Just ran a tank of ethanol through my truck and I made a whopping 9.8 MPG. I realize that there would be a decrease in MPG but a drop from an average of 14.5 to 16.0 to 9.8 that is scary. I was going to make another fill of ethanol in greeley cause it is 1.99/gal but when we rolled into town and the trip meter showed 203 miles and the good ole' gauge was on E I went back to 87 octane fuel.

I like the though of supporting the local farmer but even at 1.99/gal it doesn't make sense.

If anyone else has had better results please let me know, mabey I have something wrong with my truck, or the EDGE didn't like the ethanol fuel???

Thanks

 

My buddy ran a tank of ethanol through his truck with the same out come as you, he went back to regualr fuel but still get's the crappy fuel mileage. hope that's not the norm!!!!

 

Well,
If one does the math on a 200 mile trip at 9.8 mpg on the ethanol (2 bucks per gallon) or 14.5 mpg on the 87 octane (3 bucks per gallon) it turns out to be a wash. The ethanol will cost you 40.80 and the octane with cost you 41.40 for the trip. Basically, octane will allow you to go farther on a full tank as the only advantage.

 

I came to the same conclusion today. I've been running E85 in my truck for the past several tanks and not paying attention to the mileage. This afternoon when I filled up I realized that I only got 10 mpg on my last tank. Needless to say I'm going to switch back to 87 for a while and then maybe look into getting a K&N filter and tuner if it doesn't improve as much as I'd like.

 

That is a well known issue actually.

Much less energy output in a gallon of fuel.

It won't be the fix all that so many are promising.

 

Yeah, but gas prices will go down near $2 sooner than you think.

 

Yes and here lies the problem. The government could help this out by either lessening the taxes on E85 or taken them away all together. Only make Petrol customers pay the taxes. Maybe even subsidize it. Make E85 .99 a gallon. Let gas hit $5 a gallon. I am tired of buying bombs to be used against my country! If popularity would grow enough prices would come down further on there own. As the biggest expense is refining. It would also make it much more available in areas where there is not a single pump. I would rather keep the money here in my country then in some 3rd world **** whole! Let someone else buy their oil. Let’s see how well they do if we stop buying it! Our government needs to take the 42% of every dollar I pay in taxes and spend it to become independent of these foreign govt. There is no need to shed my brother’s blood over oil.

The attitudes here are that of many. We are unable to galvanize ourselves against the foreign interests we all complain about. Even if the burden were on us and not the govt. we could make a difference. If we all were willing to lose a few more dollars a week we can make a difference. Someone needs to educate the people in this country. We expect something without any earned pain. The funny thing is we will allow foreigners to inflict the same pain on our pocket books, unwillingly with worsening results!

 

E85 can be used on Ford trucks?

 

E85 supply will always be as volitile as petrol. Weather seems to be the major contributing factor with both. Hurricanes drastically affected oil refineries last year, fact. We're having severe drought conditions down here, as well as alot of the country, and corn crops flat dried up. No harvest, hence no supply, and everyone knows what happens with less supply. Uppidy up with the prices. One goes up, one goes down, both rise, both fall, you get the picture.

 

The 'fix' promised has never been equal mileage per gallon (ethanol vs gas)...but the reduction of dependence of foreign oil. Not to mention an outright renuable resource. I'll be the first to agree we'll never be out from under the thumb of dino, but having the ability to regenerate our own energy source is absolutely a necessity. Black gold will eventually be gone from Mother Earth - not in our lifetime - but will someday be gone. The longer we can preserve that resource through alternative sources, the better off our future generations will be.

I'm far from an tree huggin ecologist (ride dirt bikes, have a Harley and love the Expy and F-150 that are in the driveway), but we do have to start preparation now if we're going to stay on top!!

 

Come on man! E85 can be made from anything with fiberous material. Such as lawn clipping, wood chips, recycled paper, corn stocks, ect. These processes are being used and refined pardon the pun. Hey it's not a magic bullet. I really don't care about gas prices. I am very fortunate to not be affected. How ever I do care about our economy and things of scale. So keep buying oil from the sheik. The knife he cuts your throat with will be the one you bought!

I would pay more to ensure I am atleast keeping these guys from buying another gold plated toilet! LET SOMEONE ELSE PAY FOR THERE WAR on the infidel

 

Uncle sam wants corn based ethanol, and that's what we'll get. If anyone else wants ethanol from other source products they'll have to make it themselves. It can be done, but for me it's all about efficiency. Dinosaurs are more efficient, and who cares who's pockets are getting lined. Okie Jim Bob oil ceo is just as guilty as those turbin weilding oil tycoons.

 

I not a tree hugger either. My Cobra gets about 9mpg if I beat on it real hard

 

Dayum, that is crazy it's almost like you are driving a lifted truck.. Obviously the savings at the pump arent worth it..

 

E85 has about 25% less energy than 87 octane gas. It also cost about 25% less. So like a previous poster said "its a wash" when it comes to cost savings.

Silver05,
E85 can be used on Ford trucks? On some models that are equipped with Flex Fuel Engines. Regular engines do not have the right components that are compatible with ethanol.