Where is that? I don't even think they sale it in Idaho

 

its about 40 cents a gallon cheaper here in wisconsin

 

They probably have the same thing on the new 6.7s coming out this month. Probably the ones that came out before flex fuel was a big thing need it moreso then the new ones and that's probably why its suggested with regard to biodiesel in the 6.0 and 6.4s.

However, you still have to deal with the tuning that ford has come out with and that still doesn't do well with everyone. Even if it does compensate for the different levels of ethanol, the tuning for those various levels still isn't going to fit everyone. Custom tuning still has the better chance in this regard.

 

Sure...you'll get a bit more performance with a custom tune....but at what cost.....hundreds of dollars....Ford tunes the vehicles to have maximum performance with minimum emissions and issues.......a very very very small number of people actually need custom tunes.....if you really want to run ethanol all the time you don't need a tune....you need a engine build to maximize compression.....but that would also be a waste of money as then you couldn't run gas....


Best all around solution if you want to run ethanol with MAXIMUM performance....put on a supercharger......

Best solution for 99 percent of people......run whatever fuel you want and don't worry about anything else...

 

Thought better of it. This debate could go round and round for days and it'll be so far off topic it won't be funny.

 

e85 is terrible, i prefer good ol' gas. i ran a couple tanks of e85 in my truck last month and it just wasnt for me. terrible mileage, felt sluggish just like another person said on here, but it was cheaper.

but i also did some research and found a gas to e85 comparison on a 2009 tahoe flex fuel. they ran from l.a. to vegas 2 times, one trip with gas and one with e85. they kept tract of all the fuel they used and did a very good job to document everything. the filled up in la and drove to vegas, topped it off and drove it back. calculated mpg, cost, and usuage of fuel. then drained the tank and filled with e85, they drove it around that night to make sure there was no gas left in the tank. the next morning topped back off with e85 and made the t.rip to vegas and back. in the end they ended up using more e85(thats a given) but the final cost of e85 come up to be more expensive than the cost of gas by about 35 bucks. over time that adds up.

they also did some dyno test and found that the e85 actually pulled less power and lower performance than regular unleaded.

so best bet would be to stick with the gas, thats my opinion. in a money situation and dont plan to do a lot of driving, go for e85 but for everyday commutes stick with gas

 

I haven't seen any straight ethanol here in Georgia. All pumps say may contain up to 10 percent ethanol.

 

Hopefully it won't drift too far off topic. Before it does, can someone quickly answer what oil is best to use? And is a CAI worth it?

Ready, set, GO!!!!

 

E85 does make more power, but you need more of it. Gas burns best at about 14.7:1 E85 is 10 or lower not sure exactly. To really see the bennefit of E85 you need to raise the compression to about 12:1 or higher. E85 does not burn hotter unless you are trying to run lean, that is why the factory tune and most aftermarket tunes set the fuel to full rich at 60% or higher throttle input. This is to insure the engine does not lean out. Thus combined with the lower compression you see bad Highway MPG.

As to the guys having sluggish performance on E85 it is most likely due to the computer not being completly readjusted yet from the new fuel blend.

E85 is a great fuel for an engine built to run it. Really keeps the inside clean.
Ford and the other MFG's should make the engine for E85 and have the computer allow it to run on 92 octane if needed in a limp mode until E85 can be re fueled.

 

Use motorcraft semi-synthetic and change it ever 5k.......or buy full syn and spend more money...its up to you....


CAI is about the best 300 boat anchor you'll ever find......except it won't keep you boat in place so maybe its the worst 300 dollar boat anchor.....either way thats about all they're good for...

 

Another reason why it may seem a lil sluggish is cuz dino fuel is kinda dirty. E85 will actually clean your system out and keep it clean. It would take a few tanks to fully clean your fuel system out of the dino fuel and really start to see your power gains. E85 does give you worse miliage though, usually just a few miles per gallon than normal.

 

I don't use E85 in naturally aspirated engines, but I did run it in my 06 Chevy (turbo'd 5.3L) and got better mileage and a lot more power with it.

Ryan50hrl - You mentioned the sensor in the fuel tank adjusting the PCM. This made it seem like it's an on-the-fly procedure. Is this true? In my Chevy, it just looked for a certain percentage (65% maybe?) then switched to a different tune. Is my F150 smarter?

 

Around here there is one station that I know of that sells E85. It's about .11 cheaper than E10. I am on the end of my first tank of E85. So far from the odometer it seems I may be about 1.5-2 MPG difference from E10.
Driving impression is about the same. I don't really notice any significant difference.
For me, with it only .11 cheaper than E10, I dont see the reason to burn it. Especially since the station is 24 miles from me.

 

E 85 as never meant to get better gas mileage that regular gas. It was meant to be an alternative fuel that kept money in the USA by using ethanol from made from corn by products thus helping the American farmer and the US economy. And it has helped in the Midwest. Just look at the grain prices on the board of trade.

As for me and my use of E-85 I figure that for it to be benficial finacially to use it then the E-85 has to be about 15% cheaper that regular petro to offset the difference in mileage. So right now where i am in Illinois gas is $2.79/gal so i would wait until E-85 is under $2.37 befor I would dump any in. That is to be just even. Right now that is not the case. But as oil prices climb (which thay are starting to do crude just closed yesterday at the highest price it has since Oct. 2008) the E-85 becomes more beneficial. I will get about 16.5 mpg on regular Petro and about 14.0 mpg on E-85 at worst. So worse cause is 2.5 mpg's less.

 

most manufacturers dont use an alcohol/ethanol sensor because of expense and reliability issues with the sensor.

they instead use a calculation based on oxygen sensor readings to determine the percentage of alcohol in the fuel. i dont have a service manual, but i am almost certain there is no sensor.

ethanol runs cooler, octane boost, allowing a more aggressive spark table and more power, quite a bit poorer mileage.

my experience is that a steady diet of e85 really cleans out the crankcase, almost like its been chemically cleaned. kind of weird cleaning from normal fuel dilution of the oil but enhanced by the ethanol.