okay well ware i fuel up 90 percent of the time is at a common cents station. which is exxon. and i buy the cheap gas of course... and most of the time it is the 88 octane stuff with 10 percent ethanol in it. now the 85 octane gas is a little more but has no ethanol in it. would i get better millage with the no ethanol one but with less octane?

and also i was wondering just exactly what the octane means. i dont know much about gas at all... sorry.
thanks for the help guys! i appreciate learning from you!

 

The octane is a rating on the quality of the gas or something like that. I higher octane rating means the gas will burn cleaner and more efficient, that's why racecars use super high octane fuels.

In you case, idk whether the pure 85 will be more efficient than the 10% ethanol 88. Ethanol degrades the efficiency of gasoline, but makes it burn cleaner.

 

Yes, you will get about 10% better mileage with the 85 no ethanol. 85 is all you need at your altitude.

 

Octane has nothing to do with energy content. You can find gobs of info on octane, what it is and what it does, using google.

Ethanol has less energy per gallon than gasoline. IMO, you will probably get better fuel mileage on the straight gas than the 10% ethanol.

FWIW, I've had my V6 truck for over 10 years, and have gotten over 20 mpg on only four tanks. Two of those were filling up with Nevada gas. I usually get around 15 mpg, mostly city driving, on bad California fuel (10% ethanol). I rarely get 17 mpg since we went to 10% ethanol year round.

Also, the 255/75/16 tires are taller than the 255/70/16 that many of us got as original equipment. The taller tires may make you run at a lower, less effieicent rpm. I know when I went to 265/70 from 255/70, I lost performance and mpg.

 

i never took into consideration the altitude. around here i get about 13mpg. and i live at exactly a mile high. if i went back to my home town (pierre) i would prly get better mileage. i will have to try that someday. go to pierre and drive around and go out of town and stuff and see what i get. im sure it would not be much better tho.

 

I would recommend repacking your bearings too. I just did this and my truck seems to roll on an on when coasting in neutral. And when I shift the momentum keeps the truck accelerating when before I packed them the truck used to slow down 1-2 mph before I could get in the next gear.

But I think my brakes are sticking a bit. When I jacked the front end up and spun the wheel, it turns like 1/4 way and stops......

 

Mine gets better mileage at higher altitudes.

 

and how can this be? makes no sence to me i guess. the air is thinner... i dont know how this can be.........

 

Less air, the less fuel has to be metered to maintain proper air/fuel ratio. The MAF senses how much air is going in, the computer adjusts the fuel to correspond.

 

less air and less fuel. means less power... so i guess i can belive that you get better millage... but i bet you have a noticable loss in power.

 

Of course. The higher I go, the less power I have. That's where a turbocharger would help a LOT.

 

true. but is it worth the money for one for a V-6?

 

Is a turbo worth the money on a v6? I'd say hell yea! Of course you wont be blowing through the 1/4 in less than 10 sec, but Orange Thunder, who is a member over at v6f150 and on here, I think ran a 11.2 at 122 mph on 15 lbs of boost. that was the last and best ever run for his truck.

Plus if setup and tuned right, a turbo might help out on MPG, depending on how heavy your foot is.

 

If I lived at high altitude I'd get rid of the truck and buy something with a turbodiesel.

 

Driving habits make a huge difference. With my dad in the truck, we go 55-60; I get over 20. By myself, at 75; I get about 17. Not a big deal. But it's actually 15%. For me, the mileage is still good considering that I'm lifted on 35" tires.