Can we run 85 ethanol in the Bronco?

[FTBronco9]

Just asking cause it’s $3.79/gallon instead of the $6/gallon.
If not, why?

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[AlpineDescent]

If you can, it would say on the gas fill door, but I don’t think either of these engines are flex-fuel capable. It takes a much harder valve seat to survive the alcohol.

 

[Spooled]

The Bronco is not a flex fuel vehicle and the factory engine calibration will not compensate enough for E85. Do not run it.

 

[FTBronco9]

Thanks for not telling me to search and giving me an answer. You never know with this crowd

 

[Brockdog12]

I’d stay at 87 octane or higher, I use 87 and mine runs fine. I’ve never bought a vehicle based on gas mileage.

 

[frdfan]

e85 (ethyl alcohol 85%-gasoline 15% blend) is different than 85 octane gas. e85 not safe for the Bronco.

e85 will be (in most cases) a yellow handled pump, where 85 octane gas and higher octane will be a red handle pump--and would be safe, but poor mileage.

 

[tomcartmeljr]

e85 (ethyl alcohol 85%-gasoline 15% blend) is different than 85 octane gas. e85 not safe for the Bronco.

e85 will be (in most cases) a yellow handled pump, where 85 octane gas and higher octane will be a red handle pump--and would be safe, but poor mileage.

They definitely don't color code the pump handles like that around here. SOMETIMES the diesel handle is green, but every pump handle at BP is green, too. Solid info on the e85, though, thanks.

 

[gryphon1231]

Just asking cause it’s $3.79/gallon instead of the $6/gallon.
If not, why?

RTFM

 

[Headsong]

Thanks for not telling me to search and giving me an answer. You never know with this crowd

Well there was an identical thread just to day..................

 

[AZ_Liberty]

I’d stay at 87 octane or higher, I use 87 and mine runs fine. I’ve never bought a vehicle based on gas mileage.

Octane and Ethanol percent are unrelated, other than ethanol actually has a higher Octane than Gas.

But to answer the OP's question, the engines on the Bronco are rated to run on no more than 15% Ethanol (aka E15). Any more than that risks damage to fuel seals, the fuel pump, and corrosion of the fuel injectors.

Our 87 Octane is E10 here year round. In theory that should only give a 4-5% decrease in MPG, but whenever I have been able to buy "country gas" i.e. real gas, I normally get 10% better mileage.

 

[VoltageDrop]

e85 (ethyl alcohol 85%-gasoline 15% blend) is different than 85 octane gas. e85 not safe for the Bronco.

e85 will be (in most cases) a yellow handled pump, where 85 octane gas and higher octane will be a red handle pump--and would be safe, but poor mileage.

Per the manual, 85 octane Colorado diet gas is a no-go just like E85.

 

[Brockdog12]

I’d stay at 87 octane or higher, I use 87 and mine runs fine. I’ve never bought a vehicle based on gas mileage.

To be clear with my comment, 85 fuel is designed for flex fuel vehicles. I owned an Explorer that was flex fuel and running E85 wasn't worth it. There was a noticeable difference.

Also, I have also never been discouraged from buying or driving a vehicle because of gas prices.

 

[hajj.david]

Just asking cause it’s $3.79/gallon instead of the $6/gallon.
If not, why?

I personally ran E85 in my 2021 bronco for months and countless tanks. Maybe I should make a thread about my adventure.

1. The bronco ran better then ever. The engines timing or whatever was definitely improved to take advantage of the E85 (maybe not fully but still). I barely had to use the clutch to get moving. It really felt like I got a major HP and Torque boost vs 87.

2. The engine will throw a fuel code telling you its adaptive learning reached the maximum potential. This is actually a very useful error because it also disables engine start/stop automatically for you. I just continued to ignore it as it was running great.

3. You will see a SLIGHT decrease in MPG. I was getting around 17 before, with E85 I was consistently getting 16. Many people will start typing "ETHANOL HAS 30% LESS ENERGY THUS YOU WILL GET 30% LESS MPG" wrong. Ethanol due to its much higher octane (105-115) can handle much more compression, and if an engine can utilize the ethanol properly it will increase compression and squeeze much higher levels of efficiency out of it. It cannot do so with gas because of preignition.

Thats why if you tow with a flex fuel vehicle, you will notice that you will get the same mpg as gas or sometimes even better. Turbos love E85 and help increase the efficiency of it.

4. It cranks more for cold starts. E85 is rougher in the cold, let your car warm up a bit longer before driving off.

5. It keeps the engine cooler, longer.

6. Keeps the tail pipe spotless

7. Smells delicious.

When gas was $6 a gallon I could get E85 for $2.69. I will 100% use E85 again if gas goes high, but for now (prices dropped substantially) I switched to 93 since 87 feels lethargic to me and in my area (I moved) ethanol is the same price as gas or more.

 

[TheShark]

I ran a couple of tanks of E88 when Sheetz was running a special price, didn't really notice a difference which I guess is good.

 

[JohnnyBronco]

I personally ran E85 in my 2021 bronco for months and countless tanks. Maybe I should make a thread about my adventure.

1. The bronco ran better then ever. The engines timing or whatever was definitely improved to take advantage of the E85 (maybe not fully but still). I barely had to use the clutch to get moving. It really felt like I got a major HP and Torque boost vs 87.

2. The engine will throw a fuel code telling you its adaptive learning reached the maximum potential. This is actually a very useful error because it also disables engine start/stop automatically for you. I just continued to ignore it as it was running great.

3. You will see a SLIGHT decrease in MPG. I was getting around 17 before, with E85 I was consistently getting 16. Many people will start typing "ETHANOL HAS 30% LESS ENERGY THUS YOU WILL GET 30% LESS MPG" wrong. Ethanol due to its much higher octane (105-115) can handle much more compression, and if an engine can utilize the ethanol properly it will increase compression and squeeze much higher levels of efficiency out of it. It cannot do so with gas because of preignition.

Thats why if you tow with a flex fuel vehicle, you will notice that you will get the same mpg as gas or sometimes even better. Turbos love E85 and help increase the efficiency of it.

4. It cranks more for cold starts. E85 is rougher in the cold, let your car warm up a bit longer before driving off.

5. It keeps the engine cooler, longer.

6. Keeps the tail pipe spotless

7. Smells delicious.

When gas was $6 a gallon I could get E85 for $2.69. I will 100% use E85 again if gas goes high, but for now (prices dropped substantially) I switched to 93 since 87 feels lethargic to me and in my area (I moved) ethanol is the same price as gas or more.

1. Your fuel system rubber and plastic parts are not designed or approved for that much alcohol. And the fuel.pumps. I would suspect that if ypu ever require engine warranty it will be flatly denied simply due to your vehicle not approved by Ford for what you feed it. If it required full synthetic oil and you ran non detergent Dino oil as an example.

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