Anybody Running E85?

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Agent 00 L

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Did some searching and didn't see a discussion on this. (Forum wizards feel free to point me in the right direction)

Is anybody running E85 though? Right now the spread is there to justify the lowered mileage, at least here in Indy.

I had good luck running it in my Lightning with very little done besides tuning.

I know I would need a tune and then make the change on an empty tank.

Interested to hear if anyone has already tried it here.
 
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Hell no, not in the Raptor. In my previous F-150 5.0L, I did occasionally but there has to be over a 25% spread in price and that is to just break even on the loss of MPG.
 

Tmesic

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You can run E85 in lots of engines if you tune it . The issue fir most of these situations is that is it run E85 and not gasoline once you retune. The 5.4 flex fuel version can switch back and forth. I don't know what the advantage would be to run E85 only in a 6.2 raptor. Sounds like more of a pain as you will be stuck running it once you retune. I have seen kits that say you can switch back and forth but have never tried one. When I had my LS based motor returned it used 30 percent more fuel and had to get new injectors because of the increased fuel requirement. Again i don't think there is much to gain except maybe a few HP, but not worth the inconvenience of it all IMHO. Tim
 

starkall

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E85 is like race gas. Would prob need injectors and fuel pump. Should make more power though.


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Tmesic

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On motor alone I went from 530 rwhp to 580 rwhp and on the spray went from 720 rwhp to 841 rwhp. Just by switching from VP110 to E85. But I only run E85 and it's not a daily driver so bring the fuel I plan to use for the weekend. Tim

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KaiserM715

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You can run E85 in lots of engines if you tune it .
There is also the issue of soft goods (seals, etc.) compatibility. There are some materials used in most fuel systems that degrade when exposed to high concentrations of ethanol. Plus, the ring on the gas cap says nothing over E10.
 

Tmesic

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There is also the issue of soft goods (seals, etc.) compatibility. There are some materials used in most fuel systems that degrade when exposed to high concentrations of ethanol. Plus, the ring on the gas cap says nothing over E10.

I am not an expert, but have done quite a bit of research before I converted my LS motor . Most fuel systems after 1990 are probably ok and almost every car after 2000 has a fuel system that can deal with E85. The cap states that because the motor and fuel delivery system is not tuned or capable of delivering that much more fuel. The 5.4 flex is designed from the factory , I bet most or all the soft material part numbers are the same in both trucks . The ethanol fuel is corrosive but nearly a such as methynol. I have been running E85 for two years and haven't had any adverse effects contrary to all the things people said before I converted. So far so good. Again i wouldn't run my raptor on it, but it has advantages for a race gas motor. Tim
 

Icecobra

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I am not an expert, but have done quite a bit of research before I converted my LS motor . Most fuel systems after 1990 are probably ok and almost every car after 2000 has a fuel system that can deal with E85. The cap states that because the motor and fuel delivery system is not tuned or capable of delivering that much more fuel. The 5.4 flex is designed from the factory , I bet most or all the soft material part numbers are the same in both trucks . The ethanol fuel is corrosive but nearly a such as methynol. I have been running E85 for two years and haven't had any adverse effects contrary to all the things people said before I converted. So far so good. Again i wouldn't run my raptor on it, but it has advantages for a race gas motor. Tim

I can say without question the flex motor fuel system is different then the one on these 6.2 Raptors. I had the FX4 5.4 flex and did a considerable amount of testing between the two fuels. The fuel systems are significantly different in the 5.4 had stainless steel everything related to fuel. The loss of fuel mileage varied from 22% to 31% difference. If your not getting E85 for under 3.00 per gallon and regular fuel is 4.00 per gallon your going to brake even. Even in the owners manual it stated that before each oil change you must run a full tank of regular fuel not E85.. It was apparent on the Flex motor a lot attention was given to the fuel system to avoid contact with any kind of rubber components. It takes more E85 to get the same performance as compared to E10... Now if I can only find clear gas with no ethanol in my area..
 

ModFreaksRAPTOR

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E85 is like race gas. Would prob need injectors and fuel pump. Should make more power though.


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This is correct. Injectors, fuel pumps and a tune. I run E85 in my GTR. It's good for approximately 25-30 AWHP. Very knock resistant however, due to the composition of E85, it is a bit harsh on the fuel system as a whole. It tends to break up all the debris in the lines and clog pre and post filters in the fuel cell. I run a tank of 91/93 through the car once or twice a month to keep the fuel system lubricated at E85 tends to dry everything out. If you run it long enough without mixing fuel types, it will clog up injectors so I also run injector cleaner through the car regularly. I've had a few sets of fuel pumps seize on E85, there were plenty companies claiming to make E85 compatible pumps but I found out the hard way after my 3rd set. E85 is awesome but it comes at a price.


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