Opinions on E85

[RustedRanger]

I have read some articles on converting vehicles to run on E85 and I am wondering if anyone has converted an older Ranger like mine (87 2.9L) to use it? I know either a custom computer or carb is needed to use it and higher compression is a plus to get the full benefit of E85's high octane. I'm wondering about this because I saw on a gas station sign last night that reg was $4.29 yet E85 was $3.39. I know mpg's are a little lower with E85 but being this much cheaper would outweigh any mpg loss.

 

[rusty70f100]

I have converted a '92 Explorer, simply by putting higher flowing injectors in it. Then it became an "E85 only" vehicle. It worked fine, but cold starting in winter was a bit difficult.

I also run E30 in my '87 Bronco 2, completely unmodified. You can blend it in the tank if you want to save a little money. When it gets up around E50 though, it will start to affect how it runs.

There are conversion kits that plug into your injectors that work well from what I hear.

I suggest you ask over here:

http://e85vehicles.com/e85/

 

[James86]

Wow, around here its still $3.88/gal regular and I filled at $2.91 for E85 yesterday. I totall feel its worth it. My lieage drop is slightly less than the cost difference so in the end the price per mile is comparable, but FFV 3.0's are listed by ford as having 9 more HP and 12 more ft/lbs and I want to know what bolt on or performance mod I can gain that much simply by picking a nozzle. Between the price difference, the noticeable power difference, and the fact my taxes are already subsidizing it, why NOT use it? The big factor would be availability, and MN leads the way with around 370 stations with E85. So if you are thinking about making your vehicle E85 only, make sure you can easily get E85.

Slight side note, but since this is in General Discussions for E85, since all injector cleaners are pretty much some type of alcohol, does it make any sense to run injector cleaner if you've been burning E85 pretty much constantly for several years? I've been pondering that for awhile....

 

[Original_Ranger84]

Yeah I would be running E85 but they don't sell it anywhere that I can find up here in Alaska, I'm tired of paying almost 4.40 a gallon... Atleast I get like 25mpg hwy with it though.

 

[RustedRanger]

Thanks for the web address...I have been to that site several years ago. I think if you had the money to build an engine just for E85 the mpg loss could be taken care of by increasing the compression.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Thanks for the web address...I have been to that site several years ago. I think if you had the money to build an engine just for E85 the mpg loss could be taken care of by increasing the compression.

Just the same as propane.

If you go one way or the other you can get good milage and power. Try to straddle the fence and you don't get a whole lot of either (compared to what you could get)

 

[LearjetMinako]

I did a little research last night about those E85 conversion kits. In all, what they allow the driver to do is add an extra shot fuel into the engine, bypassing the PCM for control. When the PCM fires a injector, this E85 device detects it and gives a shorter second pulse to fire the injector. And according to how much ethonal is in the fuel, allows the driver to increase or decrease that second pulse fire. Or set it to "0" to turn it off. The idea is to give the engine the needed added fuel for ethonal, without tripping off the CEL light.

Don't know if it is worth it for the $300~400 price range they ask. And isn't there more parts that are specially designed to handle the ethonal fuel, like the fuel lines, injectors, etc.

Just a few links:
http://www.fuelflexinternational.com/
http://whitelightning.net/

 

[straycat]

Yeah I would be running E85 but they don't sell it anywhere that I can find up here in Alaska, I'm tired of paying almost 4.40 a gallon... Atleast I get like 25mpg hwy with it though.

Yeah, and thanks again Alaska for the pipe line all of us taxpayers paid to have built....gee...where does all the oil go, Eh???

 

[Original_Ranger84]

Yeah, and thanks again Alaska for the pipe line all of us taxpayers paid to have built....gee...where does all the oil go, Eh???

Hey man we are tax payers too... not to mention we produce and refine oil and yet we have some of the highest gas prices besides Canada... Besides the Pipeline is providing much needed jobs in the economy. Haha not that I'm working for them though...

 

[rusty70f100]

And isn't there more parts that are specially designed to handle the ethonal fuel, like the fuel lines, injectors, etc.

Not really. All the parts that would deteriorate with ethanol (mainly natural rubber) were replaced with compatible parts 30 years ago when they went to gasohol.

What can happen, is that if your vehicle was operated the last 25 years on nothing but straight gasoline (no ethanol) then there might be some sludge and crud built up on the bottom of the gas tank. Ethanol (even just regular 10% stuff) can loosen this crud and plug up a fuel filter. So when doing any conversion to higher blends, it's a good idea to replace the fuel filter after a couple hundred miles.

I think what happens a lot of times is that people try ethanol for the first time, it cleans out the gas tank, and they need to put in a new fuel filter. Then they blame the ethanol for their engine running bad.

Where the parts compatibility, and most other ethanol related myths came from was methanol. That stuff requires stainless steel everything because it is corrosive.

The only time ethanol becomes more corrosive than gasoline, is when it's got a high amount of water, salt, or acid in it. That almost never happens in real world usage. Even then, the fuel sold at the pump has corrosion inhibitors added to it. It's really not an issue. I suppose if you left a container of E85 open to the atmosphere on a hot humid day it would slowly absorb water out of the air. But straight gasoline will go bad after about 30 days even in a closed container, so there really isn't much difference in practice.

 

[nitrofan1]

An E85 discussion is the same as all the what oil do you use ones which is bull crap. If I say one thing others say different. My opinion? Corn is for eating. Keep the E85 up north and out west. I like my 100% gasoline just fine. So does my 93 and 94 Rangers, my weed trimmer, my mower, leaf blower etc.... I use E10 when I have to but avoid it at all costs on the small engine stuff.

Get the North American governments off their collective asses and get the oil out of the Rockies and the sands of Canada. If we can go into space and drill miles under the gulf we ought to have the tech to do this.

 

[RustedRanger]

I had a book years ago about making alcohol,it said you can get a permit to do it legally as long as it's denatured. I don't know what the laws are now. If you don't like the discussion on E85 it's really simple....don't read it. Sure we have loads of oil here in the U.S. but that doesn't matter when we have a Pres who let the oil companies drill for it or find a way to get it from shale,same with natural gas. One thing I like about E85 is that it creates less pollution and it's renewable. They don't have to use only corn,it can be made with lots of different things. I'm not at all into all this "green movement" crap but I am looking in to possible ways to save myself money.

 

[Surrey]

An E85 discussion is the same as all the what oil do you use ones which is bull crap. If I say one thing others say different. My opinion? Corn is for eating. Keep the E85 up north and out west. I like my 100% gasoline just fine. So does my 93 and 94 Rangers, my weed trimmer, my mower, leaf blower etc.... I use E10 when I have to but avoid it at all costs on the small engine stuff.

Get the North American governments off their collective asses and get the oil out of the Rockies and the sands of Canada. If we can go into space and drill miles under the gulf we ought to have the tech to do this.

Do you realise that up in Canada, 100% gasoline basically doesn't exist? Its all e-10 unless you buy 91+ octane. And we already mine the tar sands. big time. Its a HUGE deal to environmentalists up here.

The sands in Canada are a huge source of oil, in fact, they make Canada's oil reserves 2nd largest in the world - next to Saudi Arabia. I also question how much oil is contained in the rockies - they are rich in coal, but I dont think they have much oil, they geologic conditions didn't exist for oil to form under them. (The Tar sands, on the other hand, used to be a giant in-land sea until about 150 million years ago, when the terraines that make up BC, and uplifted the rockies, started to collide with the continental plate.)

Besides, there are known deposits of natural gas and crude oil off the coast in Hecate Straight, but we wont mine them because we consider the risk to our wildlife too high for off-shore drilling. Also, there is basically no need for it, because Canada has so much natural resources - we have a population density of about 3.5 persons per square kilometer.

Edit - for those of you who dont know how they extract natural gas, they use a process called fracking. Basically, they inject a corporate secret mixture of water and other crap into the ground, to crack the rocks and release the gas. What exactly they are pumping into the ground is a closely guarded secret, and the chemicals are known to leach into ground water, fish streams, and drinking water reservoirs. This also leads to the natural gas contaminating drinking water, to the point that you can light your taps on fire, like so...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEQMA0zwMM4

 

[nitrofan1]

Look guys. I'm not one to start stuff. The thread topic is "Opinions on E85". In the southern US E85 hardly exists and in a 100 mile radius it's not offered. There are tons of flex fueled vehicles around here but almost no one has ever used E85. In my county we have to pass emissions (the only one in Tennessee) Both my 93 and 94 Rangers have passed. Here is what we have to pass on limits before failure:

HC: 220 parts per million
CO: 1.20 PPM

My 94 has 206,000 miles on it. It passed with the following:
HC: 39 out of 220
CO: 0.01 out of 1.20

My 93 has 107,000 miles on it. It passed with the following:
HC: 31 out of 220
CO: 0.03 out of 120

Both had 100% gas in them at the time. No Guaranteed to Pass in the tank, no special cleaners, nothing. Just meticulous maintenance and synthetic fluids.

I check my MPG at each fill up. In the 94 with 100% gas I get 22.3 MPG combined. With E10 I get 20.9. 100% gas adverages $3.67 to 3.79 a gallon here. E10 adverages $3.74 to $3.85 a gallon.

I'm sorry you guys pay so much for any type of fuel. But if you don't want dissenting opinions on your subject don't post it as if you want everyone's honest responses.

 

[ranger_mclaren]

I was always told it wasn't worth it one you half to drive further to find it, and it dosn't really save you any milage. I never used it thats just what I've been told. We had a rental car 2010 Chevy impala that had a badge for it on trunk. But when we called and ask the retal company what we fill it up with he said to use regular gas.