Anyone using E85 fuel?
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Junior User
Joined: Jul 2003
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Anyone using E85 fuel?
I learned on my first fill up that my new 2008 F150 5.4 is a flex fuel truck. The salesman never said anything about it, and I normally don't care. I didn't buy the truck for that, but since it is a flex fuel, I thought that I would take advantage of that.
At first I was really excited, because E85 is about .40 cheaper that regular unleaded. Then, I realized that the MPG actually drops. The first tank or two of regular unleaded I was getting the rated 14 MPG (city). But now with the E85 I'm getting more like 11 or 12 MPG. This is disappointing.
Would a tuner help with this? I've been searching the threads, but I haven't found anything that gives me good recommendations on what tuner to get, and where is the best place to get one?
I've been considering a tuner to begin with, because I bought the truck to pull my camper, and I would like to tweak the settings so I can get the best torque and engine performance when doing so. If there is something out there that will do that, and allow me to run the E85; I would appreciate you pointing me in the right direction.
Thanks.
Daryl
At first I was really excited, because E85 is about .40 cheaper that regular unleaded. Then, I realized that the MPG actually drops. The first tank or two of regular unleaded I was getting the rated 14 MPG (city). But now with the E85 I'm getting more like 11 or 12 MPG. This is disappointing.
Would a tuner help with this? I've been searching the threads, but I haven't found anything that gives me good recommendations on what tuner to get, and where is the best place to get one?
I've been considering a tuner to begin with, because I bought the truck to pull my camper, and I would like to tweak the settings so I can get the best torque and engine performance when doing so. If there is something out there that will do that, and allow me to run the E85; I would appreciate you pointing me in the right direction.
Thanks.
Daryl
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 508
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From: Loveland, CO
Here the E85 is about a dollar a gallon cheaper than gas so it's worth running, but yes, the mileage drops to around 12mpg by the computer, and the power drop seems more noticeable per fillup. Reality is that I can go 2 weeks between fillups on Gas, and 1 week and maybe a day on E85, but save over $35.00 a tank on it. I haven't seen a tuner that will work on E85. I don't know if it would hurt the engine running E85 with a tuner either.
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Junior User
Joined: Jul 2003
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Thanks, I appreciate the reply.
I haven't decided yet if it'll be worth running on the E85 full time. If the price difference in my city gets as large as were you live, then it would be worth it. So, I guess I'll have to try it for a few months, and see if I can gain any benefit by it.
Thanks.
Daryl
I haven't decided yet if it'll be worth running on the E85 full time. If the price difference in my city gets as large as were you live, then it would be worth it. So, I guess I'll have to try it for a few months, and see if I can gain any benefit by it.
Thanks.
Daryl
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 508
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From: Loveland, CO
Doing the math, (Which I'm kinda notorious for on here...) to break even for the price/mileage differential, (at least on mine which sounds similar on the mileage at 12mpg on E85) the price of the E85 needs to be around $.48 lower than gasoline to save ANY money. Something to consider, and hope it helps you make an informed decision...
Post Fiend
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 7,698
Likes: 4
From: Neenah, Wisconsin
I ran e85 for about 8000 miles before i switched back to gas.....
my pros and cons as i see them are as follows...
1. Cheaper here...about 80 cents a gallon at the right stations...
2. Worse mileage (so only a small amount cheaper per mile)
3. More power - I think the truck actually felt perkier on e85
4. The nastiest oil change i've ever smelled.....it smelled like rotting vegitation
5. Thus...more often oil changes (i'm only changing at 5000 on gas, 3000 on e85
6. The downsides of E85 in the market, while it reduces our dependence on oil (arguable due to the energy needed to produce it), the increase in prices of food due to an increased demand for corn has been quite noticable around here.
Therefore...i'm using gas.....
my pros and cons as i see them are as follows...
1. Cheaper here...about 80 cents a gallon at the right stations...
2. Worse mileage (so only a small amount cheaper per mile)
3. More power - I think the truck actually felt perkier on e85
4. The nastiest oil change i've ever smelled.....it smelled like rotting vegitation
5. Thus...more often oil changes (i'm only changing at 5000 on gas, 3000 on e85
6. The downsides of E85 in the market, while it reduces our dependence on oil (arguable due to the energy needed to produce it), the increase in prices of food due to an increased demand for corn has been quite noticable around here.
Therefore...i'm using gas.....
Post Fiend
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 7,698
Likes: 4
From: Neenah, Wisconsin
alot....the fuel lines, computer, injectors and alot of misc gaskets that ethanol will eat....
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Posting Guru
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,332
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From: Baltimore
Thanks, I appreciate the reply.
I haven't decided yet if it'll be worth running on the E85 full time. If the price difference in my city gets as large as were you live, then it would be worth it. So, I guess I'll have to try it for a few months, and see if I can gain any benefit by it.
Thanks.
Daryl
I haven't decided yet if it'll be worth running on the E85 full time. If the price difference in my city gets as large as were you live, then it would be worth it. So, I guess I'll have to try it for a few months, and see if I can gain any benefit by it.
Thanks.
Daryl
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Elder User
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 508
Likes: 0
From: Loveland, CO
I ran e85 for about 8000 miles before i switched back to gas.....
my pros and cons as i see them are as follows...
1. Cheaper here...about 80 cents a gallon at the right stations...
2. Worse mileage (so only a small amount cheaper per mile)
3. More power - I think the truck actually felt perkier on e85
4. The nastiest oil change i've ever smelled.....it smelled like rotting vegitation
5. Thus...more often oil changes (i'm only changing at 5000 on gas, 3000 on e85
6. The downsides of E85 in the market, while it reduces our dependence on oil (arguable due to the energy needed to produce it), the increase in prices of food due to an increased demand for corn has been quite noticable around here.
Therefore...i'm using gas.....
my pros and cons as i see them are as follows...
1. Cheaper here...about 80 cents a gallon at the right stations...
2. Worse mileage (so only a small amount cheaper per mile)
3. More power - I think the truck actually felt perkier on e85
4. The nastiest oil change i've ever smelled.....it smelled like rotting vegitation
5. Thus...more often oil changes (i'm only changing at 5000 on gas, 3000 on e85
6. The downsides of E85 in the market, while it reduces our dependence on oil (arguable due to the energy needed to produce it), the increase in prices of food due to an increased demand for corn has been quite noticable around here.
Therefore...i'm using gas.....
Didn't know about the increased oil change interval when running E85. (as stated below) I'll dig into my manual a little deeper this afternoon.
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 508
Likes: 0
From: Loveland, CO
I didn't consider increasing the oil changes...Looks like I'll have to factor that in to my equation. I take that it's supposed to be changed at 3k? I know my manual says 7500 miles between oil changes, but I'm sure that's for gas. I'm not going 7500 miles between oil changes either. I'll stick with 5k.
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 508
Likes: 0
From: Loveland, CO
Yep, 7500 miles on the 5W20...Wife's 07 Edge says 5000 miles on the 5W20. Don't know what they did to lower the blow-by (which is why you have to change the oil anyhow) but I also have the redesigned heads and spark plugs.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,684
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From: Phoenix, AZ
most of the stuff is ok to use right now, the computer is the only thing that needs to be tuned. You're right, on older models the injectors have some rubber parts that would get eaten away with time and mileage (talking 100k+ miles of running straight e85) but if i'm not mistaking, ford's injectors past 1996 have been ok with this.