E-85

[E.B. Cornburner]

My only other problem is that when i use it, it kicks on the Service Engine Soon light and it also takes a turn or 2 extra for it to fire up! Those are my only concerns when using it. I know i'm equipped for it..but why is the service engine light comin on when i use it, but when i switch back to regular 87 octane it'll go off?????

If memory serves me correctly, there's a re-flash for your PCM that will take care of this. By '04 they had it licked already, but some earlier models had a glitch that could sometimes cause a fuel trim code and trip the SES light.
I've gone from a full tank of E85 to a full tank of unleaded and have never experienced a difference in performance, driveability, or have any SES lights. That's the way it should work.

To be 100% certain your Explorer is a flexible-fuel vehicle, verify that the 8th character of your VIN is a "K" and not an "E" or "W". Only the 4.0L V6 VIN "K" was the FFV.

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

To make it easy, figure out what percentage mpg you get from E-85 compared to dino. For example, if you find that, on average, E-85 gets only 77% of the mpg as regular gas, then simply multiply the current price of gas by .77. That will give you the break-even point. If E-85 is lower than that, then it is a bargain. If it is greater, then you are better sticking with regular gas. Does that make any sense?

Example:
E-85 is 77% of that of dino fuel
Gas price = $3.10/gal
$3.10 x .77 = $2.387

If you could buy E-85 for $2.35 then you will save money with it. If E-85 is $2.39 per gal, then regular gas is a better bet.

Well that was simpler than the way I did it! I knew I shouldn't have slept thru algebra in high school!
What I concluded on this last road trip was that E85 was delivering 88.9% of the MPG that regular unleaded does. So, as long as my E85 price was less than $2.689/gallon, I'm money ahead. I paid $2.359 for E85 in WI, and $2.279 in MN.

 

[dhays]

Well that was simpler than the way I did it! I knew I shouldn't have slept thru algebra in high school!
What I concluded on this last road trip was that E85 was delivering 88.9% of the MPG that regular unleaded does. So, as long as my E85 price was less than $2.689/gallon, I'm money ahead. I paid $2.359 for E85 in WI, and $2.279 in MN.

You are saving a lot of $$$ by burning E-85 then. Very nice.

 

[Yamvip]

I just checked the stations that E.B. Cornburner provided and the prices for me seem pretty high, Lowest was 2.66 Gallon. And reg. fuel is 2.87, Only a twenty cent savings, which in turn would end up costing more since the decrease in milage.

 

[bensdad]

we finally got e-85 near my home ..its about 40 cts cheaper than reg no lead , im on my second tank of it now and can barely tell the difference in the mileage and can tell no difference in performance .

brad

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

Glad to see more people using it! I too noticed little to no difference in my MPG when cruising at a steady highway speed, but the city mileage drops considerably. The way these systems are calibrated, I'm sure they err on the rich side of perfect, and constant starting and stopping does demand a lot more fuel when running E85.

BTW, how do you like the smell of the exhaust when it's started cold? My buddy thinks it smells like rotten beer! It does have a strange kind of booze smell to it.

 

[bensdad]

glad you pointed the smell out mike ...i thought i was imagineing things but yeah i noticed a different oder ...i actually did check the milage on the e-85 today and it was down a bit ...15.9 mpg for 131 miles of around town driving ...some of that was in 4wd too .

brad

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

Still, that's not bad MPG even for gasoline in this kind of weather. That's quite impressive for E85 actually. People I know that have this gen Explorer without the FFV option don't get much better on gasoline.

 

[Firngescarpentry]

ive used e85 in my explorer fro a year now and the only thing that ive noticed is the it has a rougher start on cold mornings.

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

Have you not recently updated your profile, or are you using E85 in a '97? If you are, that would explain the rough cold starts. The FFVs weren't introduced until '02. E85 really shouldn't be used in a non-FFV. Although some can get away with it, it's not running on an optimum air/fuel ratio unless it's burning gasoline with no more than 10% ethanol. Only the FFVs can adjust to higher concentrations of ethanol.

If you do have a FFV, it shouldn't really make a difference. Make sure the condition of your tune-up parts is up to par.
(And update your profile!)

 

[Firngescarpentry]

Have you not recently updated your profile, or are you using E85 in a '97? If you are, that would explain the rough cold starts. The FFVs weren't introduced until '02. E85 really shouldn't be used in a non-FFV. Although some can get away with it, it's not running on an optimum air/fuel ratio unless it's burning gasoline with no more than 10% ethanol. Only the FFVs can adjust to higher concentrations of ethanol.

If you do have a FFV, it shouldn't really make a difference. Make sure the condition of your tune-up parts is up to par.
(And update your profile!)

Yes i still own the 97 explorer. and for your information they have been making ffv explorers sence 94

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

Yes i still own the 97 explorer. and for your information they have been making ffv explorers sence 94

No they haven't! At least not for U.S. production. Maybe in Brazil or somewhere, but definitely not in North America.
2002 was the first year of a FFV Explorer, and that was only on the 4.0L V6 VIN "K", and only in the 4-door SUV...The SportTrac didn't get a FFV option till 2004.
Ford's first modern FFV was the 1995 Taurus, 3.0L V6 VIN "2".
(Edit: Technically, the very first Ford FFV was the Model T. It had a knob on the dash that adjusted the mixture for alcohol or gasoline. During the Great Depression, people were making their own fuel which was basically moonshine, or chemically speaking, hydrous ethanol. Hydrous ethanol is 190 proof, where anhydrous (fuel grade) ethanol is 200 proof. I just figure I'd add this little factoid so nobody schools me on it later.)

Now, if you can prove me wrong (which I seriously doubt), I'll take back everything I said. If not, I'd appreciate it if you edited your post above this one to keep mis-information from contaminating this thread for the sake of other viewers.

 

[satyr64]

I agree with EBcorn

http://www.e85fuel.com/information/ford_ffvs2.xls

 

[HUA99XLT]

My personal opinion is that scientists are focusing on the wrong thing. Instead of trying to make an automobile that can corn or other plants they should instead begin attempting to create a car that can burn garbage. That's right, garbage. Just like the Dalorien (sp?) in Back To The Future. That would kill two birds with one stone; solve the fuel crisis and solve the problem of overflowing landfills. :

 

[SVTFocus101]

I bought my wife her new explorer right after christmas. She gets between 15-18 with mostly city driving on gas and the one tank of E85 we have used so far was about 12 so there is a drop in fuel economy. The E-85 if about 50-60 cents cheaper the unleaded here. I also like that the money isn't leaving the contry as much with E-85 (or at least I convinced myself it isn't leaving) as it does with unleaded.

Jorgan, tell me about your SVT Poward couger?

 

[BOSS429]

my x runs awesome on the e85 i only have 2wd and it lights the tires big time
its smells good too! put pump gas back in runs like a x.

 

[Yamvip]

E.B. Corn................. I was wondering if there are diiferences in the fuel filter and spark plugs. For the 4.0L FFV??????

 

[satyr64]

The fuel filter is different part. It has 3 fuel line connections

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

E.B. Corn................. I was wondering if there are diiferences in the fuel filter and spark plugs. For the 4.0L FFV??????

The fuel filter is different (up till 2004...'04 and '05 use the same one as the gas-burners), as was mentioned. The plugs are the same...Autolite APP103.

 

[Yamvip]

thanks, i just filled her up with e-85 for 2.65............