E85 milage

[REVNORR82]

I keep seeing that in my area that e85 prices dropping and 87 prices going up so I was wondering if anyone here with a flex fuel truck has ran e85 and was it worth it with the price to milage difference.

[5.0THIS]

Depends on what the price difference is. Lately though, it hasn't been too close to the break even point though. I see a lot of folks claiming about a 30% loss in mileage when running E85.

[REVNORR82]

Well we almost have a $1.50 difference in price right now

[5.0THIS]

Try it and see then. The change in fuel economy isn't straight across for all vehicles. Just make sure you follow the correct procedure for changing back and forth (so the PCM recognizes the change).

[pajeff02]

Stoich for E10 "gas" is around 14.4:1 (which is what most of the pumps in our area have). For E85, stoich is around 9.7:1 or so. That means the engine running E85 requires about 30% more fuel for every molecule of oxygen as compared to gasoline.

[REVNORR82]

What is the correct procedure

[5.0THIS]

What is the correct procedure

I knew you were going to ask that, and it's been awhile, but cutlass can correct me if I'm wrong, or add in more details. I think the jist of it is that you wait until the tank is near empty on one, fill with the other, and then you need to drive at least a certain distance to make sure the PCM has time to recognize the change in fuels, like maybe 8-10 miles or so, and adjust accordingly. I'm sure the owners manual in any flex fuel car will detail it out.

[REVNORR82]

I have always been kinda against putting corn in my truck but If I could save a few dollars I just might

[pajeff02]

Our Suburban is a flex fuel vehicle, but no one in our area sells E85 so I have never tried it. I can check the owner's manual to see what it says as I will be working on it later today.