E85

[fishing tech]

Maybe coincedance but we have had cars with cylinder head and valve issues. The common things, about 80,000 miles and they only use e85. These are ff vehicles.

[spearchucker]

What kind of cars? It could be a common problem with them. Burned valves and head gasket don't sound related.

I'm not a fan of E85 but I can't see where it would cause harm in a vehicle designed for it.

[fishing tech]

Taruas 3.0L

[Scott K]

Taruas 3.0L

This shouldnt be an issue with any of them built after 99. It was an issue that would have been fixed with a pcm update. The pre 99 Rangers with the 3.0 were also a part of that. So if you are seeing any issue burning valves in a pre 99 3.0 ff engine, make sure to reflash the pcm.

[Sonicrunch]

Ah ha!! They were running way lean.

[Determan]

My experience with E-85 was not good. I bought a new 2004 Suburban with the 5.3 liter Flex-Fuel engine.

The truck had an on board computer that calculated mileage. I check what the truck said against actual mileage when I filled up many times, and it was very close to the same.

With the cruise set at 70 mph on the Interstate the truck showed 16-17 mpg. When I ran E-85 the truck showed 10-11 mpg. With E-85 it had no power, and I would hear a knock or ping in the engine under load (uphill or pulling a trailer).

A mechanic friend of mine told me the on board computer will adjust to it more as you use it. I ran 8 full tanks of E-85 with no improvement in mileage.

I have long since sold the truck, and would not buy another vehicle based on the ability to use E-85.

I toured the ethanol plant near where I live, and was told they use 5-8 gallons of ground water to produce each gallon of ethanol. (Over 1 million gallons per day at this plant).

There may be alternatives to gasoline or ethanol, but right now I am not aware of any alternative to water.

I asked the person giving us our tour what was going to happen when the area wells started going dry. Her response was “Oh let’s not talk about that”

I am all in favor of reducing our dependence on foreign oil, but I am not convinced that ethanol is the answer.

[fishing tech]

If I remember right they were 05. Government vehicles I believe also. I will check.

[Ballyhoo]

The reason you get worse mileage in the winter has nothing to do with the winter blend of fuel It is the fuel mapping of your vehicle. When the engine is cold it uses more fuel. If you let it idle for a while to warm up it is still burning fuel. The winter blend of fuel refers to the Ried Vapor Pressure of the fuel. That is what temperature the fuel vaporizes at. Summer fuel has RVP of 5-7, winter blend is 10-14. If you fill your snowmobile up in July and then try to start it when it is -20, it is not going to start because it is not warm enough for the fuel to vaporize. Likewise if you filled your boat in Feb and didn't drive it until it was 75 it would probably vaporlock because the fuel is vaporizing too easily.