I was reading up a little bit on e85 gas, and it turns out that it actually has an octane of 100+. I am not for sure on all the specs of this fuel, but living in Iowa means plenty of e85 gas stations. Would this high octane fuel make it possible for people to do the 086 head swap or run high compression pistons and such without lowering the compression as much as they would have to running on normal 91 octane? Just a thought.
well... as i understand it, to do it, you need the correct tune... and all metal fuel hoses. the rubber ones get eaten up IIRC.
Well with any high compression application, you need a correct tune anyway so that isn't too difficult. And yeah, I totally forgot that the alchohol doesn't like any rubber compounds so that stuff would have to be changed.
I sure wish we could get e85 out here in Kansas.. The best I can find is like e10 or something like that.
-Matt
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i think you need to replace the gas tank as well
Im a Xbox 360 fanboy...and damn proud of it!!
Octane level is around 106 from what I've read.
You want to avoid rubber and aluminum in areas where the ethanol will be rarther 'dormant' at times (fuel tank and lines).
Also, when he says it needs a different tune, you have to understand it is MUCH different, not even close. Check out the differences in stoich between the two.
E10-E15 is standard pump gas, the number represents the ethanol content. E85 would therefore be 85% ethanol.
I will use E85 on both vehicles if they ever open up a station within 100 miles of me
fortune cookie say:
better a delay than a disaster.
people here in texas are mixing 3 gallons e85 with 10 gallons 93(high) or 91(mid grade) before they go to the track and are having great results.
Sadly no E85, that I have seen or heard of, in oregon or washington. I don't think its crossed the rockies yet.
PSN ID: Phatchance249
Shasta McNasty wrote:people here in texas are mixing 3 gallons e85 with 10 gallons 93(high) or 91(mid grade) before they go to the track and are having great results.
now this sounds like a plan!
lmao... sucks for you guys with no E85, i have an E85 gas pump not but 4 blocks away from where im sitting
whats really weird is you can run regular gas in an E85 tuned car just fine... just not the other way around.
I thought I read somewhere that you get less gas mileage with e85?
-Matt
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WhitePhatt wrote:I thought I read somewhere that you get less gas mileage with e85?
-Matt
Yup, that's what I have heard as well. IIRC, you get 25% less gas mileage on E85 compared to regular gas.
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this off the agricultural website.
Regular unleaded gasoline has an octane rating of 87; E85 has an octane rating ranging from 100-105 making it a high performance fuel.....
but since its not made to be used with non FFV engines, we mix small amounts with our 93 octane we get at the regular pump, averaging 100 octane. sorry for ya'll folks that dont have e85.... way cheaper than race fuel
oh man, i just dont know if id wanna put that stuff in my car...
i was a dumbass once and put a full tank of e85 in my 92 beretta 3.1, amazingly it ran just fine, but a month later the fuel pump took a crap... but it had 290,000 miles on it, so who knows what really killed it. put a new fuel pump in it and it ran til the motor blew up 10,000 miles later.
My understanding is that E85 isn't good to run on a non Flex Fuel Vehicle.
It's can cause problems with the fuel system including lines, pumps, filters, & injectors.
But it should be ok, if used as a racing fuel additive with mostly normal gas. So long as you keep the total percentage of ethanol down under 40% (total of 100 octane).
Also my understanding is an 8 point increase in octane rating - can give you about a 2-3% increase in HP.
So from what you are telling I could mix Ethanol and super premium (94) as a ratio of 1/4 1/3 and it would be around 100 octane? If it doesn't brake anything, I will do it cause at 12:1 compression, I need good fuel.
Gilles
2.3 Ho
I think that its funny that e85 is worse for the enviroment....not that, thats important or anything(and the gov. is pushing for it to be put into full production)
you def. get worse fuel economy with it, what are you guys paying for it at the pump right now?
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My understanding is that E85 isn't good to run on a non Flex Fuel Vehicle.
That's an odd statement. What facts do you have to back that up? I know from first hand experience that you can convert non-flex vehicles to run E-85, just by changing the tuning in the computer. My father and I have been working on his 2004 F-150, that has been running E-85 for over a year, around 30,000 miles. He drives a lot of highway. There have been no problems with the stock parts. We changed a few specs using a SCT custom programmer, and he gets around 12.2 mpg. He's also got 35" tires and lifted 6". Which is what he was getting running 93 octane before he switched over to E-85. There is a definite HP increase, the dyno results showed about 20hp more on the ground, keep in mind we are still working on the tune. He seems to think he can get more mpg if he tweeks it a little more. And my 98 F-150 also runs purely on E-85 as well, same story, change the tune and you've got it. NONE of the stock hardware has been replaced in either vehicle as it relates to fuel delivery. I also run about 2 gallons every tank in my cav, and have been for over a year as well. Have you ever noticed the little decal on the pumps that says 15% ethonal added. Do you think the auto manufacturers made the fuel system and engine able to tolerate only 15% ethonal, or do you think that maybe the manufacturers made their products to withstand more than that, seeing as E-85 is not corrisive, it's the water that can be in it, if the refining process isn't adequate that makes E-85 harmful. Most of the places selling E-85 have very good suppliers and this is typically not an issue.
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4 Cams...32 Valves...5 Liters...This Could Get Fun!
Mfk-223 wrote:So from what you are telling I could mix Ethanol and super premium (94) as a ratio of 1/4 1/3 and it would be around 100 octane? If it doesn't brake anything, I will do it cause at 12:1 compression, I need good fuel.
thats what we do down here.....no problems yet, been doing 3 gal E85/10 gal 93octane for 6 months no problems.... I know other that do it as well, but they DONT run it straight E85.
The idea of mixing the fuels makes for a great idea! It would be a great thing to have "race gas" at the local pumps.
yeah its very convenient that they have e85 about 5 mins from the track
Well - Blue 04 TRD , that why I said my understanding.
I've heard that very possible to convert most modern cars (Built within the past 10 years) fuel system & EC< to be able to handle E85, on a regular basis.
But I've also heard that attempting to run a non FFV on E85 without this conversion, can potentially cause serious harm to the Fuel System of normal non Flex Fuel Cars/trucks.
Quote:
I think that its funny that e85 is worse for the enviroment....not that, thats important or anything(and the gov. is pushing for it to be put into full production)
you def. get worse fuel economy with it, what are you guys paying for it at the pump right now?
Are you saying it's worse for the enviroment - because you get worse gas mileage? Because - my understanding (not saying I'm correct), is that the emissions from vehicles running on E85 is cleaner than those that run on normal gasoline.
There is at least 1 e85 station in Oregon, on 82nd ave near the town center, it's a bit cheaper than regular gas, $2.79 instead of $3.15. And e85 is cleaner and better for the enviroment, but I think it gets 15% less mpg over unleaded, and straight ethonel is even lower.
wow i would really like to use a mix of e85 and 91 whats the actual octane rating on that after you mix 3 gals of e85 and 10 gals of 91 any one know??
But i don't want to try it on my brand new built motor and F something up.
So who has mixed fuel and what were your results?
The environmental impact is a hot topic right now, especially since the new paper that was published by some professor from one of the Cali universities. However, areas that have mostly switched over are showing lower particulate counts and whatnot, so the evidence seems to point towards cleaner burning.
Gas milage and power will go down (and you could destroy your motor) by switching to E85 without at least a retune. The 'power potential' (internal energy) of ethanol is less than petrol, so you have to make up for the power elsewhere. This is done by increasing compression ratios (11:1 static is fine on E85, I've heard of 12:1 being used with the right cam). You also need to advance timing because the ethanol burns more slowly. By doing these, you regain the efficiency lost by the fuel switch, and will most likely gain quite a bit of power.
fortune cookie say:
better a delay than a disaster.
I've been thinking about using it in my z24. with teh 086 head swap yeilding 11.4:1 SCR, but i dont like that its not redially avaible everywhere, granted i can find it any where in state but not so sure if i go out of state..
but then again, i do have megasquirt and can do 2 different tunes very very easily
