Should I try running E85? Or stick with unleaded.

[Matthew Jeschke]

E85 is low octain. Your car will get worse mileage as far as i inow. Not sure if it is better at clwaning deposits tho. I think the engines are optimal at 87 octain. I yave never ran e85 as nothing i have accepts it. But i dont really believe it to be a performance thing. Just a think to sell more corn.

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[Scottydoggs]

E85 is low octain. Your car will get worse mileage as far as i inow. Not sure if it is better at clwaning deposits tho. I think the engines are optimal at 87 octain. I yave never ran e85 as nothing i have accepts it. But i dont really believe it to be a performance thing. Just a think to sell more corn.

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low octane? really? you might want to look that up.

you get worse mpg due to the fact you need to run 30% more fuel when you run e85. in the end its about the same cost per mile to use. e85 wins out by pennys most of the time.

most who run it use it for its performance gains. like turbo or supercharged cars. ILL SAY IT AGAIN, HIGHER OCTANE, MORE TIMING, MORE POWER.

 

[swathdiver]

E85 is low octain. Your car will get worse mileage as far as i inow. Not sure if it is better at clwaning deposits tho. I think the engines are optimal at 87 octain. I yave never ran e85 as nothing i have accepts it. But i dont really believe it to be a performance thing. Just a think to sell more corn.

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Matt, as Scotty says you have some learnin' to do. I used to think along the same lines until buying this truck.

Folks say it's 30% less efficient but my experience is 24%-25% fuel mileage wise, 11 mpg versus 14.5 mpg average. The engine burns 1/2 a gallon more fuel per hour on E85 than on 93 octane gasoline.

 

[Matahoe]

The Trump administration has said it will approve year-round use of the 15% ethanol blend, but the promise has failed to materialize. For now, E15 is banned in summer by EPA based on concerns E15 contributes to smog, a claim ethanol industry advocates say is unfounded. Almost all gasoline sold in the U.S. today contains 10% ethanol, the E10 blend. Boosting ethanol use by allowing E15 to be sold 12 months a year would help improve corn prices.

https://www.wallacesfarmer.com/energy/why-epa-stalling-year-round-e15

 

[Matthew Jeschke]

Okay you got me. I thought e85 was the octain rating. My father apparently inows nothing of his truck lol i have never owned an e95 setup ignore what i said [emoji850]

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[swathdiver]

https://www.wallacesfarmer.com/energy/why-epa-stalling-year-round-e15

There's a couple of new stations in my county that now offer E15, in fact, some of them only offer E85, E15 and 87.

Regardless, the federal government has no business telling anyone who can buy what fuel or sell what fuel when. Such is not Free Enterprise.

 

[Chiller449]

Filled my tahoe up with E85 yesterday for the first time in I would say over 100k miles. Regular 87 was $2.39 and E85 was $2.09. I calculated I would need a 27 cent difference to break even so 30 cents should more than do it. I ran the truck's low fuel light came on before filling to try and get most of the 87 out. (i dont think this matters much but at the time i wasnt sure). The truck doesent seem to run much different. The exhaust smells different for sure. i did see a drop in fuel economy. I would say around 2mpg. My local family express sells 93/89/87/E10/E85/Diesel. Ill see how well the truck runs the rest of the week. If E85 stays about 27 cents cheaper than 87 ill keep running it. Anyone know how low the tank should be before witching fuel types?

 

[swathdiver]

Anyone know how low the tank should be before witching fuel types?

Technically it doesn't matter. The more straight gasoline on board, the lower the alcohol content will be. This will result in better fuel mileage in relation to full strength E85 which takes 4-5 tanks to achieve. The higher the alcohol content, the greater the performance. E85 can be anywhere from 51% to 83% alcohol. highest seen by me is 80% this summer and right now it's been in the mid 70s.

How many cents per mile does it cost to drive your truck on 87?

 

[Chiller449]

Technically it doesn't matter. The more straight gasoline on board, the lower the alcohol content will be. This will result in better fuel mileage in relation to full strength E85 which takes 4-5 tanks to achieve. The higher the alcohol content, the greater the performance. E85 can be anywhere from 51% to 83% alcohol. highest seen by me is 80% this summer and right now it's been in the mid 70s.

How many cents per mile does it cost to drive your truck on 87?

I have no idea. best i can tell you is e85 has to be around 27 cents cheaper for me to break even. 87 right now is $2.39 E85 is $2.19. It went up from yesterday. I get on average 14.5 mpg on 87.

 

[swathdiver]

I have no idea. best i can tell you is e85 has to be around 27 cents cheaper for me to break even. 87 right now is $2.39 E85 is $2.19. It went up from yesterday. I get on average 14.5 mpg on 87.

You gave me the ingredients to find your answer. If you average 14.5 mpg on 87 and it costs $2.39 right now, divide the cost into the range and we get $.1648 cents per mile.

If your engine's performance is like mine, I reckon you'll average 10.9 mpg on E85 and at that price it would cost you $.20 cents a mile to run. Obviously not as cost efficient.

Put another way, if you were to drive 300 miles on 87 octane at that price, it would cost you about $49.50 versus $60 for the same distance on E85.

Your break even point with E85 compared with 87 @ $2.39 is $1.78, a $.61 cent difference, assuming your engine will average 25% less mpg.

Run two or three tanks and see how she likes it. One will not tell you much at all.