How much ethanol % can our trucks handle?

No thanks. And it has nothing to do with possibly harming the engine, everything to do with being mandated what I can or can't purchase or use, when there's no science to back up specious claims.

 

Interesting thing to note. I've run 4 tanks of fuel through the new to me Altima.

87 octane E10 33-33.5 mpg

88 octane E15 34-35 mpg

That's commuting to work every day so about as close to the same conditions as you can get.

 

Similar on my ffv Tundra. The mileage doesn't seem to go down at all until it's over about 30% ethanol. It pulls a fair bit of timing on e10 gas so maybe as energy density in the fuel starts to drop with higher eth% the engine efficiency bumps a small bit with the ping-resistant alcohol.

Rec fuel gets better mileage but it might be because it's actually 90 octane gas vs the 84 octane used in our E10-up ethanol blended stuff.

 

Since ethanol is 100 octane, I'm not following your logic here.

 

Puregas APP will map every E0 pump in the country starting with the closest to you and then give you directions. I run it exclusively in my boat because it sits for longer periods.

I don’t care if ethanol runs through my Tundra.

 

Rec fuel is ethanol free. Leaner stoich ratio, more energy per volume, and more ping resistant than regular 87

 

What's the AKI on it?

 

Around here, 90. Afaik it's the same base as our 93 octane premium gas but without the 10% ethanol added to bump it up. My truck doesn't ping on it but it will with 87 AKI e10 after a few tanks. If it was closer to the same cost I would run it right now but it's 40% more per gal than regular gas with only a 5-10% range benefit.

Down south they have E30 at the pump. I would run that all day in my ffv. Good chance it has the lowest cost per mile right now.

If I had the big tank it would still be running e85 but with the word "shortage" bouncing around I want more than a 220 mile range to the low fuel light.

 

Does anyone remember when they said going to ethanol was to keep the price of gas down. Then we heard it was to subsidize corn farmers and last but NOT least it was found the car makers after being asked to warranty their Cat Converters for life stated that regular gas made that impossible. Something smells odd here. My new boat engine paperwork states if I use E15 I void the warranty!

If you put ANY ethanol gas in my 70' BBC it will run like crap!

 

Yup, ethanol absorbs the water in the air if the fuel system isn't sealed, which pretty much describes any boat. Then if it's jetted for pure gas any ethanol mix would run lean. Bad recipe

 

I am confused about E85 fuel. Please let me explain myself and offer any feedback you can. 2016 5.7 Tundra 4X4. I have never thought about using an alternative fuel until now. E85 is currently .40 less a gallon then regular with a 38 Gal tank, that is a lot of money. I generally use Regular gas. I read the manual and there is no mention of having to change the oil more then the current 5K milage, again with the oil consumption of the 5.7 engine, that is a lot of money. I generally get 13-13.5 MPG. I certainly do not want to do anything to damage may engine of fuel system in anyway or have to re-jet my engine. I live and most of my driving is in the Houston Texas area, obviously a high humidity area. I read here that the E85 fuel having more ethanol absorbs more water. I do not have a closed fuel system that I know of, unless it comes on the standard vehicle when I bought it new. I also read the milage can either do up or down, depending on who you talk to. Will you please offer advice as to if I should use the E85 fuel or not??? MY FUEL CAP SAYS FLEXFUEL

Thank you in advance

Mike in Texas

 

You didn't mention whether or not you know if your truck is a Flex Fuel Vehicle or not. This may be indicated by an emblem on the tailgate, on the gas cap, but it's far more reliable to look at your window sticker if you have it, or for a decal under the hood with you engine model (3UR-FE or 3UR-FBE). It can be checked via the VIN too, but that's a little more involved and I can't remember what to look for off the top of my head. If there's nothing in your manual about oil changes if using E85, then if could be merely guessed that you don't have a FFV.

You have a closed fuel system by default.

There's less energy in ethanol compared to gasoline given the same volume, your mileage will decrease.

 

If you have a FlexFuel truck you'll cause no damage, mileage will likely go down since E85 has less energy than regular fuel. Fuel systems on vehicles are a closed loop by design, they can draw air in and vent but it's controlled through the computer. Unless you're going 6 months on the same tank moisture shouldn't be a concern.

5k oil changes are the recommendation for running E85.

 

My fuel cap says Flex Fuel, I will look under the hood as well

 

I thought the CAFE fuel numbers greatly increased an automobile manufacturer average if they offered FFVs and ultimately allowed them to sell more higher profit vehicles like SUVs. Really had the opposite effect but that was probably the plan anyway.

 

E85 always gets less mileage than E10/E15. At $5/gal gas, if E85 if .40 less that's $4.60/gal. If you get 13 mpg on gas, expect no better than 10 mpg on E85. The EPA mileage rating for the Tundra 4x4 was 13city/17hwy/14combined on gas, or 8city/11hwy/10combined on E85. My personal experience is that the truck doesn't quite crash down to that 10 mpg level if it consistently gets over 14 on gas.

Gas: $5/gal at 13 mpg = $0.385 per mile
E85: $4.60/gal at 10 mpg = $0.460 per mile

At these prices, E85 costs you about 20% more than gasoline per mile under best case assumptions. The break even price is easy math, about $3.85/gal E85 and $5/gal gas would be about the same cost per mile.