Hey 2 posts in one day.

I was reading the latest Automobile magazine (one of those $$ concept type and possible new model mags) and it had an article i read about Coors brewery producing E85 fuel. They had a list of the latest US made vehicles that can run E85, and the 2006 Dodge 1500 with a 4.7 engine was on the list.

Question is does anyone know if an older 4.7 can run this fuel without messing up the engine, or is there a mod to the throttle body to add to use it.

 

Sorry, but i can't answer your question directly, but for like 800 bucks there is an add on that can be put on most engines to allow them to run e-85. I think it operates like a piggyback on your ecu, and also includes some fuel system upgrades. If you want to switch back to pure dino fuel, there's a little switch you hit in the engine bay.

 

some 4.7's are FFV, you would have to check and see did you order the truck with it?

 

Go to www.e85fuel.com and check the year and engine of your make and model and it will advise if you can use e85 fuel on your vehicle.

 

E85 – don’t get in hurry for this one. Price at the pump is no bargain. The price added on the window sticker (currently $1,100 on a 4.7 Ram) is not good. A 25% deduction in actual fuel mileage is not going to help either. I don’t know if there is any additional maintenance required for factory spec E85 built vehicles, but suspect something will cost more on down the road.

This type of fuel maybe something we need, we just have not prepared for it properly yet.

PS – never use E85 in a vehicle that wasn’t built from the factory for it!

 

Unless it's aged in some smoked cherry or oak casks.... ethanol is BAD.
It's hydophillic (meaning it absorbs water.)
It's caustic to fiberglass and aluminum in concentrations over 7%.
It carries any crap in your tank into your filter, and if the crap is small enough, into your injectors.
It actually costs more than oil distilates.

Unfortunately, all the gas in my region is E10 for the moment... Cost me 4-6 MPG and some HP.
Cost me $400 so far in discarded fuel and a new filtration system for my 21' boat.
Cost me countless headaches.

Ethanol belongs in a glass, not gas.

 

I find it amazing...
Actually, everyone I've heard from that actually runs ethanol says its cheaper at the pump.
I read a newspaper article about a year and a half ago (when gas around around $2-$2.20) and a gallon of ethanol was close to a dollar a gallon cheaper.
Of course, the same people that say "you shouldn't run ethanol" are the same people that say "we need to get off our addiction to Arab oil," and can't think of a sensible replacement. Wake up and smell the coffee.
Sorry to say, but, pretty much the only sensible answer to Arab oil are: 1)wide-spread drilling of our own oil [which the environmentalists would never allow], and/or 2.) ethanol and biodiesel.
Yes, there is slight mileage decrease, but who really cares? Its cheaper at the pump. The profit goes to AMERICAN farmers, not ARAB nations (which, for the most part, pass on the profits to the people we are fighting, if thats not stupid, what is?).
If my truck could run E85, I'd run it. Hell, I'd probably run it if IN FACT it cost more than "regular gas" simply because the money goes to hard working farmers.

I'm sick and tired of people putting down ethonal and biodiesel. Sure, there may be trade-offs of using it, but to me the biggest con of the system we have now is the BILLIONS of dollars going to terrorist-supporting coutries because "ethanol and biodiesel are bad."
On engines that support it, it can be run fine. Just like on diesels that support biodiesel, they run just fine too. (A school district by my old hometown ran biodisel in their buses, and reported longer fuel-filter life, no cold-weather problems [which is a common supposed con of biodiesel], and no mechanical problems)

 

Dude, the only reason ethanol was ever cheaper at the pump was due to a 2 year government subsidy. It ended.
Just ask all the hippies in Seattle what they're paying for Green fuel now.
It's bad, and what's worse, localities forced it on folks in small amounts, knowing it would cost hundreds to THOUSANDS in repairs or upgrades.
Just look at the east coast used boat market right now.... Folks are faced with having to spend $2000-$5000 to upgrade their boats to run E10... (This is just a fuel tank swap, which means pulling the deck and repairing it, and installing self-flushing water seps in the fuel system).... A move to E85 would require people to buy new motors.

The cost to grow, harvest, ferment, and distill corn into usable fuel is higher than the cost to drill oil, transport it, and crack it into gasoline.
A drought impacts harvest.
You can pump oil in rain or shine.

The current fleet of tanker trucks consist mainly of aluminum tanks. They cannot transport ethanol in concentrations over E15.


Look into the actual cost/benefits of changing the nations fuel supply the way people are pushing for. It's not feasible.

Oh, and to call it a "slight" mileage decrease is non-sense... even the green-sponsored websites whoring themselves out for E85 admit on average a 35% reduction in MPG and a 40% reduction in HP.

Sorry if I offended a moderator, but this one just doesn't have the facts.

I admire the intentions behind those that support a shift to ethanol, but it really speaks of misguided optimism without the support of reality.

 

I'm not easily offended.

Yes, a drought impacts harvest, but for the most part, we haven't had widespread drought problems across most of the farm land (believe me on that one). Besides, we can genetically engineer the crap out of corn/soybeans to get the highest yield, best heat/drought resistance possible.
Also, remember, harsh words from the leader of an OPEC country can raise oil prices. Words. Thats all it takes. Prices have risen upon "worries with Iran" many times. Guess what? Over the last 2 years, we haven't done anything about that country (except spend more money on oil because their "president" says anti-American things). Not a single bomb has been dropped there. No actual war. Just words.

The most unfeesible thing is the morons that want to convert to hydrogen. I laugh at them. I mean, NOTHING in a hydrogren filling station or hydrogen car is the same as what we have now. Well, except for the cash register in the store, and the steering wheel in the car.

I've heard good about the "alternative fuels," I've also heard bad. You must remember, there are people that will opose anything. You try to give people a tax cut, reduction in estate taxes, hard working people a pay increase... theres people that will find a reason to oppose anything. I have my fair-share of things I am against, but I like to think that (for the most part) I have a common-sense approach.

Oh well, no one-side will ever win this battle until we run the Arabs dry (in another 100 years; or until they charge us more money for oil until we have no money left ), and we have to find something else.

 

dodgerules86

Are you running E85 in your vehicles or just running your mouth?

Yes or No answer will be fine.