E85???

[AtlasFBG2]

Gm specs for the 4.3 v6 

 

Horsepower hp (kw)

Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra: 285 hp (213 kw) @ 5300 RPM SAE Certified

Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra: 297 hp (221 kW) @ 5300 RPM SAE Certified – E85

Torque lb.-ft. (Nm)

Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra: 305 lb.-ft (413 Nm) @ 3900 RPM SAE Certified

Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra: 330 lb-ft (447 Nm) @ 3900 RPM SAE Certified – E85

 

Using e85 with a Superchips or Edge tuner they claim a gain of  20 HP & 24 lb-ft 

 

I have used e85 and regular 87 octane in my 4.3 v6.

 

E85 gives me 4-5 mpg less depending on the actual ethanol percentage.  E85 can vary between 71%-83% ethanol in my area.

 

A scan tool with show the actual ethanol percentage in the tank.  

 

Price spread needs to be $0.60 or greater to break even using e85.

 

There is a noticeable difference in the way the truck drives and shift using e85. 

[wforrest08]

This is the wrong time of year to “try” E85 for the first time. Winter blend E85 is only required to be a minimum of 70% allky. I’d wait to try it till late spring early summer to guarantee summer blend. I personally don’t run E85 in the winter in mine cause it sits 95% of the time and even though some people will tell you this ain’t true alcohol attracts moisture (water) do to condensation and temperature swings. Also any E fuel breaks down a lot faster than reg gas so you don’t want to leave it sitting in your tank.

 

I have a Blackbear 91 tune so I have to run either 91+ or E85. The butt dyno definitely feels the difference between 91, winter E85, and E85. E85 will break the tires loose 91 won’t, one time I ended up with a tank of winter E it was like driving the truck before it was tuned. Also it takes multiple back to back tanks of E85 to get the full potential out of E85 as the “reserve” on these trucks is huge if you run the tank down to empty you still got 4-5 gallons in it. I lose 100 miles on a tank 4-5 mpg between 91 and E85 since my price spread is always at least .30 a gallon for me anyway a lot of the time it makes cents to run the E85 if I do the math the extra power is just a bonus...

[TJay74]

3 hours ago, wforrest08 said:

This is the wrong time of year to “try” E85 for the first time. Winter blend E85 is only required to be a minimum of 70% allky. I’d wait to try it till late spring early summer to guarantee summer blend. I personally don’t run E85 in the winter in mine cause it sits 95% of the time and even though some people will tell you this ain’t true alcohol attracts moisture (water) do to condensation and temperature swings. Also any E fuel breaks down a lot faster than reg gas so you don’t want to leave it sitting in your tank.

 

I have a Blackbear 91 tune so I have to run either 91+ or E85. The butt dyno definitely feels the difference between 91, winter E85, and E85. E85 will break the tires loose 91 won’t, one time I ended up with a tank of winter E it was like driving the truck before it was tuned. Also it takes multiple back to back tanks of E85 to get the full potential out of E85 as the “reserve” on these trucks is huge if you run the tank down to empty you still got 4-5 gallons in it. I lose 100 miles on a tank 4-5 mpg between 91 and E85 since my price spread is always at least .30 a gallon for me anyway a lot of the time it makes cents to run the E85 if I do the math the extra power is just a bonus...

 

 

You only need E50 to see about 80% of the HP gain from running Ethanol. The timing modifier tables in the ECM are E-40/60/80. You dont even see the maxing timing adder until you are over E80.

[Grumpy Bear]

13 hours ago, TJay74 said:

 

 

You only need E50 to see about 80% of the HP gain from running Ethanol. The timing modifier tables in the ECM are E-40/60/80. You dont even see the maxing timing adder until you are over E80.

Love these little nuggets of truth. How about the fuel tables? How are those laid out? 

[swathdiver]

My engine stalls on the first remote start when burning E85 in cooler weather.  I reckon it's because the fuel in the lines has gotten too cold for the motor's liking, it's alcohol content is 70% or more.  But she fires right up on the second start and all is well after that.

 

Since October of last year, my truck has burned 586 gallons of E85 and the mileage difference between it and Mobil's or Chevron's 93 is 25%.  Where the truck averages 14.2 MPG on 93, she averages 10.8 on E85 since last October.  My engine on E85 also burns 2.4 gallons per hours versus 1.9 gph on 93.  In that time, E85 has cost $.22 cents per mile to use while 93 octane has cost $.25 cents per mile to use.  Without towing, my cost on E85 is $.19 cents a mile.  That's a substantial savings.

 

Think of E85 as cheap race gas.  For those who used to race cars, remember going to Sunoco or VP race fuels and paying triple the price of regular gas to make maximum power?  Well this stuff costs less and performs the same function.

 

These LS engines are designed for burning E85.  Like using unleaded race gas, they idle smoother, run a little cooler, make a whole lot more power and torque.  Even the transmission adapts and shifts better.  It's noticeable when switching back and forth.  Mine even sounds better!  

 

For the tree hugger, if I were to burn 1000 gallons of E85 for the year, my truck would use 10 barrels of oil for the 200 gallons of gasoline that would come out of it and 1.58 acres of corn for the 279 bushels of corn required to process into ethanol for the other 800 gallons.  There is a lot of these two materials leftover that industry uses for other things so little of either is waste.

 

Does running make sense on a long cross country trip?  Only if there are stations carrying E85 to refuel at on the way!  The last time I checked, it would be sketchy to think my truck to make it from Fort Pierce, Florida to Houston, Texas on E85 as where the truck needed to refuel, there was but one station offering it and can that be relied upon?  You'd have to call them before leaving.

 

Since last year, my county has doubled the number of stations carrying E85.  Uncle Sam is still spending money on getting more stations to carry it.

 

Oh, did you know that under CAFE standards our Suburbans and Yukon XLs get 84 MPG?  Yep, because they are FlexFuel!  LOL

 

You fellas with the Gen V Direct Injected engines can see a really big boost in power on the stuff.  Look at the numbers for the L83!  GM didn't publish E85 power figures for the L9H or L94 to my knowledge either but they also benefit from it.  

[Zasker1]

If you download the Murphy drive app you can actually filter for e85 stations it's the most accurate 85 search tool I found granted is only for their gas. Even the dealy website that tracks all e85 stations is way off in their mappings

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[Gunslinger354]

Thanks guys, my take away is 

1. More power

2.more torq

3.less fuel mileage

4.less costly at pump

5. Dont use in winter

6. May take 2 or 3 fill ups to flush all 87 out

Thank you all for this very informitive post

[Sierra Sik]

The "Gas Buddy" app is pretty good at locating E-85 stations.

[AtlasFBG2]

e85prices.com list all the stations in the US. They also have a phone app.

 

You can add new stations if you find any that carry e85. Also can notify them if a station no longer has e85.

 

[Sierra Dan]

Also noticed with E85 in winter are the 3-6 second cold start crank times, if no one has mentioned that yet.

My first winter with the truck I thought something was wrong with the fuel delivery system or ignition.

[cmysstailights]

Also noticed with E85 in winter are the 3-6 second cold start crank times, if no one has mentioned that yet.
My first winter with the truck I thought something was wrong with the fuel delivery system or ignition.

Its common, my 14 did it and my wifes 15 burb does it

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[Black02Silverado]

1 minute ago, cmysstailights said:

Its common, my 14 did it and my wifes 15 burb does it

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So does my 2002 and it starts even harder since it isn't direct injection. 

[Sierra Dan]

My longer crank reference was comparing E85 to 87 or up octane during cold starts in winter in our E85 capable Ecotech engines specifically.

Even from just sitting in the garage overnight. 

Of course any engine is going to take longer to crank over  in cold weather sitting outside.

The difference for me just sitting in the garage is 3-5 seconds or 3-5 engine revolutions more if E85 is in the tank.

[Paintor]

In cold Pennsylvania I run Slick50 Synthetic Engine Treatment. Put only half the bottle in your engine oil and notice how much easier your engine starts when its freezing out. Night and day, cranks over faster with parts lubed.

 

My Sierra is non Flex Fuel and I can only run 50% ethanol and 50% gas with a Hypertech tune for premium fuel without throwing the check engine light for the oxygen sensor.

 

You can literally pick the front wheels off the ground kind of performance boost. Probably not ideal for winter driving in Pennsylvania. 

Edited December 12, 2018 by Paintor

[Gunslinger354]

33 minutes ago, Paintor said:

In cold Pennsylvania I run Slick50 Synthetic Engine Treatment. Put only half the bottle in your engine oil and notice how much easier your engine starts when its freezing out. Night and day, cranks over faster with parts lubed.

 

My Sierra is non Flex Fuel and I can only run 50% ethanol and 50% gas with a Hypertech tune for premium fuel without throwing the check engine light for the oxygen sensor.

 

You can literally pick the front wheels off the ground kind of performance boost. Probably not ideal for winter driving in Pennsylvania. 

Lol im from pa too as well as the op on this