I have a 2012 F-150 5.0 coyote Flex Fuel w/75K miles. I have always run 100% gasoline 87 or 91 octane. I am still running my Flex Fuel truck straight OEM, but I have just purchased a few mods, I plan to install, like a Volant CAI and an 85mm BBK throttle body. I also bought an SCT X4 with 5* tunes, of my choice, included.

This morning, I just installed a couple of oil separator catch cans and decided to fill up the tank, for the first time, with E85/105 octane. I did a little test drive and noticed my normal 15.7 mpg average drop to 10.6 mpg. Also checked the can and it had about three tablespoon of clear, watery like liquid, with virtually no smell. I'm guessing it was Ethanol blow by.

So, once I install my new Volant CAI and BBK throttle body, I need to choose the 5-star tunes. There are two E85 tunes (performance and tow) and performance and tow tunes for 93, 91, 89 and 87 octane 100% gasoline.

So my question to any reader is this . . . What strategy would you choose picking five tunes with a mind toward around town performance, and towing a travel trailer in the Rocky Mountains region?

 

Send the CAI back. All it's going to do is drain the wallet. Your engine came factory with a CAI and it can't be beat. Save the bucks for gas, real gas. The E85 is a good fuel and is capable of making some serious power. Unfortunately, not with the engine you have. Unless you want to run E85 only. Then you'll need to pull the heads and pistons out and go back with 14.5:1 compression. That's what it takes to make E85 work. Otherwise, it's just cheap crap that really doesn't work in an engine that will run it, but does a lousy job of it. Once you convert to E85 with the higher compression parts, you cannot go back to pump gas without doing serious damage to the internals. Five Star tunes in my opinion are some of the best out there. I'd skip the E85 all together. If you have the Walmart Murphy gas stations in your area, see if they have any BLUE colored pumps. If so, that is isobutanol gasoline. The stuff is for real about delivering more power. Ethanol is low in BTUs which is why the gas mileage sucks. Isobutanol is a hair higher than gasoline so you get more BTUs out of a gallon if isobutanol gas. I've put it in my stock 3.7 and it screams. Most think I have the EcoBoost engine when it's in the gas tank. Isobutanol is still an agricultural product like ethanol. You get more final product from the grain than ethanol and you can use more than just corn to get it. It's the future of the gasolines we buy. It's already proven in the marine industry.

 

Thanks for your reply. Do you run a 5* tune with the blue pump gas at Wal Mart. If so, what is the octane and what kind of tune should I ask for?