Running E85??

Paintor · July 4, 2018

I have the longbed with larger tank. Makes the 9 hour drive on 1 tank.

Cowpie · July 8, 2018

On 7/2/2018 at 2:24 PM, Hammer1963 said:

I would be interested to know how many of you are currently running the E85 Fuel. My 2014 Jimmy 5.3 liter seems to love the stuff. I lost around 3 miles per gallon but the performance seems to be superior to the 87 reg gas i was running. Idle is very smooth and my acceleration feels a lot more responsive. I have read both pro's and con's but besides the loss in MPG's i don't see any other cons.

I have been using E85 exclusively since last fall. Prices have been as much as $1 per gallon cheaper than regular E10, but mostly 70-80 cents a gallon cheaper. Sure, I lose about 3 mpg by using E85, but with the price spread, it is still a lower cost per mile to use the stuff. I don't like seeing the lower mpg, so I have to remind myself that I am actually saving a few cents per mile by using the E85. Of course, prices are different around the country so it might not be the best choice for everyone. I know one thing, my 2015 6.0L L96 really does a stellar job with the stuff. Runs far better on E85 than gasoline.

Had to fill a 30 gallon drum with non ethanol gas today for my OPE and motorcycle, but filled the pickup with E85 again. Regular non ethanol gas was $2.96 a gallon and E85 was $1.85 a gallon. The best I ever got for a average with regular fuel that includes in town, rural gravel, highway, hauling, etc was around 14 mpg with my 2015 2500. With E85 doing the same thing, I get about 11 mpg. At 14 mpg and a gas price of $2.96 a gallon comes to an average cost per mile of 21 cents. With E85 at $1.85 and getting 11 mpg, the cost per mile hovers around 17 cents, for a net savings of 4 cents a mile using E85. Now I could be some sort of purist that claims they will never burn corn on their engine, but I am a businessman and it would be stupid of me to spend the extra money by not using E85 when the vehicle is made for it.

This happened several years ago when we got hit with all those high gas prices, I could get E85 for $1 to $1.50 a gallon less than gasoline. My 2013 1500 5.3 lived on E85 for well over a year. And now my 2015 2500 is living on E85. These events have convinced me that flex fuel engines and the corresponding smorgasbord of fuel choices is a wonderful thing. I can choose the fuel blend that offers me the best bang for the buck and switch as seasonal prices change. Flex fuel capability is one of the primary factors that will go into any future vehicle purchase of mine.

Hammer1963 · July 9, 2018

I certainly appreciate the positive feedback on E-85. I feel much better about using it now. I haven't done the cost per mile yet but i would guess it would be what cowpie came up with. Lucky for me there are numerous stations everywhere i go frequently so getting E-85 is not an issue. Perhaps Cowpie could shed some light on my next experiment, with all the concern of carbon buildup on the intake valves, i wonder if using E-85 all the time would lessen this carbon buildup that so many people have concerns with. More importantly is how much junk and other crank case gases gets caught by my moroso catch can. So yesterday i did my 5000 mile oil change and am curious to see what i catch in my can with fresh oil and running on E-85.

Retired Bob · July 10, 2018

As most already know - ethanol absorbs water. This is an interesting article - especially the section on not letting e85 sit over 90 days in the fuel tank:

http://www.fuel-testers.com/about_ethanol_fuel.html

TJay74 · July 10, 2018

I was running E85 in my 2017 Camaro SS up until I swapped over to a Procharger D1SC setup. Car ran great on the E85 and the power improvement was noticeable. AS said all you need is a E85 kit, they can be had for $150 to $300. Personally I used the Skidmark Garage kit for $150 and it worked perfectly fine, uses a OEM GM sensor with zero issues.

The E85 tables are already setup, just need to turn the sensor on in the tune. You can play around with the E85 timing map, but there wont be much of a gain from it. I put down 431rwhp in my Camaro, when we put the E85 into the car we got it to around E65 and the car put down 453rwhp. It maybe picked up another 3-5 HP once the E85 fully hit the E85 amount.

I am tempted to swap my 2016 Sierra 6.2 over to it, provided I can get the wife to make sure to fill up with it only.

As said though, you wont be able to run E85 on the LT1 DI engines without some serious changes to the fuel system. You will need at least the higher volume in tank pump if the one from the ZL1 (LT4) will fit in our tanks, the LT4 injectors and the LT4 high side engine pump. Those parts alone are around $1750 for the injectors and high side pump. Even then you wont have enough headroom to run E85 on a Procharger setup.

Been down that road on my Camaro already, staying away from it until I put in some forged pistons, rods, change the cam out and then will address the fuel system.