other than the electronic smarts to figure out what amount of the E85 is in the fuel)?
Ford says it can run on E85, but can anyone say if it will affect the long term life or reliability compared to running regular? is it better or worse for the engine. What is different in an engine/fuel system to make it handle E85 (other than the electronic smarts to figure out what amount of the E85 is in the fuel)?
The difference in the fuel systems are primarily capacity and materials. Ethanol requires plastics and rubber (tanks, lines and seals) be formulated to be resistant to ethanol, which can break down some rubber and plastic that was frequently used in older fuel systems. Capacity, as in flow rates and volume, have to be increased slightly to accommodate the higher fuel consumption. Injectors also have to be able to provide the additional flow rates.
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Joined: Jul 2018
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Has anyone tried E85 when towing? The owners manual suggests premium gas will provide the best performance in hot weather or while towing. Finding E85 for 30% less than regular gas is not always so easy, but at least in the Midwest it's pretty common to be 35-40% cheaper than premium. E85 is over 100 octane, so knock concerns should be nil. Maybe it's not worth stopping so often but with a 48 gallon tank at least range might still be tolerable.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jun 2018
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From: DFW
When I did my engine work on my 2016 Z06 among other things had the hardware installed to use the E85 if I choose to. Programming on the car was 100% rewritten for everything else being done so when E85 is run the tune noticeably changes. The dyno run showed a 31 hp gain when using E85. The downside is mpg's goes from 23 on the highway to 17 but on that car mpg's are not what the E85 is for!! 