3.6L Guys, Regular Gas or E85?

[Kernal Clink]

Being that our engines are flex fuel engines, who is/has run E85 and what do you think of it?

To be honest, it still scares me to run corn fuel in something I paid so much for. So far all I have used was good ole Dino-fuel.

 

[dav8388]

I've run E10, E85, and even non ethanol. As far as how it runs I don't notice much if any difference. Only difference I noticed is E10 or non ethanol it get around 23mpg, but on E85 I get about 19 or 20.

 

[baum]

Now days for the vehicle there is really no added benefit. It may be a little cheaper, but you get way less gas mileage. In the early -mid 2000's i had a ranger that could use it. I determined that for the difference in mileage e85 had to be almost 65% the price of regular to break even.

 

[69GWC]

I would think E-85 would gain you some power since it will be able to give alittle more timing on it.
Plus it burns way cleaner than nornal gasoline does.

 

[audiophile]

I've run E10, E85, and even non ethanol. As far as how it runs I don't notice much if any difference. Only difference I noticed is E10 or non ethanol it get around 23mpg, but on E85 I get about 19 or 20.

+1 on this....
When we drove to Michigan (my wife's 2014 T&C has the 3.9L flex fuel) earlier this year I ran both E85 and E10 to see what the difference was. About 3-5 mpg but up there it was a .40 difference per gallon so I ran E85 whenever I could find it. Mainly at Shell stations.

2016 1500 Outdoorsman 4X4 5.7L

 

[SitKneelBend]

E85 in my 3.6L felt really sporty and peppy but resulted in 12-15 mpg
...

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk

 

[Kernal Clink]

Hmmm. I may give it a try. I'm just worried about the long term damage of it. I know it's hell on small engines and I realize these engines are designed to run on it but I just don't know anyone who has ever used it long term.

 

[22hemi13]

Hmmm. I may give it a try. I'm just worried about the long term damage of it. I know it's hell on small engines and I realize these engines are designed to run on it but I just don't know anyone who has ever used it long term.

I dont like corn juice either. However if the engine is designed for it and I could run it for cheaper then I would. I do not use any ethanol fuel on my small engines. I’ve switched to can mix fuel for mixed gas. And non e for mowers. Zero issues for years. I like the idea of using our corn and keeping farmers going. But I’m not buying a truck with engine that’s e-85 just to do it lol.

 

[69GWC]

I got a buddy that runs E85 in everything he owns and have never seen him have a problem with it.
His 98 chevy 350 had close to 300k on it last time I talked to him and its been on E85 since about 60k.

The only problem you could have is if you just let it set in the tanks for months on end.
It will clean your fuel system out since alcohol is basically a solvent.

 

[PoMansRam]

Like said above, I'd run E85 in my pentastar ram if I can get it cheaper than standard E10. There was a local Mobil station nearby that had an E85 pump for some time, but I'm not sure they still offer it. It was more expensive than E10 by quite a bit so I don't think they sold enough to justify keeping it.

I never had any issue with E10 with my outdoor power equipment and all we've had is E10 for close to 30yrs. I know ethanol can be hard on soft parts if those parts are not compatible with it.

 

[Kernal Clink]

I dont like corn juice either. However if the engine is designed for it and I could run it for cheaper then I would. I do not use any ethanol fuel on my small engines. I’ve switched to can mix fuel for mixed gas. And non e for mowers. Zero issues for years. I like the idea of using our corn and keeping farmers going. But I’m not buying a truck with engine that’s e-85 just to do it lol.

This is where I'm at. Non-E in everything, even the truck when I can find it. There are a few stations around but I'll be honest, I'm not going out of my way to get it. I will however fill up with it when I go that way.

 

[22hemi13]

This is where I'm at. Non-E in everything, even the truck when I can find it. There are a few stations around but I'll be honest, I'm not going out of my way to get it. I will however fill up with it when I go that way.

I have no e gas .5 mile from me. But it’s wayyy too much for me to run in the truck. I’ve tried to do it several times and all I see is my money flying away. But a lil 10% that’s in the fuel don’t hurt. Truck never sits still so I no the gas ain’t going bad.

 

[Beerwolf]

I run E85 most of the time, in my area it runs between .60 and .90 cents cheaper on average. Based on that price difference it generally saves me about 10 to 20 percent on fuel cost. The 3.6 does put out more HP on E85. One way I can tell is if I floor it off the light on E85 it is on the traction control and pulling the throttle all the way to 60. If I turn traction control off I get a bit of wheelspin on each gear shift. Don't get that on E10. So I did a couple of acceleration times and 0-60 on E10 I was getting 8.1 and on E85 7.5. Keep in mind I have 3.55 gear and Tradesman QC trim so my truck is lighter than average. Where E85 shines is on towing, recent trip got 7.9 on E85 and 8.9 on E10. Difference was .25 cents per mile on E85 and .32 on E10.

Seems like there is a lot of misinformation floating around on the E85. My guess is if E85 were priced competitively outside the Midwest people would be more open to buying it. In my case for day to day driving the price difference needs to be 20% to break even. I filled up today and E10 was 2.279 so break even for E85 would be 1.829. I got e85 at 1.629. I used the GasBuddy app to find the best prices.

 

[RedSRT4Me]

I run E85 most of the time, in my area it runs between .60 and .90 cents cheaper on average. Based on that price difference it generally saves me about 10 to 20 percent on fuel cost. The 3.6 does put out more HP on E85. One way I can tell is if I floor it off the light on E85 it is on the traction control and pulling the throttle all the way to 60. If I turn traction control off I get a bit of wheelspin on each gear shift. Don't get that on E10. So I did a couple of acceleration times and 0-60 on E10 I was getting 8.1 and on E85 7.5. Keep in mind I have 3.55 gear and Tradesman QC trim so my truck is lighter than average. Where E85 shines is on towing, recent trip got 7.9 on E85 and 8.9 on E10. Difference was .25 cents per mile on E85 and .32 on E10.

Seems like there is a lot of misinformation floating around on the E85. My guess is if E85 were priced competitively outside the Midwest people would be more open to buying it. In my case for day to day driving the price difference needs to be 20% to break even. I filled up today and E10 was 2.279 so break even for E85 would be 1.829. I got e85 at 1.629. I used the GasBuddy app to find the best prices.

I've been running E51 in my 5.7 hemi among with a greene tune to take advantage and it's fun! I just have to stop at the gas stations sooner