Hey everyone.

I'm looking at buying a 2008 Dodge Ram with the 5.7 Hemi. Can the Hemi burn Ethanol?

 

no, only the 4.7...and already did the math, it would be cheaper to drive on Ethanol right now ( ethanol gives 70% of the gas milage of gasoline, so with ethanol at 2.40, gas would have to be only 2.90 to compare)

 

Thanks! Can the Hemi be converted to burn ethanol?

 

Ethanol costs depend on where you live. I can get ethanol where im at in 89 (10%) for the same costs as reg 87 and in my truck i get less milage with it. I ran 2 tanks of eth and dropped from about 18 to 13 highway miles.Thats a TALL difference. Everything i know about the stuff tells me no matter what its not worth anything compared to regular gas.

 

My 2 cents worth - stay away from ethanol for many reasons already listed.
The only alternative fuel that I would currently try would be LP Gas in a properly modified Hemi with a state-of-the-art system; then you look at cost vs. return on your investment and make your decision.

 

Thanks for your input! I'm more concerned about getting into a situation were I have to use ethanol. I would like to get some information on how the Hemi will handle ethanol and the cost to convert it properly.

 

My Hemi hates the ethenol crap they use in the midwest. I went from 19 freeway to 14 freeway. Yuck!

 

One thing you guys need to remember is that you are trying to burn ethanol in an engine built for gasoline. Ethanol needs a different F/A ratio and really loves higher compression. Hence the reason people with flex-fuel vehicles get lower mileage when they run E-85. All the ECUcan do is adjust the ratio and maybe change the timing a bit. I'm currently doing some research into what it will take to convert my 5.7. However my final goal is , after my warranty runs out at 100K, is to get a 6.1L and optimize it for ethanol, since it's already a much higher compression engine. That should be a fun ride when it's all done. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

Good commentary snake2083; the same holds true for a 'properly modified gasoline-burner' when using LP Gas. I've seen several that have been modified with increased compression ratios and they will literally run forever if maintained as needed. When you do break them down for inspection most of the time they are spotlessly clean and show minimal wear regardless of very high mileage.
2 more cents worth***

 

I run E10 in mine since that's all I can get around me. It runs fine, but I lost atleast 3 mpg on average. This crap just makes us spend MORE on gas than we have to already.