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So....used E85 yet?

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Northside Enthusiast

Northside

Posted
Posted

I find it amusing that most of the guys posting about the poor fuel mileage, like 25 to 30% drop, and how they doubt the advertised power gains, also post that they don't use it! I do use it. I lost about 15% on my mileage 2 to 3 mpg) and the seat of the pants power gains was very noticeable. A lot more fun to drive. Way more throttle response. The stuff burns clean too. That's not just a benefit to air quality (I know that EPA stuff is just a commie plot) it keeps carbon deposits in your engine down too. The 5.3 has 11:1 compression. It'll run okay on regular with the spark timing retarded, and the electronics will do just that. With the high octane of E 85 your timing will automatically be advanced to take advantage of the power this engine is capable of. Hot rodders are even modding old Holley carbs to take advantage of E 85 and having great results. Politics aside, it's here, in my town anyway, and I'm going to take advantage of it. Why not?

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bigsapper Enthusiast

bigsapper

Posted
Posted

Okay this isn't exactly on topic but it involves gas.. The 5.3 says to use regular unleaded.. Is it worse for the engine to use a higher octane like 91 or 93? I can't imagine it would be but reading POS VETT's comment above made me wonder this.

 

I have been using a higher octane just because I thought the engine would run better off of it and I have always been told a higher octane is better for your engine long term....

I've come to understand that the E92 ECM does recognize higher octane fuel and will bump up the timing accordingly. So you should get a perf boost running premium.

POS VETT Enthusiast

POS VETT

Posted
Posted

Okay this isn't exactly on topic but it involves gas.. The 5.3 says to use regular unleaded.. Is it worse for the engine to use a higher octane like 91 or 93? I can't imagine it would be but reading POS VETT's comment above made me wonder this.

 

I have been using a higher octane just because I thought the engine would run better off of it and I have always been told a higher octane is better for your engine long term....

Knowing that the engine has an 11:1 compression is enough for me to make truck run 93-octane fuel. My cars run 93-octane and I buy fuel by 30-35 gallon "batch", so it's convenient for me to keep everything running on the same fuel, even the lawn mower (yes, it has Mobil1 Synthetic 5w-30 too).

 

With a high-octane fuel, I make sure that the engine runs at max allowable ignition timing, at the lowest fuel trims, and hopefully fends off possible knocking at any atmospheric condition. From time to time, I "blend in" a few gallons of E85 into my '16 tank to keep the equivalent octane rating higher.

Retired Bob Enthusiast

Retired Bob

Posted
Posted

Does the power gain depend any on the percent of ethanol in the station's E85 fuel pump?

http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/ethanol_e85.html

"E85 is a term that refers to high-level ethanol-gasoline blends containing 51%-83% ethanol, depending on geography and season (see Fuel Properties and E85 Specification).

 

How can you tell how much ethanol is in the pump you are buying from?

bigsapper Enthusiast

bigsapper

Posted
Posted

Didn't read it past they were using a 2007 flex fuel Tahoe.

 

Tech is moving at the speed of light. 10 year old tech has no relevance in today's context.

Rawyzf Senior Enthusiast

Rawyzf

Posted
Posted

Does the power gain depend any on the percent of ethanol in the station's E85 fuel pump?

http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/ethanol_e85.html

"E85 is a term that refers to high-level ethanol-gasoline blends containing 51%-83% ethanol, depending on geography and season (see Fuel Properties and E85 Specification).

 

How can you tell how much ethanol is in the pump you are buying from?

I have a dashboss, it reads the alcohol percentage. Winter is about 65% right now.

 

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Rawyzf Senior Enthusiast

Rawyzf

Posted
Posted

Anyone tried running it in a nonflex 2015 yet?

I don't see why you would, unless you convert your truck to Flex by adding the sensor, like I had done.

 

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  • 1 month later...
EFLine Enthusiast

EFLine

Posted
Posted

Found this thread really helpful!

 

Used E85 for the first time on my last fill up. up until that tank, I had been using 87 Octane. E85 is obviously cheaper and with a station just down the street with it, decided to give it a shot.

 

Feedback.

The trucks drives night and day difference! I notice much better throttle response as well as some better power. Of course gas mileage dropped, but not by as much as I thought it would.

 

Previously with 87, I was averaging 17.2 around town with a little highway and 21 on the highway.

Currently with E85, I'm getting 15.8 around town and about 19 on the highway.

 

Financially it makes sense to use E85, however, even if it didn't, I would still use E85 as the truck drives that much better!

 

just my .02

Rawyzf Senior Enthusiast

Rawyzf

Posted
Posted

Good stuff, glad to hear posts like that :).

 

Just an FYI, your gas mileage will most likely go down a little bit more with e85, depending on how much 87 you had left in the tank.

EFLine Enthusiast

EFLine

Posted
Posted

Good stuff, glad to hear posts like that :).

 

Just an FYI, your gas mileage will most likely go down a little bit more with e85, depending on how much 87 you had left in the tank.

 

For sure, I only had about 2 gallons left, so it was not a whole lot. I tried to run it pretty low as I was a noob and didnt know if mixing fuels was ok. after a little research, found out the computer can adjust based on octane levels.

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