E85 fuel

[dank]

btw sorry for the rant. been waiting for a long time to do that, and the perfect opportunity came up. and btw in everyday cars the e85 gets worse gas mileage, my grandparents switch back and forth in their van and get a significant difference. so idk if the price really evens out or not.... i like diesel fuel personally. if done properly you can mod a diesel and get way more horsepower AND way better mpg. good enough to justify the 3.18 diesel fuel cost.

[Kurdt]

Originally Posted by dank

sorry to steal the thread but....
going off that idea of less mpg=just as much emissions, i have watched and researched alot, and have found something almost comical in how stupid our government is. here goes:
My brother bought a 1966 ford F100 with a 3 speed transmission, 2wd and a 4.9 I6 motor. obviously carburated, with no emissions control stuff, full steel frame, cast iron block. gets 18-22 mpg
my brother also bought a 1994 mazda B3000 4x4(equivalent to a ford ranger, just a few minor differences and stickers) that has a 3.0 liter V6, a 5 speed manual transmission,and all sorts of emissions control crap, EFI, and you know what kind of milage it gets? 17-21.
Chevy advertised its 09 silverado 1500 2wd with a 5.3L V8 as getting an average 18mpg and that was the best fuel economy in its class.
how is it that in 43 years, with all of the new motor technology, better materials, and better knowledge of engines, that we have not been able to create a truck that gets better than 20mpg average? Emissions control. now the thing i see as folly is that since the emissions control stuff is making our cars burn more gas, it is just making the problem that much worse. wouldnt you think somebody would have thought of this by now? and yet they just keep making emissions standards stricter, forcing the car companies to make even worse vehicles. ug.

You are preaching to the Choir my friend.
But to go further I don't know why we drive gasoline vehicles whatsoever. Diesel is a far better fuel. More power and less emissions. In Europe you can buy nearly any vehicle with a diesel. Here we are limited to 3/4 tonne trucks or bigger and the odd diesel car. I happen to drive a Dodge 2500 truck. It get's the same mileage as the trucks you quoted the quarter and half tonne models having but does so with 400 horse power, twice the weight, twice the cab room, and 35" tires.
Imagine what an all aluminum diesel purpose built for half tonnes could do?

[dank]

believe me, i have dreamed. we too have a dodge 2500 and it gets great fuel economy, though from what i hear, the newer 6.7 doesnt do as well as the 5.9 on fuel. but with new diesel emissions laws, it will be even harder to run a diesel in the next few years. urea injection? dumb. theres a thing on the new semi trucks with emissions already, where they essentially run two spark plugs into the muffler, then you run the truck at around 2300 and it burns out all the build up in the muffler. we had our milk truck sitting in the farm yard for TWO HOURS doing this once. it is the most stupid thing i have ever seen. gotta love stupid politicians who try to make laws without knowing what their talking about. i love how they try to put the same emissions standards on diesels as gassers, which makes it so dang hard to get a foreign diesel car into america. theres just too many hoops to jump through, and thats why dodge and ford put the half ton diesel on the shelf, and chevy quit making the one they did have. which, btw, i have heard that as long as you can keep them running, they get great mileage.

[Kurdt]

Originally Posted by dank

believe me, i have dreamed. we too have a dodge 2500 and it gets great fuel economy, though from what i hear, the newer 6.7 doesnt do as well as the 5.9 on fuel. but with new diesel emissions laws, it will be even harder to run a diesel in the next few years. urea injection? dumb. theres a thing on the new semi trucks with emissions already, where they essentially run two spark plugs into the muffler, then you run the truck at around 2300 and it burns out all the build up in the muffler. we had our milk truck sitting in the farm yard for TWO HOURS doing this once. it is the most stupid thing i have ever seen. gotta love stupid politicians who try to make laws without knowing what their talking about. i love how they try to put the same emissions standards on diesels as gassers, which makes it so dang hard to get a foreign diesel car into america. theres just too many hoops to jump through, and thats why dodge and ford put the half ton diesel on the shelf, and chevy quit making the one they did have. which, btw, i have heard that as long as you can keep them running, they get great mileage.

As far as modern trucks go, the 2003 Dodge Ram diesel will get the best mileage. After 2003 they went to a "pilot cycle" which makes the engine quieter but actually burns more fuel. The 6.7's get worse mileage for two reasons. The obvious one is that they are a bigger engine, they less obvious has to do with what you stated. They have an EGR system as well as a Diesel Particulate Filter which is the "afterburner" you were describing in the milk truck. Thank goodness the aftermarket has already eliminated both these features..... for a price.

[dank]

i prefer a sawzall and a cheap mig welder. but then again, that was just on old cars and gas pickups........ but ya our dodge is a 1999 and has an auto, gets about 22 on the highway, 19 on the interstate. i wish my dad would let me use it more often, instead i have a 91 grand am that gets about that same mileage, or even a little worse.(i have a bad o2 sensor, but havnt the money to replace it, since i put all my money towards my 2 wheeled friend.)

[skid jackson]

Originally Posted by Kurdt

Ethanol is not a good thing. Alcohol attracts water and destroys certain types of rubber. With Ethanol you will always have water in your fuel.
As far as tuning, run fatter jetting. Ethanol runs lean.

lots of people running star tron in the gas in this neck of the woods

[GMP]

I got a new Toyota Tundra Crewmax 4x4 5.7L (gas only, no Flex) a month ago, and it gets 16+ mpg consistantly in mixed driving. Best was 17 with more highway. Amazing for a truck of that size with 400 ft/lbs and 381 HP.

[iajim]

We had a nice discussion on ethanol awhile back. I believe Av gas was also covered. In a nut shell, E 85 works in autos w/computers, FI, etc. No, you don't get as good mileage b/c you have 20% less BTU's so the price at the pump should be 20% less money then the cost would be the same. I don't know of any FI motorcycle that is programmed for E 85, maybe they're out there, but so far no dirt bikes. 10% ethanol is OK in 4t carbureted bikes, just watch your jetting, you'll probably need to go richer. In 2t bikes, straight petroleum(premium) is much better, a 50/50 bend of premium and race gas is better yet. Stay away from Av gas, it's a completely different product. It's made for 10,000+ feet of elevation, it has a completely different blend for vapor pressure, the octane ratings are different; 110 av gas is NOT equal to 110 octane pump/ race gas, it's more in the mid - upper 90's and most airplanes don't change throttle position and RPM the way a dirt bike does. Any good quality octane booster(Klotz?) or 50% race fuel is usually the best for 2t bikes.

[dank]

gas is a bad fuel for cars. the only advantages of gasoline that i see is that you can make a really light weight engine, and maintenance is a little cheaper short term. but long run my diesel will outlive a gasser any day. there are 5.9 liter Cummins Dodge trucks with the original transmission, original motor, no rebuild, just new clutches, with over one million miles on them. ill take the higher cost of fuel and maintenance over having to buy a new truck when my old motor takes a crap at 250000 miles any day.

[SideshowBob]

Originally Posted by skid jackson

lots of people running star tron in the gas in this neck of the woods

Stat tron is the best ever. I am sure i have posted about it before here. I don't care what anyone says, it's the best anti-ethanol additive.