What about running premium fuel? After all, that has a greater octane than the regular grade fuel that the initial 5.0L's numbers were generated on. Not as high as ethonal, but enough that there could be a gain without the poorer fuel economy and availability of ethanol.

E85 actually contains less energy per gallon than gasoline, you must burn more of it to release the same energy as gasoline but the increased efficiency from the added ignition timing gives you the boost in power.

E85 = 81,000 BTU/gal
Regular Unleaded Gasoline = 114,000 BTU/gal

And in comparison #2 diesel contains around 129,000 BTU/gal so you can burn less of it to do the same amount of work.

Seems like ford is the only truck maker with any news to report. The last 5 or so article have been all Ford.

This is a little off topic but my friend recently bought a new mustang with the 5.0. I have been for a ride in it and boy was it awesome. The motor winds up so quick and sounds so good doing it. I was amazed when we looked under the hood. The engine is absolutely gorgeous in detail and construction. It is really not like any I have seen in a car. It almost reminds me of two inline fours from a motorcycle. It really is a thing of beauty. And effortless power. I bet many mustang aftermarket parts will work on the f150. I cant wait to see what the fuel mileage rating comes in at.

@ Roberto
GM is to busy sucking the government tit and trying to get China to buy its stock .

@Taylor - ouch

I'm surprised that the EcoBoost engines aren't doing the same thing with E85. E85 can run at higher compression ratios, and you should be able to "simulate" a higher compression ratio with the turbo, provided that the ECU and the turbo work well together.

I don't see any mention of a turbo on this engine, so I wonder how they achieve the power gain in this V8?

Did they just make this a high-compression engine and make it run lean when it's on gasoline?

These Ford marketing guys got the game all figured out. They bombard you with all the news of the latest goodies and gadgets, NO pricing and availability. I need a truck and heck, I may have to contend with the competition.

@skifast - The 5.0 is supposed to be out around December or January. Its been all over the news and this website...

Baloney, that E-85 can't get as good or better mileage than gasoline. With higher compression engines you can get 40%-50% engine efficiency. While with gasoline, because of lower flashpoint it only has an effieciency of 25%. As proof positive, diesel has only 10% higher btu's than gasoline but gets 40% better gas mileage. For the life of me I don't understand why the automotive companies don't jump on higher compression engine technology. Ethanol is clean diesel.

Its easy. Fill your flex fuel tank and drive till its empty. Now fill it up with e85 and see if you can get back home. Me thinks you'll lbe @ 33% short.

@ Francis

When E85 is actually available at more than 2% of the nation's filling stations, the automakers might consider building cars specifically designed to run on it. E85 is a pipe dream, it will never take over as the fuel of choice.

sorry but i see a raptor,last week at a truck pull,beat by a hummer ,,this truck is only to play in sand..

@Miath - you must of missed the press release.
Raptors weren't built for heavy pulling.
The idiot who took his Raptor to a truck pull didn't know that either.

all this computered to the ying yang, different fuels, and only 23 mpg, whats that? pityfull.

Can the new 5.0 be put in a older 2001 f-150 in place of the 5.4?

Here iis what Ford should have tried DUH!!! I don't know why their big brain engineers did not even try the following. A modulat Ecoboost family. A V4 ,V6 even dare I say it a V 8!!!

Here is another shocker they could have tried but failed to have the imagination for a diesel Ecoboost. The same direct injection, and the dual turbos.

I am thinking somewhere around 4 liters somewhere around 400 HP if not more and no TURBO LAG. Hell,They could do a modualar Diesel Ecooboost family of engines.

Iy would certainly help a lot with their CAFE MPGS.

paul810,

The octane ratings of gasoline aren't actually "purity" ratings as common thinking would indicate, but actually ratings of how much pressure/spark is needed to ignite the fuel. If a vehicle only requires 87 octane, putting 93 octane in it does nothing for either fuel economy or power.

However, going the other way (putting 87 octane in a vehicle that requires 93 octane) will hurt the motor. The 87 octane won't always ignite in a higher-compression engine, thus the reason many performance cars and turbocharged cars will "knock" if they're run with lower-octane gas.

The easiest way to gain better fuel economy is to let your engine breathe easier. A lower-restriction exhaust system and high-flow air filter should gain you roughly 5%-10% in fuel economy. But be careful with how much you spend. Always remember that it'll take a few years to recoup your investment in an exhaust sytem, even longer to benefit from it.

Good luck!

To Mr. Levine,

What are the corresponding engine revolutions for the power and toqure values for the E85 test, where did you get the information, and what was the fuel economy for the E85 test?

Thank you for your response,
Phil