EVERYONE'S opinion needed

lorenambrose · Nov 20, 2010

Flex Fuel vs. Non Flex Fuel........

Post your experiences and opinions regarding

1. Differences in how the two run.

2. Differences in MPG.

3. Idle Quality.

4. Engine Life.

Rearanger · Nov 21, 2010

If you're a corn farmer/ethanol producer and want to support agricultural subsidies, as well as turning food production into fuel production, then buy flex-fuel. I get at least 10% less MPGs with just 10% ethanol in the gas now. New EPA regs now allow up to 15% so that will mean even less MPGs. Ethanol has less energy than gas, so less power. No flex-fuel stations if my area, so no choice here - gladly. I can't see any advantages.

Z3CHYD · Nov 21, 2010

I eat corn. I don't put it in my tank. lol.

bcost882 · Nov 21, 2010

whoa......you guys talk about the ethanol gas like it sucks....ok so it has less energy in the fuel...so it burns more but when they mix ethanol with it it is cheaper. when i was in LV rugular gas(normal full gas) was about 3.20 to 3.40. now i drove cross country and through the midwest states they had normal regular gas and ethanol midgrade. I had some problems with pinging in LV which is understandable so i was using midgrade, it was cheaper than regular. Only about 2.70-2.80ish. I still got 20mpg while towing a 5x8 uhaul completly loaded and the bed loaded with crap and my quad. Even through the crappy colorado and utah mountains i got 19-20mpg on my flex 3.0L. So it may be abit worse on mileage but it is cheaper. I haven't had a problem so i like it. and it makes the truck run better in my opinion.

stmitch · Nov 21, 2010

I run my truck on e-85 almost 90% of the time. It runs much better than it does on regular 87 octane, and I can't remember the last time it pinged. I've been running it on e-85 for 92,000 miles now (truck has 192,xxx), and other than one bad fuel injector in the beginning, I haven't experienced a single issue. The lower cost vs decreased fuel economy breakdown has been virtually equal for me compared to gasoline. So for my money, I'll continue to use what makes my truck run better, reduces wear and tear on the engine, and supports American farmers rather than some middle eastern shiek. Plus, the flex fuel capabilities give me the freedom to choose I want, and what's more American than that?

lorenambrose · Nov 21, 2010

Sorry, this was not supposed to be a fuel discussion but rather a discussion about the differences between the two engines.

However someone mentioned the reduced MPG but some seem are misled about E-85. Your engine will devolope MORE power on E-85 even though it does have a lower BTU per pound than gas.

I am really wanting to see what the differences are in the running characteristics between the two. ON REGULAR GAS ONLY. I did fail to specify that in the first place. This is due to the fact that there are only two E-85 stations in all of eastern of Virginia.

ragajungle · Nov 21, 2010

The mileage is definitely lower with E-85, and in my experience with my Taurus you are better served to not mix it...

bcost882 · Nov 21, 2010

As far as i know there arent really any diffrences between the 2 besides the e-85 friendly gaskets and such, module and computer ability to learn to e-85. the one just lets you use that fuel and not rot out the insides

stmitch · Nov 21, 2010

The only physical differences between flex and non flex vulcans are the heads. Flex fuel 3.0's have smaller, kidney shaped combustion chambers, which slightly raise the compresion ratio of the engines. Because of the increased compression, flex fuel engines tend to ping more on regular unleaded than a standard fuel 3.0.

There are other diferences in the fuel delivery system (materials, injector flow rate, etc), and pcm, but the engine is nearly identical besides the cylinder head castings.

lorenambrose · Nov 21, 2010

Does anybody feel that the Flex engines run rougher or just not as good as the non-flex engines on 87 octane gas?

stmitch · Nov 22, 2010

stmitch said:
Because of the increased compression, flex fuel engines tend to ping more on regular unleaded than a standard fuel 3.0.

This basically means they run rougher on regular unleaded than a standard 3.0 :icon_thumby:

Froggmann · Nov 24, 2010

I've never driven a non FF Ranger so I can't comment on that aspect. However, my truck idles smooth as silk, has decent power considering it's only a 3.0. Mileage is good, I'm averaging just over 19mpg on winter blend gas in cold weather using 4 wheel drive on occasion. I've got as good as 20mpg on E-85 all highway. The truck runs noticeably stronger on corn, unfortunately I only run it in the summer so it runs 'normal' when the weather turns cold.

One nice thing about Flex Fuel is the cleaning properties of E-85. No need to run seafoam or injector cleaner if Ethanol is available.

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