Gas here in the midwest has gotten over 2.60 a gallon. I see that E-85 is still less then 2.00/gal. I read that if you use E-85 that the mileage was much worse. I have not tried it yet but was wondering if anyone has?

 

On the inside of the gas door it has a thing telling me not to use E-85. Your truck may be different.

I would be scared to put that stuff in my truck.

 

I think the only engine you can run the E85 in is the 5.4L. You get more HP/torque (320 vs. 310 and 390 vs. 365) and fewer MPG with E85.

 

buddy 2.60 a gallon is cheap we paid 95 cents per liter which works out to well over 4.50 a gallon now thats something worth bitching about. You guys always get your fuel for so much cheaper but why complain?? what does it cost you to fill your truck a whole 50 bucks like come on. Try paying close to a 100 per fill.

 

95 cents...1.13 here so far...1.47 last year...180.00 to fill the damn truck. gotta love the Govt eh? Oh great..i got another gas price thread going.

 

$2.60 * 26 = $67.60
$2.60 * 36 = $93.60
He's not complaining - just wondering whether or not it would be worth filling with E85 even including the mileage hit you take. Don't need to jump on him.

 

Back when I lived in Minnesota and I had my 2007 FX4, if E85 was 20% less or more than regular I would always go for it as most stations around me had it.

Unfortunately here in Vegas that is not the case. I think there is one place that still has it, but when I checked it last over a year ago it was more expensive that regular. Definitely not worth it in that case.

So I would say if it is cheap enough to offset the loss in MPG, which at least in my 2007 was about 3 MPG, or 20%, then it is, financially at least, worth it.

Whether it is worth it or not for emissions or "green" reasons is still, in my opinion, highly debatable.

-David

 

I posted this to get an idea on what others thought of using E-85 not to turn ithis into a gripe for the cost of a gal of gas. There are advantages of using it. However, there are very few stations around here. As mrpropaganda, notes it determines if the .50-.60 cent cost offset is worth the 20% drop in mpg. As gas continues to rise then it might be worth looking at.
I do agree, that only the 5.4. must be able to use it. I have a sticker on the gas door that notes I CAN use it. Just have not todate.
--
I do know a few farmers that that is all they use. The drive newer fords and do not seem to have any issues.

 

On the topic of just using it and not as a function of price, I can say that in over a year of using it almost exclusively, and since then an additional year and half of that same truck (which I gave to my parents) still using mainly E85 there have been no issues whatsoever.

No scientific facts to back it up, but it always seemed to run a bit better on E85 (more HP, although not much, probably made it seem this way). No issues with the 20k miles I put on it and as well no issues with the 25k miles put on it since by my father.

And that was from hot summer days (well, I used to think they were hot in Minnesota, then I moved to Las Vegas where hot has a different definition) to extremely cold days and the truck sitting out over night for 4-5 nights at the airport (think -20 or more Fahrenheit). Always started up fine and ran like a champ.

Now the flat spotting tires, especially when ti was cold, that's a different story

 

The E85 will give you the 320hp and 390ft/lbs. The downside is your MPG lags ~20% from 87 octane. If you use E85 exclusive, Ford says to run a full tank of regular unleaded to help keep the fuel system clean and corrosion free. That is the big thing with E85 trucks, the fuel delivery system has changed. You can't use the same fuel lines etc. as they will corrode and start leaking over time. If your gas cap says it's OK, then it's OK, and covered by warranty.