2005 tacoma and ethanol

I keep having a few people I know talk about ethanol. They claim that before a certain year (I think its like 2008 or so that he claims) the ECUs in vehicles aren't programmed for ethanol in gas.

I keep wondering, is it true? If it is, can our ECUs be reprogrammed for the ethanol (since there is so many gas stations that sell it). I know that I can just fill up at non ethanol stations or use an ethanol neutralizer.

on a side note or 2, if its true, would it help MPG with a reprogrammed ECU (I have searched MPG multiple times)

I am also going on a road trip soon, so I may do the first have with ethanol gas and 2nd half with non-ethanol and see how much it changes the MPGs

 

anyone? (if not, i will send it to the top tonight sometime)

 

Ethanol burns faster but it's suppose to be cheaper. Your ECU will adapt and it is safe to run E10 in most 1987+ Toyotas. I think the issue with ethanol was more of it being a strong detergent, it could damage engine parts in some older vehicles.

 

I see a 3-4 MPG loss when using ethanol gas. Go to puregas.org to find stations that sell regular gas in your area.

 

already found it and have the app on my phone. I will probably try to fill up like that on my road trip over spring break, i know my usual MPG so i can compare

also, I have heard that it can gum up an engine somewhat, is that true?

(i try to run seafoam through my gas tank at least once every 2 months, usually once a month though if that changes anything)

 

I've run the e10 in my vehicles for the last 15 years. No issues at all.

the 3-4 mpg drop is crap. that is nearly 20% loss in your MPG. That would only happen if you replaced 20% of the gas with something that doesn't burn at all. You may see 1 mpg drop if that.

 

well, i have a road trip coming up, so thats the best time i know to test it. I will post my results after the trip

 

Im not sure if seafoam really works with our engines.From what a family mechanic told me was that "seafoam is a good product but it was really meant for the engines before in the past.But now we have these engines with new technology and are efficient,there is no need to use seafoam.Just use good quality gas and some good oil with on time tune ups." That guy has been working on our cars for years and I trust everything he recommends.

 

I wont go anywhere near E85

and I probably need to clean my throttle body, I saw a thread on it a while back, i need to find it

and as for the guy saying we dont need seafoam, it can only help, after what i have seen it do to lawnmower engines, i'll stick with it

 

E85 is fine if your car/truck has a flex/fuel sensor. The tacomas don't.

The difference in burning characteristics will basically make your engine not run.

E85 doesn't burn faster, in fact it has a higher octane rating than premium fuel.

My MR2 was tuned to run on premium and E85. E85 would allow 25+ PSI of boost, more timing, good for about an extra 100 RWHP on my car. Again it had an aftermarket ECU that I could load dual tunes.

The drawback is because of the less 'stored' energy in alcohol versus gasoline I needed about 20% more fuel to get the same HP, but obviously for the reasons above I could then gain more because of the higher effective octane rating.

People say it dries your seals and lines out. I have never seen a case of this so I feel that most modern cars have seals/lines that are resistant enough or the 15% gasoline is enough to offset any drying effect.

E85 is awesome. Street legal race fuel (~108 octane varies though), your engine runs quieter (really), cleaner and it is usually cheaper (but it's offset by the increased fuel requirements).