BDGT with E85

pharmer81 · 04-16-2012, 01:48 PM

I justed ordered a BDGT for my 2011 FFV Pro-4X. I'm interested in trying E85 on the high performance tune with the spark advanced 2 degrees. Has anyone tried this? First of all, is it safe (intuitively it should be)? How is the performance? How is the fuel economy?

I called Bully Dog, and they didn't have any specific info on running E85, but the guy said he couldn't see a reason not to try it. I'm wondering if anybody has any personal experience before I give it a go.

06HemiRam · 04-16-2012, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pharmer81

I justed ordered a BDGT for my 2011 FFV Pro-4X. I'm interested in trying E85 on the high performance tune with the spark advanced 2 degrees. Has anyone tried this? First of all, is it safe (intuitively it should be)? How is the performance? How is the fuel economy?

I called Bully Dog, and they didn't have any specific info on running E85, but the guy said he couldn't see a reason not to try it. I'm wondering if anybody has any personal experience before I give it a go.

I run premium fuel tuning with the 2° advance on Hypertech running E85. My truck gets about 16-17 mpg highway on it and I do not have a light foot. Truck runs smoother on E85 than 93.

sudden urge · 04-16-2012, 02:19 PM

Bully Dog and Superchips have stated that they do not recommend running E-85 on any of their tunes.

pharmer81 · 04-16-2012, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 06HemiRam

I run premium fuel tuning with the 2° advance on Hypertech running E85. My truck gets about 16-17 mpg highway on it and I do not have a light foot. Truck runs smoother on E85 than 93.

I spoke with Mike at AJUSA before ordering my BDGT. I wonder if it was you he was referring to when he said he remembered a customer ordering a Hypertech to use with E85. He called a tech a Hypertech to ask about an E85-specific tune, and they said one does not exist. He said the BDGT would get me more features for only $20 more, so I ordered it. I'm guessing all of these tuners are set pretty similarly on their performance tunes, so unless the Hypertech does something different, I don't see why it wouldn't work the same on the BDGT. As for the companies recommending it, the guy at BD told me it "should" be okay. I wish they would step up and just make an E85 tune. It is readily available where I live, and $0.80 per gallon cheaper. If I could get 17mpg with E85, I would be ecstatic. How long have you been running your truck that way? Any problems whatsoever?

**nightowl** · 04-16-2012, 05:50 PM

I have never seen anyone get better mpg with e85. I have a friend with a f150 that stopped using it because the economy dropped to much to justify buying it. I get 2 mpg improvement by using non ethanol fuel over the 10% crap most stations sale now. What I would like to see is a cng titan. That is $1.79 gge what ever that is....

b0ricua30 · 04-17-2012, 06:15 AM

I have a 2011, BDGT, tried E85 with regular and premium. Has a snapier throttle response, did not even get 300 miles per tank. I went back to regular, premium tune +4. That has been my best performance so far.

In My opinion, E85 is not worth it.

**spoolie** · 04-17-2012, 07:00 AM

My Cortex is +4 degrees timing on E85 and gets about 11.5, the 93 tune gets about 14...you make the call. Here in TN E85 is .70 cents cheaper.

pharmer81 · 04-17-2012, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spoolie

My Cortex is +4 degrees timing on E85 and gets about 11.5, the 93 tune gets about 14...you make the call. Here in TN E85 is .70 cents cheaper.

Do you notice a difference in performance between the two?

09OBMC · 04-17-2012, 08:15 AM

Sounds to me like the Premium tune on E85 is running way too lean if you can get 14mpg on E85. My truck untuned gets about 7-8MPG on E85 in the city.

06HemiRam · 04-17-2012, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 09OBMC

Sounds to me like the Premium tune on E85 is running way too lean if you can get 14mpg on E85. My truck untuned gets about 7-8MPG on E85 in the city.

Nope its not too lean, I have Cipher afterall and monitor the air/fuel ratio. I was getting 12 mpg around town with E85 in my 2012. I have noticed a ~2 mpg increase with Hypertech compared to the stock tuning, on both E85 and 93. Truck is actually still pretty rich. The stock Ethanol fuel/timing changes are still in effect and functioning, so as the E85 gets added to the tank the ECM advances the timing and adds fuel accordingly. As you can see at WOT the truck is still plenty rich on Hypertech tuning.

pharmer81 · 04-19-2012, 07:31 PM

I filled up with E85 and installed the BDGT tonight. This thing is a beast. Runs smooth as a top with crisp throttle response and pulls great. I am going on a short road trip this weekend, so I'll check the fuel mileage and post back up. I'm going to have to call Bully Dog tomorrow though to check on AFR's. At idle, it sits around 14.6. I didn't data log, but glancing at the tunershows it going as high as 12ish when under hard throttle. I thought E85 would need to run richer, like around 9 or 10. Is the tuner somehow adjusting this number? What is normal for these trucks?

09OBMC · 04-20-2012, 12:08 PM

I would think on a N/A motor 11-12 would be more than plenty. You only need 9-10ish on a boosted motor, 14.7 is Stoich which is ideal for idle or light throttle. I would think anything 11-13 would be fine for a lightly modded N/A motor during normal driving.