2022 E85 7.3 Coming
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jul 2004
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Does Ford use a sensor to determine E85? GM does not, they program the ECM to read the EVAP tank pressure sensor and it can determine the percentage of ethanol in the gasoline very accurately. Owner's manual states you can add any amount of E85 to regular gasoline and the ECM will compute the ratio and adjust the engine accordingly. They do recommend driving a few miles immediately after filling to give the ECM a chance to figure out the ethanol to gasoline ratio.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Mar 2011
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From: Central Wisconsin
Does Ford use a sensor to determine E85? GM does not, they program the ECM to read the EVAP tank pressure sensor and it can determine the percentage of ethanol in the gasoline very accurately. Owner's manual states you can add any amount of E85 to regular gasoline and the ECM will compute the ratio and adjust the engine accordingly. They do recommend driving a few miles immediately after filling to give the ECM a chance to figure out the ethanol to gasoline ratio.
GM most definitely does use an ethanol content sensor that also reads fuel temps in many applications. It is mounted in line with the fuel lines. I have GM sensor on my '94 F350. The part linked above is a GM style sensor. The sensor picks up the actual percentage, and the ECM makes fueling and spark adjustments to match the amount of ethanol.
It is entirely possible that Ford put in very little effort to tune the fuel and spark maps for E85 for the 6.2. In my 3.7 it picks up noticeable power in stock form. Even more so with a tune from 5 Star. I don't know that I have ever put E85 in anything and felt a loss in power, but I have not used or owned a 6.2 either.
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Joined: May 2004
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From: Home Base Nebraska
Does Ford use a sensor to determine E85? GM does not, they program the ECM to read the EVAP tank pressure sensor and it can determine the percentage of ethanol in the gasoline very accurately. Owner's manual states you can add any amount of E85 to regular gasoline and the ECM will compute the ratio and adjust the engine accordingly. They do recommend driving a few miles immediately after filling to give the ECM a chance to figure out the ethanol to gasoline ratio.
Denny
Logistics Pro
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 4,197
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From: Central Wisconsin
Pump E85 is hardly ever actually 85%. In my area, rural WI, I have had anywhere from 62%-78%. The actual ethanol content for E85 only has to be 51% to be called E85. I test every tank that I put in my pulling truck to make sure the content is fairly high and consistent, and to also make sure the content sensor in the truck is still accurate.
It takes approximately 30% more fuel with E85 to create the same energy as gasoline does. I'm certainly not saying that rvpuller's truck was not making less power than when he just had regular gasoline. But what I'm saying is that if Ford's programming for that particular truck and engine is lack luster at best, causing the truck to run overly rich or even lean in response to sensing a higher content of ethanol, there is a huge potential for your truck to lose power, and sour your opinion on E85 indefinitely. If Ford's tune truly is that bad, that is a real shame. From my experience, the stock tune on a 6.2L on 87 is actually fairly rich already. I wonder if they compounded this by adding more fuel than necessary when the ethanol content is up. I'd be curious to see what kind of power the 6.2L makes on 87 vs on E85, and what the AFR numbers look like between the two fuels.
It takes approximately 30% more fuel with E85 to create the same energy as gasoline does. I'm certainly not saying that rvpuller's truck was not making less power than when he just had regular gasoline. But what I'm saying is that if Ford's programming for that particular truck and engine is lack luster at best, causing the truck to run overly rich or even lean in response to sensing a higher content of ethanol, there is a huge potential for your truck to lose power, and sour your opinion on E85 indefinitely. If Ford's tune truly is that bad, that is a real shame. From my experience, the stock tune on a 6.2L on 87 is actually fairly rich already. I wonder if they compounded this by adding more fuel than necessary when the ethanol content is up. I'd be curious to see what kind of power the 6.2L makes on 87 vs on E85, and what the AFR numbers look like between the two fuels.
Moderator
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 6,517
Likes: 917
From: Home Base Nebraska
Pump E85 is hardly ever actually 85%. In my area, rural WI, I have had anywhere from 62%-78%. The actual ethanol content for E85 only has to be 51% to be called E85. I test every tank that I put in my pulling truck to make sure the content is fairly high and consistent, and to also make sure the content sensor in the truck is still accurate.
It takes approximately 30% more fuel with E85 to create the same energy as gasoline does. I'm certainly not saying that rvpuller's truck was not making less power than when he just had regular gasoline. But what I'm saying is that if Ford's programming for that particular truck and engine is lack luster at best, causing the truck to run overly rich or even lean in response to sensing a higher content of ethanol, there is a huge potential for your truck to lose power, and sour your opinion on E85 indefinitely. If Ford's tune truly is that bad, that is a real shame. From my experience, the stock tune on a 6.2L on 87 is actually fairly rich already. I wonder if they compounded this by adding more fuel than necessary when the ethanol content is up. I'd be curious to see what kind of power the 6.2L makes on 87 vs on E85, and what the AFR numbers look like between the two fuels.
It takes approximately 30% more fuel with E85 to create the same energy as gasoline does. I'm certainly not saying that rvpuller's truck was not making less power than when he just had regular gasoline. But what I'm saying is that if Ford's programming for that particular truck and engine is lack luster at best, causing the truck to run overly rich or even lean in response to sensing a higher content of ethanol, there is a huge potential for your truck to lose power, and sour your opinion on E85 indefinitely. If Ford's tune truly is that bad, that is a real shame. From my experience, the stock tune on a 6.2L on 87 is actually fairly rich already. I wonder if they compounded this by adding more fuel than necessary when the ethanol content is up. I'd be curious to see what kind of power the 6.2L makes on 87 vs on E85, and what the AFR numbers look like between the two fuels.
My truck is a 2013 SC F350 DRW 2wd 4.30 gears 62K miles, truck and trailer fully loaded gross at 24400 lbs.
Denny
Tuned
Joined: Dec 2017
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Joined: Sep 2002
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From: Central KY
With my '13 F-150 5.0L V8, E85 produced noticeably more power. This was even advertised as so in Ford literature. I think their official figure was 15 horsepower, but it sure felt like more. Truck also ran much smoother. And, at $0.40+ less per gallon, it saved me money.
Problem is, E85 doesn't behave well in cold winter temps. and the truck was hard to start. Owners manual also mentioned this, and suggested filling with some normal gasoline periodically.
Problem is, E85 doesn't behave well in cold winter temps. and the truck was hard to start. Owners manual also mentioned this, and suggested filling with some normal gasoline periodically.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Mar 2011
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From: Central Wisconsin
I never had a "no-start" issue using E85 in the winter, but it did run noticeably rougher for a few seconds after initial start-up when the temps really dropped. Stations tend to have less ethanol and more gasoline in the mix for winter to make this less of an issue. Even last winter, or maybe 2 winters ago, when the temps were -50°F with the wind chill, I was able to start my truck without issue but she ran pretty rough for a few minutes until it built some heat in the motor.
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