I found out there is a station with e85 in Tallahassee so I decided to try it out. I drove to the beach yesterday and I got about 15mpg which is pretty much the same I was getting with gas. e85 was 2.53 which is 10 cents cheaper than 87octane. It's not really worth it but my truck seems to be running smoother.

How many miles have you run on gas to date?
Some folks that have run CHEAP gas for years have issues when they switch to E85, since it absorbs water and is a GREAT cleaner. Clogged filters and injectors have both been reported here, but not often. I've been running it in my Focus starting with 10% doses and building up to 33.4% (last tank) to clean things up gradually (65K on the clock) and it's done well. Now I'm running a tank of gas for comparison. My mileage is up 10% and my LTFT's are rich 3%, so I can say there has been some cleaning going on!

How many miles have you run on gas to date?
Some folks that have run CHEAP gas for years have issues when they switch to E85, since it absorbs water and is a GREAT cleaner. Clogged filters and injectors have both been reported here, but not often. I've been running it in my Focus starting with 10% doses and building up to 33.4% (last tank) to clean things up gradually (65K on the clock) and it's done well. Now I'm running a tank of gas for comparison. My mileage is up 10% and my LTFT's are rich 3%, so I can say there has been some cleaning going on!

Wish i had thought of that. I just ran it to 1/4 tank and filled up with e85. I did a whole tank now and got 15.93mpg which really isnt worse than what i was getting. (32"s and 3.73s). I'm going to keep using it and see how it goes.

Not bad. For me doing mostly city driving, even when E85 was 20% cheaper, it still cost me more to run then gas. However I could of cured that by lightening my foot a bit. I recommend changing the fuel filter, after I changed mine I could actually hear fuel going through the new filter, that was not the case with the old one. I'm sure it was fairly clogged up.

I tried the E85 up here in cheyenne, and did a 3/4 tank full. I noticed that there wasn't any more power, the gas mpg went way down. The only plus was the engine seemed to run a little quieter. The price was .03 cent less then regular gas, so I was angry with it and refused to use it again.

Should I go back and try to slowly work it back into the system, or try and do a full tank full of it no mix of regular?

oh: I drive 5 miles to work, 1 mile of highway, then it sits till the next day; I am getting ALOT better of not having a lead foot anymore as well. With 85 octane I get 17/20 mpg.

I would not be using the 85 octane, use 87... I would not use E85 unless it is 40cents+ cheaper, unless you like the idea that you aren't using gasoline. Mileage will be down quite a bit without long trips.

I've been running E85 for a while. Ran a tank for 89 octane gas through the last tank just because I couldn't make it to an E85 station. That reminded me of what a difference it made. I get the same fuel mileage on E85 and I mostly drive from my apartment to class and to the store in the afternoon, it cost 30 cents less then 89 octane(I refuse to run anything lower, I don't trust the oil companies and how well they refine it, it never seemed to burn the 87 octane really clean anyway which means its not running as efficient as it could be/should be). I have also noticed a difference in power, its 105 octane if you have nothing but E85 in your tank. When you ran 3/4 of a tank of it with the rest being gas it was probably more like 93 octane.

Well maybe I will put a few tanks through. The only thing I don't like is the only E85 station here in cheyenne is maybe MAYBE .10$ cheaper then 85 Octane.

I use 85/87 depending on cost. I have read over and over the debates about octane levels, and since I am not racing the truck, and do regular maintenance, I figured it was ok to run 85 with 87 as a treat sometimes.

depending on your elevation, the 85 is gonna pre ignite like crazy in there...I've got some preignition issues with 87.

going to get almost a full tank of E85 again, and hopefully fix my fan clutch soon so I can really see what it does. I am really not wanting to since I know what happened last time, and the E85 isn't but 5 cents cheaper then regular.

:thumbsdow Disapointed with E85 once again. I had just over 17 out of 19 gallons of E85 and just like last time, HORRIBLE gas milage. I am down past a quarter tank right now and only have 79 miles on it. When I bought it, it was $.10 cheaper then regular. I will not ever be using E85 again in this truck. Truely disapointed with it. I am pretty sure I didn't drive it any different, but I did notice my engine was oddly quiet.

As for E85... :lame:

Well, if the 8th digit of your VIN isn't a "V" (Victor, not "U" - Uniform), then the E85 is REALLY going to hurt mileage, performance and economy. If you actually do have an FFV, it may be time to change the fuel filter.

Remember, these computers "learn" from previous runs. If these are your first attempts at E85, I would change the fuel filter, then do a full tank of E85, then straight gas back-to-back.

I've noticed HUGE gains in bottomend on the Focus, but that is with a dedicated tune and timing for 105 octane.

I changed the fuel filter about 7XXX miles ago. I am 98.73 (repeating of course) % positive that it is a flex fuel, but I will double check and see.

I also noticed a little gain in the bottom end, but with as much as the MPG dropped, and the price of the stuff here, I don't think I will use it again.

Edit* Just checked the vin and the 8 placemark IS a V (Victor, not "U" - Uniform).

Something must be wrong with your truck. I get no less then 13mpg with E85 depending on how heavy I am with my right foot. I get 250 miles on a tank of E85 easy. Just put my 6th tank in yesterday, and I think the computer is learning. I also noticed some very nice gains in bottom end with E85.

That sounds about right for me as well. I put in 85/87 octane and get about 18-21 mpg. The E85 is SOMETIMES $.10 cheaper then regular. The small gain in the bottom end isn't worth spending that much more money in gas.

Heres how I look at it,

Last time I filled up 89 octane (I don't like 87) was $2.79/gallon and E85 was $2.37. So I'm saving $.42 a gallon or $7.56 since I put in 18 gallons. Now I lose 3mpg which equals a 54 mile loss in range meaning I pay $9.80 more to get the same ranger I would have with 89. So after subtracting the saving from the loss I lost $2.24.

So if I have to spend $2.24 for better performance, a cleaner smoother running engine, lower emissions, and I'm helping farmers and local business(I fill up at Spinx, based out of Greenville, SC) then thats fine with me.

Only problem is since E85 isn't that much cheaper in your area, it would cost you around $7.50 to run E85...

Hello, I have recently started using e-85. (I bought my ranger new in 2001, until now there has not been anywhere for me to buy e-85)
I have been using 89 oct. e-10, 99% of the time for 5 years.

The station I get the e-10 from is less than a mile away, while the station that has e-85 is about 25 miles away. So I will probably not on a regular basis run 100% e-85.

I would guess that I have between 90% to 95% e-85 in the tank now. And so far it's running great. My only concern is the fact the I've burned 1/4 tank and have only went about 35 miles. (I've never been one to figure out my mileage to the exact mpg)

I'm going to change the fuel filter within the next week.

My questions are, given my current Mods;
1. Could I be running too rich? (MAF mod)
2. Would the x-cal 2 do me any good, since I won't be running 100% e-85 on a consistent basis? (until I can get e-85 closer than 25 miles away)


A few mpg one way or the other doesn't matter to me, but 35 miles on 1/4 tank, is pretty bad.

Thanks for your help

89 octane(I refuse to run anything lower, I don't trust the oil companies and how well they refine it, it never seemed to burn the 87 octane really clean anyway which means its not running as efficient as it could be/should be).
about 66% per gallon of 89 octane is 87 octane

refineries do not "make" 89 octane,
it is either blended a the terminal where the tankers load at by the computer or the driver
or the station has a blender on the pump itself