I was looking for feedback from anyone that uses E85 fuel instead of regular gas. It is obviously cheaper, about .50, but I heard it burns hotter, faster, and you lose a little mpg. What is your experience and do you think it is worth it? I have a 2010 Lariat and wanted to try it. Thanks guys.

 

I think that it has to be at least .50 cheaper for you to break even because of the lousy gas mileage. I believe your book will tell you that every third tank you should run a tank of regular gasoline. At least that what's my 09 calls for. I havent tried it because I don't want to go back to a 10 mpg truck.

 

not worth the mpg

 

Not many comments here, so I'll pass along my test. When I bought my truck (07 Heavy Half, 5.4 with 4.10's) last year, I drove it from LA to Mn. Using regular gas, I averaged 18.5-19.3 mpg highway miles. I tried some heavier alcohol fues (not true E-85, around 25% alcohol), it dropped below 16 mpg highway. Doesn't seem like a good deal unless you can get it for a good price.

My 2 cents

Paul

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. With gas prices still being somewhat reasonable I guess I'll stick with regular. Truck runs great and gets great mpg anyway. Thanks, Mike.

 

I put it in my Avalanche for a while because it was so much cheaper. The gas mileage was terrible and I was not supposed to run my programmer with it. For that reason, I have not put it in my Ford and do not plan on it either unless I just really need some gas and it happens to be available where I pull in.

Brandon C.

 

political smoke and mirrors.... nothing more nothing less

 

And a drain upon our food supply as well as corn for us and animal feed is diverted to distilleries to make ethanol.
We are not permitted by the EPA to develop our own natural resources such as the trillion barrels of oil under our western states. Instead we get railroaded by the "experts" in government to waste money on boondoggles such as ethanol motor fuel and "renewable" energy from solar and wind-power generators. Development capital is diverted to boondoggles and wasted thus depriving investment capital resources for systems that actually work.

FYI: The 45 megawatt marvel solar power plant that FPL has built over near Tampa is a case-in-point: The capacity factor for that plant is only 19% at best at a construction cost of $150 million. It produces electricity part of the time at ~14 cents per KW/hour. It produces no power at night nor during cloudy days and must be backed up 100% by conventional power plants, coal, petroleum and nuclear, that make power at 1/4 the cost of solar power.....talk about an expensive government-created and mandated boondoggle!!

 

I work at the Romeo Engine Plant. One of the engines we produce is the 4.6 flex fuel engine. The difference between the gas and E85 is the valves and valve seats. E85 burns hotter, it's less expensive, but you get less MPG. I've never tried a tank but based on mileage difference advertised, E85 would need to be almost 30% less than gas to break even. In a pinch, naturally, I'd buy it.

 

If I have a choice I buy E85. I would rather support local farmers and local economy rather than the middle east countries and our friend BP.

And that BS about using corn for ethanol rather than food is pure BS. I have worked in the Ag industries for years. A bushel of corn is converted into many products like starch, oil, protein, etc. Ethanol is only one of the products of a corn milling operation.
People don't understand that corn can be made useless by mycotoxins and would be useless if it were not converted into Ethanol.
Most don't understand that whole corn is not fully absorbed by cattle but the byproducts of ethanol produce 18% pellets and Corn gluten meal that cattle can eat and digest better

Your choice, support local farmers and local industry or Support middle East and BP