Towing On E-85

[mike94silverado]

are there any advantages/disadvantages to towing with E-85?

[dewfpo]

Disclaimer : I don't have personal experience with this but I know alcohol absorbs heat very well and has a higher octane that gasoline so I would "think" using E-85 would be better on the engine but it will suck it down faster too.

 

DEWFPO

[Black02Silverado]

I would agree with DEWFPO.

[music]

E85 produces more torque/hp (few percent). It also has less energy per gallon == lower mpg.

[AzDragonLord]

are there any advantages/disadvantages to towing with E-85?

 

You mean other than burns cleaner and is American-made?

[DwayneJ]

As covered it contains less energy so you burn a lot more.

 

Far as "American made" it is massively subsidized with tax dollars, not a good thing. We could produce our own oil, but "not in my backyard" stops us.

 

Far as the original question the fuel economy is going to be the only negative.

[RyanbabZ71]

As covered it contains less energy so you burn a lot more.

 

Far as "American made" it is massively subsidized with tax dollars, not a good thing. We could produce our own oil, but "not in my backyard" stops us.

 

Far as the original question the fuel economy is going to be the only negative.

 

Reg oil is also given subsidies. Just one of many articles out there. To many myths about E85, yea its not the best solution (i agree) but you have to start somewhere and develop the technology

 

http://www.dtnprogressivefarmer.com/dtnag/...11cc2cfc5af0095

[6.2 GMC]

I'll find out next weekend when I tow the bass boat down to the Potomac River, I will have a full tank of E85 to give it a try

[cujo8]

I'll find out next weekend when I tow the bass boat down to the Potomac River, I will have a full tank of E85 to give it a try

 

One thing the owners manual says about the fuel you use in these flex fuel engines is what ever you use it is best to try and stick to one or the other, since the ecm is a self learning computer and makes changes I believe based on the average values, rather than on instantaneous values. Therefore it may take 2 to 3 tanks of E85 for your truck's engine/ecm to totally adjust to the new fuel type, so if you typically fill up with E10 and you decide to see if E85 will be better for towing, you might better run E85 for a while before you conduct your test.

[plumber802]

I'll find out next weekend when I tow the bass boat down to the Potomac River, I will have a full tank of E85 to give it a try

 

One thing the owners manual says about the fuel you use in these flex fuel engines is what ever you use it is best to try and stick to one or the other, since the ecm is a self learning computer and makes changes I believe based on the average values, rather than on instantaneous values. Therefore it may take 2 to 3 tanks of E85 for your truck's engine/ecm to totally adjust to the new fuel type, so if you typically fill up with E10 and you decide to see if E85 will be better for towing, you might better run E85 for a while before you conduct your test.

 

 

 

 

YES!!! I learned this the hard way when I tried running Regular gas in my 6.2L equipped truck to save a couple of bucks.After a couple of tanks the truck would stumle and sputter upon startup and overall just run rough.Had to take the truck back to the dealership where they reset the ECM.I ONLY run Premium fuel now.

[Wires]

E85 produces more torque/hp (few percent). It also has less energy per gallon == lower mpg.

 

Isn't that a contradiction? Less energy = more HP????? How does that work?

 

Propane has less energy than gasoline, whcih nets less power and less MPG.

[MikeNH]

Not totally sure but I imagine the higher octane allows for more aggressive timing so you get more power out of it.

[RyanbabZ71]

E85 has an octane rating higher than that of regular gasoline's typical rating of 87, or premium gasoline's 91-93. This allows it to be used in higher-compression engines, which tend to produce more power per unit of displacement than their gasoline counterparts

 

E85 consumes more fuel in flex-fuel type vehicles when the vehicle uses the same compression ratio for both E85 and gasoline, because of its lower stoichiometric fuel ratio and lower heating value.

[Austin83]

are there any advantages/disadvantages to towing with E-85?

 

It's expensive! There are websites online that have calculators that will show you if there is an advantage of using E85 based on price per gallon of either E85 or regular gasoline and your MPG with both types of fuel. Based on my MPG and the price of E85 it is way too expensive to use. You may get an extra 10-15 HP, but it will cost you.

[mike94silverado]

Haven't towed with it yet because of the 3 mpg difference in every day driving I just buy regular gas. Now that we have the Malibu, and if it gets way cheaper I may give it another try