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E85 vs. Gas Prices April 2021

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by Rebel Tundra Man, Apr 12, 2021.

  1. Apr 12, 2021 at 8:18 AM
    #1
    Rebel Tundra Man

    Rebel Tundra Man [OP] New Member

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    Thought I would give this E85 a try since it is currently running $2.24 a gallon vs 87 octane at $2.65 a gallon right now. What are you all paying out there for either or? I am aware of the disadvantages of the E85 over regular gas. Just wanted to see how you all are holding up out there for gas prices raising continually....
     
  2. Apr 12, 2021 at 8:22 AM
    #2
    Tundra234

    Tundra234 New Member

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    Alot of them
    I wouldn't even worry about it and I wouldn't use E85. It doesn't really matter what we use with the mpgs that we get.
     
    Cock-A-Doddle-Do likes this.
  3. Apr 12, 2021 at 8:45 AM
    #3
    Saltyhero13

    Saltyhero13 Throbbing Member

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    Fuel delete mod Cup holder upgrade
    Prices are going up in the DC area, almost a dollar increase since I purchased my truck last May. I'm switching to Premium soon too.
     
  4. Apr 12, 2021 at 9:00 AM
    #4
    Rebel Tundra Man

    Rebel Tundra Man [OP] New Member

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    I am not worried about MPG's I have a work car for that purpose, just trying to save some money when I can. I only drive the truck on rainy days and weekends usually, I have a jeep that is my daily after work. The truck only gets like 8 or 9 MPG's after the wheels and tires and lift. But I feel for the people paying $4+ a gallon its a big change for us here though cause we went from a fluctation of $1.00-1.80 a gallon and almost overnight it jumped to $2.00-$2.90 a gallon here.
     
  5. Apr 12, 2021 at 9:14 AM
    #5
    Safar85

    Safar85 New Member

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    More than a few.....
    Ya, if i was getting that mpg i would definitely drive the truck less. I am at 15mpg average right now and thats more than fine for me. My old 2002 4.0 ranger got 15mpg so im used to it, only now i have a giant V8 lol
     
  6. Apr 12, 2021 at 9:15 AM
    #6
    Safar85

    Safar85 New Member

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    More than a few.....
    Actually been thinking about this. Do you have a good quality one in mind that wont throw a CEL?
     
  7. Apr 12, 2021 at 9:19 AM
    #7
    Festerw

    Festerw New Member

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    Not with the Tundra but the few times I ran it in my wife's Durango the mileage dropped from about 21 to 17.

    Not worth it for the price difference.
     
  8. Apr 12, 2021 at 9:35 AM
    #8
    P-Factor

    P-Factor New Member

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    No sir. Just starting to look myself and a very good question.
     
  9. Apr 12, 2021 at 10:21 AM
    #9
    BIGUGLY

    BIGUGLY I the SheepDog. I have the capacity for Violence.

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    Normally for the savings to be cost effective E85 needs to be 50 cents less or more a gallon. And at that point it's a wash.

    If you have blender pumps try the E30. Saves around here about 25 cents a gallon and you don't take a big dive in MPG's
     
  10. Apr 12, 2021 at 6:41 PM
    #10
    endagon

    endagon New Member

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    e85 was 2.02 here today. This time of year it's probably closer to e70 so the mpg isn't awful so more like 12 mpg instead of 14. Although I just got over 16 with a half gasoline half leftover e85 tank. Relearning that hypermiling patience with a big v8 under foot is hard.

    My truck tends to ping on regular gas after a while so I compare to the 3.30 of premium. Plus I can run a couple tanks of regular gas after regular e85 use without any pinging at all because it steam cleans the carbon out, and leftovers raise the octane a little bit.
     
  11. Apr 13, 2021 at 10:59 AM
    #11
    Cpl_Punishment

    Cpl_Punishment Young men never die.

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    I don't think you can even buy E85 here. Never seen it at any of the reputable gas stations I go to.
     
  12. May 4, 2021 at 1:09 PM
    #12
    jdg1982

    jdg1982 New Member

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    I filled my truck with E85 a few days ago because it was $0.40 cheaper a gallon. Not worth it imo. I usually get 15-16 mpg. It's reading 11mpg right now. Also, the truck seems more sluggish.
     
  13. May 4, 2021 at 2:49 PM
    #13
    TundraMcGov.

    TundraMcGov. Your friend. Your foe. Not yo Ho.

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    E85 is actually at least $1.00 more a gallon then regular gasoline. You're actually paying for that "$0.40 cheaper a gallon." You just don't know it. And that's how they want it.
     
    jdg1982[QUOTED] and TheBeast like this.
  14. May 4, 2021 at 5:43 PM
    #14
    Kung

    Kung Dead sexy

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    Stupid question (and no, I've not done this lol - ever) - what happens if one fills up a non-flex-fuel vehicle with E85?
     
  15. May 4, 2021 at 6:31 PM
    #15
    Wahayes

    Wahayes Older I get the wiser I realize my dad was

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    3.25 here in SLC. It is what it is. I daily my tundra and I don't worry about it. I'd worry even less than my current level of non concern if it was my rainy day vehicle.
     
    Terndrerrr likes this.
  16. May 4, 2021 at 7:01 PM
    #16
    Funnyguy713

    Funnyguy713 I can't get Jiggy with this Sh!t

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    I hear you don't get good gas mileage with E85. But heard the opposite for Ethenal free and its $3.01 here at Chevron.
     
  17. May 4, 2021 at 8:32 PM
    #17
    Terndrerrr

    Terndrerrr guzzling dealer repellent

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    Gas prices don’t bother me. I save so much money not having to fix my truck and doing my own maintenance, it more than makes up for the 32gal I put in my truck every 3 weeks or so. Plus, I was spending more driving my 4Runner before COVID. It got better mileage (granted, not by much) and gas was a bit cheaper, but I was driving 50-75% more than I am now.

    Easiest way to cut fuel costs is to drive less. But then that means having more things shipped to the house, which means you’re still paying fuel costs factored into shipping prices (even when it’s “free”)
     
  18. May 10, 2021 at 3:59 PM
    #18
    endagon

    endagon New Member

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    It runs very lean, and it might cause some damage to fuel lines etc that aren't made to handle it
     
  19. May 10, 2021 at 4:27 PM
    #19
    jdg1982

    jdg1982 New Member

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    I used E85 for one tank. I was getting 11 mpg ($2.02/gal). Filled up yesterday with No Ethanol ($2.89/gal) and was getting 16.5 mpg on the way home last night. Rough math, that's 150 miles per tank difference with the 30 gal tank
     
  20. May 10, 2021 at 6:10 PM
    #20
    Funnyguy713

    Funnyguy713 I can't get Jiggy with this Sh!t

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    After my calculations if you add the extra money you spent on the Ethanol free to fill the 30 gal tank on E85 you would still be 23 miles short.
     
  21. May 10, 2021 at 6:18 PM
    #21
    Stumpjumper

    Stumpjumper New Member

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    I was in the Texas hill country last weekend. It is the only place I see E85. They don't sell it around DFW. I was tempted to try some but I was pulling my bay boat. 11 MPG on hwy is bad enough. No way I was going to chance filling up with E85 towing 5000 lbs.
     
  22. May 10, 2021 at 6:33 PM
    #22
    jtwags

    jtwags Concrete jungle

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    One thing e85 does well is clean piston, rings and combustion chambers. I used it to clean up our Chevy Tahoe with the cylinder deactivation tech that fouls up the pistons and rings. Ran 4 tanks through it and added a device that stopped the afm from turning on. Did a great job, smoothed out stumble and idle stall when turning wheel. Read about it on some brazilian study site showing how clean the engines are using ethanol, downside is long term use did indicate slightly more wear than regular gasoline. I feel the tahoe runs much smoother and has more pep on e85. Not sure i will run it in the tundy though as it already runs great and loss of mpg is significant too.
     
  23. Jul 15, 2021 at 10:56 AM
    #23
    Bikeric

    Bikeric New Member

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    Just did my second fill-up with E85. 26 gallon tank went 190 miles and 20 gallons to fill it up so ~9.5mpg. I did some minor off-roading on this tank so not disappointed in the mileage. I'm doing it because I'm close to my 5,000 mile oil change and wanted to try and clean my fuel system then get fresh oil and go back to Premium gas. I find the truck likes to rev jump when initially started, the sound of my exhaust is different (smoother, less raspy), power feels like an extra 50hP to me (maybe my injectors were clogged?).
    E85: $2.299/gal
    Premium: $3.249/gal
    I saved myself $19 on the fill-up. I normally get ~11.5-12.5mpg's. So, normal tank of Premium gas gets 240 miles, and E85 goes 190 miles. 50 extra miles costs $19 extra dollars, so it saves more $$ than using Premium gas FOR ME (your results may differ).
     
  24. Jul 15, 2021 at 11:07 AM
    #24
    LuvCRVs

    LuvCRVs New Member

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    So the No Ethanol saved you 0.008 per mile driven. Given the unscientific nature, that would be a push in my book.
     
  25. Jul 15, 2021 at 12:23 PM
    #25
    Wahayes

    Wahayes Older I get the wiser I realize my dad was

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    Why do you use premium in the first place? Are you supercharged ?
     
  26. Jul 15, 2021 at 12:50 PM
    #26
    Bikeric

    Bikeric New Member

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    I feel like the truck runs better on premium. Now I think the same with E85, so I need to go back and run 87 Octane on next tank to confirm my seat-of-the-butt dyno.
     
  27. Jul 15, 2021 at 1:09 PM
    #27
    endagon

    endagon New Member

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    Some Tundras definitely have pinging issues with 87 octane after some time. Mine definitely does when it's not worked hard for a while so I ran premium a lot. It's not needed anymore after ethanol cleaned out the hot spots. Besides when switching from e85 to gas it's not an immediate shift back. If you follow the manual and only switch with a 1/4 tank or more left, then there's 10-15+ gal of e85 bumping up the effective octane of that next tank of 87. It takes a few fill ups to work through the mix

    e85 is about $2.30 here and gas about $3. Still pretty much a wash cost-wise after figuring engine oil cost. Last four tanks of e85 had a lowest mpg of 12.1 and a highest of 13.2. That included some freeway, mostly city stop and go, a few excessive acceleration events I probably didn't need...
     

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