Ford 6.2L - Thoughts
Thinking about upgrading the truck. Looking for something in the 7-10yr old range. With the Ford, that crosses from the V10 to the newer 6.2L V8. I guess I hadn't been paying attention. Wow, 385...
Forum Discussion
2edgesword wrote:jkwilson wrote:valhalla360 wrote:
since I started watching and E85 is around 30% lower price, so even if I lose 10-15% on the MPG, I still come out ahead on the miles per dollar (calculated a 27% increase in miles per dollar at current local prices assuming a 10% loss in MPG).
You are seriously mistaken as to MPG loss. Closer to 20-30% and on the bad end when loaded. It exceeds the price difference.
E10 has 111,836 BTU/gallon while E85 has only 81,800 BTU/gallon. A 27% energy decrease in a gallon of fuel means 27% less power available unless the fuel consumption rate is increased by the same amount.
It almost always comes out costing more to run E85 and you have less available power available for towing.
It seems the actually mpg difference will vary...
"Due to ethanol's lower energy content, FFVs operating on E85 get roughly 15% to 27% fewer miles per gallon than when operating on regular gasoline, depending on the ethanol content. Regular gasoline typically contains about 10% ethanol."
In my area the cost of regular gas (87 octane) is $2.90 ~ $3.00 and E85 $1.90 ~ $2.00 so if the actually difference in energy content is somewhere midway between 15% ~ 27% E85 is more economical for me.
I have a 2012 F250 6.2L 3.73. I can't talk about the long term reliability of the truck (purchased it use three months ago with 86,000 mile on it) but it does tow my 8,000 pound trailer very well. On flat land at 60mph in sixth gear you're around ~1500rpm, on moderate grades 2500rpm and on the steepest grades I've encounter (Pennsylvania) 3500rpm.
It varies, but only because the engine and tranny go into economy mode when they detect the watered down fuel. If it was possible to generate the same power with 27% less energy in the fuel, they’d do the same techniques with straight gas. It doesn’t work unless you change the driving style which isn’t practical with an RV and is barely practical in a commuter vehicle.
I own land that is grain farmed and will be able to retire next year because of the ethanol scam, so I have no reason to criticize E85 except I know those in power think it’s magic green juice and I’ll laugh all the way to the bank.
