E85 Or Not?

jdewolfe · January 25, 2011

Hello, I purchased my 06 Sierra early spring of 2010. It was used with about 34,000 miles on it. I now have around 50,000 miles on it. I have no idea if the previous owner has ever had E85 in it or not. Do you think I will have any issues if I start to run it? Anything I should look out for? I know absolutely nothing about it, so if there are any tips or tricks with it I would appreciate it.

Thanks!

Jeff

Wingnut · January 25, 2011

Is it E85 compatible? Or do you mean E15...Whole different animal.

AzDragonLord · January 25, 2011

Shouldn't have any issues...might even clear a few up as it cleans the lines.

Stevens03 · January 25, 2011

If your trucks not E85 capable, don't run it. You'll have issues.

kawtoy_77 · January 25, 2011

Yes do make sure its flex fuel capable.

jdubub · January 25, 2011

A buddy of mine has an 03 tahoe that is flex, he filled up with it last thursday and immediately said it ran a little better but lost about 3.5mpg but it was 50 cents cheaper a gallon. he is a member on here but never gets on

[email protected] · January 25, 2011

It won't hurt it if it's meant to run witch it probably is, check behind your gas door to see. Around here though the difference in price isn't worth the reduction in MPG, IMO. I think last time I checked it was only 20 cent cheaper, but now that gas has gone up it may be much cheaper.

jdewolfe · January 25, 2011

I pretty much just assumed that it was compatible because it is an 06. Can you check by VIN number or how is the best way to find out for sure?

jdubub · January 25, 2011

check in the gas door it may be there...... if not you can run the VIN in the decoder here on the site and it should tell you

LeoS41280 · January 25, 2011

I pretty much just assumed that it was compatible because it is an 06. Can you check by VIN number or how is the best way to find out for sure?

What color is your gas cap?

[email protected] · January 25, 2011

Like, I said look at the sticker inside the fuel door and it will say. If it says nothing about it, it's not compatible.

09Brian · January 25, 2011

My 09 is not E85 so I asked the mechanic at my Chevy dealer if I could run it anyways and he said after about 4 tanks in a row it will start destroying the O-rings and rubber hoses in my fuel system. He strongly advised against it. He also said that if your trucks not compatible and you do run it then your warranty will not cover any issues that E85 caused. They have the option to decide if it was caused by the fuel, not you..

He did say if your going to go to the local track to check your 1/4 mile time, you can put 1/4 tank of premium and a 1/4 tank of E85 and you can tell the difference..

00Silverado4x4 · January 26, 2011

For the '06, check your VIN, if the 8th digit is a "Z" then it is flex fuel capable. As others have said there will be a sticker inside your fuel filler door, but the color of your cap isn't always helpful as my stock cap was not yellow but I do the stickers say flex fuel capable & my VINs 8th digit is a "Z". That (to me) is the easiest way to tell if you are capable of running e85. I didn't start burning e85 until around 50k miles due to unavailability of the fuel. I didn't experience any problems at all, however there was an upgrade to the program in the computer that came out. You might want to check with the dealer to ensure that is has been installed. Specifically (as I was told by the dealer) the program better estimates how much ethanol is in the tank. "Supposedly" to get better economy when running e85. Do I? Couldn't tell you since I didn't burn e85 until after the new program was installed. Good Luck!

Wingnut · January 26, 2011

My 09 is not E85 so I asked the mechanic at my Chevy dealer if I could run it anyways and he said after about 4 tanks in a row it will start destroying the O-rings and rubber hoses in my fuel system. He strongly advised against it. He also said that if your trucks not compatible and you do run it then your warranty will not cover any issues that E85 caused. They have the option to decide if it was caused by the fuel, not you..
He did say if your going to go to the local track to check your 1/4 mile time, you can put 1/4 tank of premium and a 1/4 tank of E85 and you can tell the difference..

It won't destroy your fuel system...If it did, E15 would do the same.

Generally speaking, the only thing that needs to be addressed is the amount of fuel your vehicle can deliver to the cylinders (E85 makes more power, but requires more fuel to do it). In other words, you'd probably need a higher capacity fuel pump and/or bigger injectors...And most likely a tune.

09Brian · January 27, 2011

My 09 is not E85 so I asked the mechanic at my Chevy dealer if I could run it anyways and he said after about 4 tanks in a row it will start destroying the O-rings and rubber hoses in my fuel system. He strongly advised against it. He also said that if your trucks not compatible and you do run it then your warranty will not cover any issues that E85 caused. They have the option to decide if it was caused by the fuel, not you..
He did say if your going to go to the local track to check your 1/4 mile time, you can put 1/4 tank of premium and a 1/4 tank of E85 and you can tell the difference..

It won't destroy your fuel system...If it did, E15 would do the same.

Generally speaking, the only thing that needs to be addressed is the amount of fuel your vehicle can deliver to the cylinders (E85 makes more power, but requires more fuel to do it). In other words, you'd probably need a higher capacity fuel pump and/or bigger injectors...And most likely a tune.

Thanks.

I didn't think that sounded right but who am I to argue with a GM tech-2. I have been a "shade tree" guy all my life on old chevys but all the computers and sensors are beyond me. He could have told me it would blow my engine and I would probably have believed him. (a little)