Well I just got a new to me truck a 2011 F150 and it's the first vehicle I've ever owned that is rated to use E85 gas . Question is besides being about 25 cent a gallon cheaper than regular are there any up and down sides to using it ? The engine is a 5.0L
If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!
if I remember correctly, it drops your mpg to the point it costs more to operate your vehicle.
if you are ever being chased by a taxidermist, don't play dead
Here in Peru 85 has been sold for years. I have never seen a spark plug get so carboned so fast as what 85 will do
"Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
Male Guanaco out in dry lakebed at 10,800 feet south of Arequipa.
Second the MPG loss. Every mechanic I’ve ever talked to said the stuff seems cheaper till you realize the math makes you fill up more often thus more expense. It doesn’t become financially feasible till you start getting to a $.75-$1 price difference to unleaded.
There is no real upside to E-85 in my opinion. The already mentioned reduced mileage will more than off set the cost. I'm not sure about Ford but GM vehicles need to be driven a minimum of 15 miles after switching from gas to E-85 or a no start can result from the injector pulse not being lengthened to supply enough fuel.
Don't sound like there's an upside at all with it, I'll just stick with regular gas then .
If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!
Your mileage will drop quite a bit (4-6 mpg).......don't try to run it in the winter if you live up north. Up here where we can sometimes be -10* to +10* the fuel won't burn hot enough to give you adequate heat for the cabin.
[EDIT] -what was I thinking...yikes...E10...my head was on backwards this morning....but the winter heat issue is valid.
redhawk
Last edited by redhawk0; 06-12-2020 at 02:09 PM. Reason: Brain Fart.
The only stupid question...is the unasked one.
Not all who wander....are lost.
"Common Sense" is like a flower. It doesn't grow in everyone's garden.
If more government is the answer, then it was a really stupid question. - Ronald Reagan
Our 2012 is rated to use E85, and we did try a couple tanks full when the truck was new. It ran good, mpg was a little low, but the truck was new and not broken in yet. We switched back to E10 and eventually the mpg got up to what we expected. E85 is not available everywhere, so we haven't tried it again. Just stayed with E10. Recently the price of gasoline has dropped to where there is very little difference in the cost of E10 or E85.Originally Posted by RU shooter
Since yours is a 2011, I will guess that it is already broken in, so I will suggest trying about 3 tanks full, keep track of the mpg, and then make some comparisons.
I have been using E10 in everything I own, or have owned for over 30 years now with NO issues of any kind, and no difference in mpg when compared to non-ethanol gasoline. Believe it or not, I own a 1940 Farmall tractor that runs quite well on E85.
E85, “the green gas”, made to offset fossil fuels. HA! Lower mpg, attracts water, eats hoses and seals not rated for ethanol, gums up quicker, made non ethanol gasoline more expensive! Doesn’t work well with fuel stabilizers so doesn’t keep well.
FWIW, my company truck 5.0 f-150 is e85 rated. 660 miles per tank on e90 (the normal blend now) vs 593 per tank on e85.
I only use REAL non ethanol gas for anything two stroke, mowers, tractors and gas equipment.
Life is so much better with dogs!
Typical gas may contain up to 10% ethanol. E85 is 85% ethanol, not 15%. E85 is a big waste of ethanol. I have also seen articles claiming that it requires more oil to produce than it saves when you consider the plowing, planting, spraying, harvesting, transporting to convert to ethanol.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E85
E85 will clean your fuel system and has higher octane, which may have benefits depending on context.
Yeah...I just realized this...had a major brain hemorrhage when I wrote that this morning.
redhawk
The only stupid question...is the unasked one.
Not all who wander....are lost.
"Common Sense" is like a flower. It doesn't grow in everyone's garden.
If more government is the answer, then it was a really stupid question. - Ronald Reagan
I don't know about the cleaning part. It does have higher octane as it is mostly alcohol. I know a few guys supercharged cars with a LOT of boost using an E-85 tune. You just have to make sure your fuel system and injectors are big enough to deliver. Lean is bad juju on a supercharged car.
That's pretty much the only legitimate use I've found for E85 - the anti knock is through the roof and you can make incredible power if you build an engine to take advantage of it. I recently encountered a Nissan 370Z that was putting out over 1000hp using E85. That car was quite an experience. But normal engines? Just say no.
Ethanol produces fewer BTU's per gallon than the same amount of gasoline. Therefore you must burn more ethanol to produce the same amount of power; that's why higher amounts of ethanol in the fuel result in lower fuel mileage.
An octane rating is a measure that equates to the amount of heat & pressure a fuel can withstand before detonating. A fuel with a higher octane rating will NOT produce more power by itself. With all else being equal, an engine with a higher compression ratio will produce more power than one with a lower compression ratio. Unless you have a need for a higher octane rating, there's nothing to be gained by burning a fuel with a higher octane rating.
A good way to look at this is to picture a 10' high building and a ladder. If your ladder is 12' long, it is tall enough to reach the roof and a little extra. Buying a 20' ladder does not help you reach the roof better than the 12' ladder. In fact, the 20' ladder is heavier, more expensive and more difficult to transport. It is actually a hindrance. Buying a higher octane rating than you need is like buying a taller ladder than you need. It is a waste of money.
In addition to the reduced BTU's per a given volume, Ethanol is inefficient to produce. Fossil fuels must be burned to: plant, harvest and transport the grain to a facility to make the ethanol. Once at the facility some fuel must be burned to distill the ethanol. Once the ethanol is produced it is added to the gasoline and it reduces the potential energy of a given quantity of that gasoline.
As others have pointed out, ethanol has other drawbacks. One of the major problems with ethanol is that it has a tremendous affinity for water.
So, while we can burn ethanol to make power, it's not always the best fuel.
The real story is the use of ethanol is nothing but a subsidy for the large agri business companies that grow corn. No ethanol in gasoline reduces their market demand and they get less $$$ for their corn.
EDG
I think there is a station in Montana that sells E-85. Google says, there is two both in West Yellowstone. Be cautious where you travel.
[The Montana Gianni] Front sight and squeeze
Yes. It will clean the fuel system. If you are ressurrecting an older vehicle that has been setting for awhile, E85 is the best for cleaning the gas tank.
I can't say that I disagree with that.
Ethanol blended with gasoline was pitched to the American consumers as: A way to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil, A way to make cleaner burning fuel, a way to help farmers and a few other pitches.
I'm not sure its use helps reduce the overall amount of oil we burn because the process is so inefficient and the resulting fuel is less efficient.
As for reducing pollution - I'm not sure about that either. If you need to burn diesel in tractors and trucks just to make the stuff, and then you have to burn more fuel to make the same power for the end user; I doubt you're making less pollution overall.
As for subsidizing large scale agriculture, that is probably true to some extent. The government created a market where a market didn't exist.
Last edited by Petrol & Powder; 06-12-2020 at 06:36 PM.
Truth bomb!
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