E85 fuel - good or bad for ffv 5.7?

Just found out the other day that the 14 Tundra I bought is a flex fuel vehicle. Didn't have a clue until the dealer mentioned it at my first oil change the other day.

Just curious - have you folks with 3rd gen ffv's experimented with E85 fuel, and what are your results? I'm wondering if it is even remotely harmful to my engine. The price difference between it and regular pump gas isn't really all that much right now. I would hate to be doing damage in order to save 10% off the cost of fuel. I plan on keeping this thing until the wheels fall off.

 

Once you start using Flex Fuel you will want to continue using it going forward & not switch back. I believe theoretically you could switch back but in the long run it's not good for the engine to switch. I also believe that Flex Fuel (Ethanol) could potentially cause corrosion (later down the line) because it absorbs dirt faster.

Not even sure if its even cheaper or if you would even see much improvements in MPG.

 

I would not use E85. Mine is not ffv, but if it were a ffv, I would not use it unless the Zombie apocalypse occurred and I couldn't get regular gas.

 

Use E0 if you can get it. Everything else, as I believe is required to be posted on the fuel pump, may be up to E10. So, most of us are running some percentage of ethanol regardless. I can't recall reading that it may harm the engine itself, the concern is usually the rubber components, hoses and seals on older vehicles.
And it doesn't absorb dirt, it absorbs water.
As far as going back and forth to and from E85, I think you're supposed to be able to, that's the idea behind the word "Flex".
Check you owners manual for more specifics.
Personally, I would avoid it at all cost even if I owned a FFV.
By the way, how have you missed the FFV emblem on the tailgate all this time?

 

no ffv emblem on my 14 model. Only place its written is on the gas cap, in easy-to-miss print. If it was a Ford, I would have seen it.

 

Get a drink of your choice and have a seat...

Flex fuel is what is says it is... its flexes and it does just that..

First off in the tank ( where the fuel pump is) there is a sensor that can detect E85 fuel... Once the sensor has said (yep e85) a signal is sent to the ECM. That point the ECM goes to a different fuel/ignition CURVE.. When the sensor doesnt see E85 the ecm runs in normal mode.. You can switch back and forth if you want from e85 to normal 87 or 93 ron fuel you normally use. Only difference is really in timing and injector pulses thats it.. I can make my 95 tacoma run on e85 if i had the ECM curve for it. Henry ford has his engines running on what is today e85 and that was how long ago again?

That said, if you like 0 to 60, or 0 to 100!!!! you will only see a SLIGHT better times with e85 than your normal pump fuel do to timing curve. Alot of people think you get alot more HP, out of it, not really do to the ecm keeping everything in check.

Down sides really is water is one.. Its a water magnet..(MPG is other off 1 to 2 mpg) Other problem they dont tell you.. It costs more to make the Ethanol to covert it from corn to liquid state, it takes ALOT of energy than its worth as of today standards. no supercharger either on E85 ECM.

AS long as you keep the fuel system SEALED and the emissions running correctly you will not really have a problem..

How to make E85 i will give you a quick lesson: I will goto the terminal any fuel terminal exxon, bp, marathon.. example. we will do a part load of fuel then we will goto the ethanol terminal and do the rest of the fill up.. Example in one compartment it can hold 2500 gallons of fuel.. we will load 1800 gallons of 87 ron fuel then load 700 gallons of ethanol on top.. While we drive down the road it mixes... there is your E85 fuel.. IF you want e90 we change the percent on the load out. the computer does all the work and give us a exact measurement. Its a pain in the A@@ for us drivers who haul it...

Bio diesel is the same way load the petro then goto a other terminal to finish load out for bio diesel.

 

Mine is FF. I will NEVER put e85 in it. It absorbs water through the air. If you live in a place remotely humid you could destroy your fuel system, engine. I live in Indiana and have terrible humidity in the summer. Not sure I would use it even if I lived in AZ.

 

Mine is not equipped for FF but all has up to 10% of ethonale in it

 

Recommend y'all watch the documentary "Pump" on Netflix.

 

very good watch. Intresting to know if yota makes engine run less efficient while on e85 like the other big 3

 

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Powe...nmsrp=0&maxmsrp=0&minmpg=&maxmpg=&rowLimit=10

according to this it is much cheaper to run gas than e85...but what if you fill half tank with gas and half with e85?

 

It will run in e85 till about all the fuel (e85) is out of the tank.

 

I wouldn't put it in my tank. There is a reason toyota recommends an oil change every 2500 miles while running it...

 

Anybody complaining about the price at the grocery store? We take a food and make it into fuel that requires around 18 gallons of water to make one gallon of fuel, I have heard up to 1000 gallons of water. Remember when gasahol first came about and how it destroy fuel tanks which are plastic now. Last but not least your tax dollars going in to subsidize it to keep it price competitive.

 

That's news to me, where'd you read that?

 

It's in the manual for flex fuels.

If you are using E85 more than 50% of the time then you should change it every 3 months or 2500 miles.

 

You own a Tesla?

 

Ah, so there's a supplemental manual that comes with the FFVs? I wasn't able to find anything in my online manual, but then I don't have a FFV.

No, LOL. It's a reference to a comic written by The Oatmeal comparing Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison.

 

I own two Teslas. (In my mind)

 

I'm not sure if there is a separate manual. I wouldn't think so... but here is page 36 of the maintenance manual.

 

Thanks for that info, you just made up my mind.

 

I've used the E85. You need to make sure that all the regular gas is out of the tank. I put $5 of E85 in at a time about 3 different times to ensure this. I did not notice a difference in the power or shifting. However the gas mileage was noticeable. After running the 2nd full tank of E85 I was able to get about 9 HWY and 7 City. This is a drop for my truck. I would normally only get about 13 HWY and 12 City. As far as the corrosion goes I use to work at the Toyota engine plant in Huntsville, Al. where this engine is made. You do not need to work about corrosion. I have heard of people remapping there management system and getting crazy horsepower and way better gas mileage from the E85. E85 is a very popular fuel to use in racing. Still, these cars are tuned to run E85. WHile the stock tuning is ok on the Tundra I dont want to mess with the programming. Where I live there are not many gas stations that carry E85. Hell there is just 1. So until it gets more popular and I know I can get it every time I fill up I will just be using normal gas. Eventually I think there will be a piggy back programmer design for E85. It has the potential of higher horsepower and better MPG. But until then Black Betty will drink her normal gas.

 

I just noticed that on my gas cap as well after 1 year of driving. Averaging only 11.7 mpg mostly city driving, anyone have ideas about getting better gas mileage? Engine tuner or cold air intake?

 

Pretty much all marine engine manufacturers recommend using fuel with zero ethanol. In most areas with a large boat or ATV population you can find ethanol free fuel. Ethanol is a water magnet. If I was running my boat everyday I wouldn’t have a problem putting pump gas 10% ethanol every now and again but if it sits at all it can terrorize a fuel system. Regular pump gas ruined my lawn mower and it gums up carbs in all kinds of small engines. Switched to E free and problems over. That said I put regular pump gas in my non-FFV tundra but now way would I put in E85 even if I had a FFV.