Deanh Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 (edited) YOU ARE BIASED!!!! you are obviously a cheerleader because you are dumb enough to buy and then defend (!) a Ford product .. /sarcasm I have the 235hp 5.4l 2v in my 99 Expedition - and even with that power level never felt I needed more .. It rarely tows enough to put it through its paces, but it tows just fine. Igor agree with Igor , thats pretty thick :cheerleader: hands on experience means NOTHING here, and will be tossed aside like Milms preparation H, prepare to be flamed. Edited June 12, 2008 by Deanh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8-X Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Curious. People here are saying you should get worse power using E85 than 87 octane in an FFV. You can tell by my sig, I have an '06 FFV. Now I do notice the drop in mpgs, anywhere from 3-5mpgs, depending on my driving style and road conditions (hills, mountains, etc.). But when it comes to performance, with E85 I don't have to use as much throttle to get the truck moving and feels quicker by the seat of my pants, especilly when I get on it during merging from freeway on ramps. Done plenty of comparing in the 1.5 years I've owned this truck and can tell the difference. Now it is not a significant, throw you back in your seat difference, but you do notice. So I have no statistical or verifiable proof, all I can provide is my feedback from once persons perspective. I'm not biased towards 87 octane or E85, just try to determine the fuel that this truck runs the best off of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8-X Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 agree with Igor , thats pretty thick :cheerleader: hands on experience means NOTHING here, and will be tossed aside like Milms preparation H, prepare to be flamed. I know after reading this thread that if you say something good about a Ford you're a cheerleader and must be flamed. Oh well, to each their own. They have their perspective, I have my experience. Rather take my real world knowledge that I experienced on my own than the word/suggestion/opinion or whatever from someone that I don't know but only seems to be around to flame Ford and their owners. Thanks for the forewarning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 I know after reading this thread that if you say something good about a Ford you're a cheerleader and must be flamed. Oh well, to each their own. They have their perspective, I have my experience. Rather take my real world knowledge that I experienced on my own than the word/suggestion/opinion or whatever from someone that I don't know but only seems to be around to flame Ford and their owners. Thanks for the forewarning! welcome to hell! can't wait to drive one with the 6 speed, THAT trans did wonders for the Expedition which weighs more...I had an F-150 4x4 with the 5.4 that truck was awesome, and never ONCE did I gripe about power/ performance.....fantastic truck...the 09 should be a BIG step up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 welcome to hell! can't wait to drive one with the 6 speed, THAT trans did wonders for the Expedition which weighs more...I had an F-150 4x4 with the 5.4 that truck was awesome, and never ONCE did I gripe about power/ performance.....fantastic truck...the 09 should be a BIG step up. You think 6-speed autos are great, wait till you see what the EB 6 does for fuel economy! We've seen impressive results in the past 5 years with Falcon 1-Tonne Utes. The Turbo 6 betters the 5.4 4V in performance and fuel economy - up to 20% in general driving. And as good as the 4.0 Turbo is, it ain't an Ecoboost engine, that will be better again!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old_fairmont_wagon Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 REgarding E-85 performance, I have been basing my opinions off of my experience with my 2002 Dodge Caravan 3.3L FFV. It has been filled up with E-85 a couple of times, and, each time, I saw a serious drop in mpg and noticeable drop in performance. IT wasn't night and day, but, on a fully loaded minivan on a roadtrip, it was definitely noticeable. Recently, I've found that there is an E-85 filling station in Baton Rouge. The Tahoe I drive for work is a FFV as well. I filled it with E-85 twice in a row recently while doing some work in the area and found that it did cost me 10% of my mpg (I have to keep a detailed vehicle log for work). What I also found that it was, indeed, a little more powerful by the seat of the pants. Throttle response was more immediate, passing power seemed to improve, it was definitely noticeable. The one question that I have is, does running E-85 in a GM FFV turn the variable displacement system off? It was never indicated, but, that one move could explain everything that I saw. Or, it could be that GMs engine computer detected the E-85 and advanced the timing way up to take advantage of the higher octane of E-85. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonj80 Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 YOU ARE BIASED!!!! you are obviously a cheerleader because you are dumb enough to buy and then defend (!) a Ford product .. /sarcasm I have the 235hp 5.4l 2v in my 99 Expedition - and even with that power level never felt I needed more .. It rarely tows enough to put it through its paces, but it tows just fine. Igor the '99 Expy 5.4 had 260hp and 345ft/lb 4.6 had 240hp and 293ft/lb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8-X Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 welcome to hell! can't wait to drive one with the 6 speed, THAT trans did wonders for the Expedition which weighs more...I had an F-150 4x4 with the 5.4 that truck was awesome, and never ONCE did I gripe about power/ performance.....fantastic truck...the 09 should be a BIG step up. I also think the 6spd will be a huge improvement, both in power as it'll stay within the powerband better than the 4spd ever could and with increased mpgs. Plus the decreased weight in the '09 should help both, ever so slightly. Of course I do no know the exact decrease in weight, but the shedding of any weight from the 04-08 F150 is a big improvement. Now I'm not saying the mpg increase will be drastic, but at I'd hope it'd gain 2-3 mpgs both city & hwy. May be a lot to ask, but if you stay out of the skinny pedal, then I think you can achieve those results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron W. Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 the '99 Expy 5.4 had 260hp and 345ft/lb 4.6 had 240hp and 293ft/lb 1999 Was the year Ford introduced the "power improved" set up, so some engines were "power improved" and some were not. Engine code on the decal on the valve cover will tell you if it's the improved or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8-X Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 Recently, I've found that there is an E-85 filling station in Baton Rouge. The Tahoe I drive for work is a FFV as well. I filled it with E-85 twice in a row recently while doing some work in the area and found that it did cost me 10% of my mpg (I have to keep a detailed vehicle log for work). What I also found that it was, indeed, a little more powerful by the seat of the pants. Throttle response was more immediate, passing power seemed to improve, it was definitely noticeable. The one question that I have is, does running E-85 in a GM FFV turn the variable displacement system off? It was never indicated, but, that one move could explain everything that I saw. Or, it could be that GMs engine computer detected the E-85 and advanced the timing way up to take advantage of the higher octane of E-85. This is along the lines of my experience. Not a great amount of performance increase, but there is just enough to notice. The mpg's do hurt, but calculating it at the current cost of gas vs E85, I've figured it's cost effective to run at the current time. E85 is currently running $2.59-$2.79 per gallon locally while 87 octane gasoline is running $3.85-$4.05 per gallon. That savings ($1.06-$1.46 per gallon) does account for the difference in mpgs lost, plus the slight performance gain is a bonus to me. Never run the truck under 1/4 tank so all my calculations are based on the 1st 3/4 of a tank (20 gallons). E85 usually gets me around 200-220 miles for 20 gallons while 87 gets be around 250-275 miles, based on strictly city driving. 20 gallons by $2.59 = $51.8/$2.79 = $55.8 while 20 gallons by $3.85 = $77/$4.05 = $81. So I do save roughly $21-$29 per fill up on E85 over 87. This savings of $21-$29 will provide roughly 7.5-10.5 gallons of E85, which comes to roughly 75-115 miles, which is right on par if not slightly above my calculations on 87. So at the cost of gasoline currently, using E85 isn't really a loss for me. If gasoline prices drop, I'll have to recalculate my figures to determine the cost effectiveness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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