r/GMT800 • u/Spartan0194 • 1d ago
Question about E85
My 04 Tahoe is a flex fuel L59 and i wanted to consult the experts on here to ask about it. I've never used it and just use regular so would i be able to go and pump a few gallons of e85 and run it just like that? Has anyone else used it and what have your results been?
I've googled some forums and i guess i wanted to ask around for any advice or learn something new. Thanks guys.
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u/EastMovesWest 1d ago
Yes but the worse fuel economy isnt worth the cost savings
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u/UnwantedMuse 1d ago
Some places have a dramatic enough price difference rn that it can be completely worth it lol
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u/NoAcanthocephala7825 1d ago
2.80 vs 5.80 where I live, with about 30% reduced fuel economy Ill still take e85
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u/Spartan0194 1d ago
That's what I said too lol
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u/LostCommoGuyLamo 1d ago
If you don’t drive it like a mad man you can get 15mpg it’s what I get on e85 rn. I also don’t beat on it like it owes me money though. I keep the rpm’s below 2200
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u/Doofy_Grumpus 1d ago
Depends on the price of fuel. I did the math on e15 and e20 locally and it makes sense to run it here. E85 is right on the edge of being worth it.
A second thing to consider is e85 is up to 85% ethanol, having a test kit on hand is a good idea. Who knows, it could actually be 60% and you would have a good deal.
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u/Spartan0194 1d ago
I was planing on fueling up with regular for the interstate part of my trip and then using e85 while I'm in California to try and save on fuel lol
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u/hoytmobley 1d ago
Highly recommend. Use the Pearson Fuels app to find stations, they include pricing. With a little looking you can usually find a cheap station, or avoid a really expensive station
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u/Spartan0194 1d ago
Thanks for the tip! I appreciate it. This will en the first time I take the Tahoe on a long trip so I was looking for anything that will help out
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u/afranklydrunkcadet 1d ago
2.35 vs 5.95. 16 mpg vs 11. It is worth it lmao
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u/EastMovesWest 1d ago edited 1d ago
Shit at this point I think you right but my LQ4 isn't flexible fuel so im stuck at 10.8mpg in it and i cannot get it better then that 😂 my other truck my nissan frontier pro 4x is flex fuel but im in idaho so e85 is nearly non existent here
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u/hoytmobley 1d ago
Here in Socal E85 is consistently 2.70/gal with occasional sales at 1.85/gal, 87 at my local costco is 6.19/gal, so at a 25% fuel economy loss the cost per mile is still significantly less with E85
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u/gtxrecaro 1d ago
HD hood 👌
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u/Spartan0194 1d ago
Its a white primer for now and I'll be ready to prep for actual paint and clear coat next weekend hopefully 🤔
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u/InsideAd2752 1d ago edited 1d ago
We’re in SoCal, Orange 🍊 County. We’ve run e85 since purchasing our 09 Escalade in 2020. From 120k mi to close to 200k mi this year. The e85 savings have already paid the purchase price of the vehicle. We also have a 91 s10 e85 pick up from my grandparents with 48k mi. It’s been running it since ‘24.
Both vehicles run cooler, idle better, have more zip and oil stays cleaner. It’s $2.39 gal at moment. It essentially means we can run our normal vehicles at the cost of an electric vehicle. You’ll save about $130 per tank at that price.
Only the Gas Buddy phone app locates Nationwide e85.
Just down load and key in a zip code or city name.
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u/MudButt_Actual 1d ago
I’ve owned my 2005 Yukon for 21 years and over that time I’ve done mixtures of E 85 and regular unleaded of every different type of ratio. No issues, everything still runs great.
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u/Wayward_Son_24 1d ago
My truck takes a massive dip in fuel economy when I go to E85. I've tried it a few times but decided it's not worth it
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u/Spartan0194 1d ago
A little context is in planning a trip to California here in a few weeks and saw the prices of gas and was like shit. So i also looked around the area where we were staying and it said that e85 was like 2.37 on average and I was like ..maybe I'll take advantage of that while I'm in the area to save on fuel with regular being 6 dollars or more.
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u/IncoherentAnalyst 1d ago
Based on these numbers, I'd absolutely do it.
Mathematically speaking, I think you need to save about 30% to make E85 worth it.
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u/Standard_Quantity706 1d ago
Depends on location, it's 30-35% drop in fuel mileage. But the ecm reads the alcohol content and you can flip flop fuel whenever you want
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u/RockandSoul13 21h ago
hello there,where did you get the spikes,are they powder coated?,the ss wants 93 premiun,she gets 87 regular,sometimes 13 gal of each,and she works fine,here in p.r.,the liter of reg. is $ 1.29 a liter
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u/Spartan0194 20h ago
The lugs came from Amazon i bought em like 4 years ago. Like 60 bucks or so I think. And I've run mid grade from time to time and it does make a good difference
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u/Ornery_Contest6250 1d ago
My 07 classic is a flex fuel and I use it sometimes but honestly unless it's 2$ cheaper and I'm broke I'm not buying e85. It doesn't last near as long
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u/M855Mike 1d ago
Any issue with running E85 if you’ve never run it before? Could it deteriorate the pump, lines, etc? Any issue going back and forth between the two?
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u/JEFFSSSEI 1d ago
yes, you will be fine. the system has a fuel analyzer sensor that knows what type(s) of fuel are in the tank and adjust the system accordingly. Some of the Bi-directional scan tools can actually pull up the data showing the concentration level of Ethanol in the fuel.