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Anyone tried E85 yet?

57K views 162 replies 33 participants last post by  sailor 
#1 ·
Just wondering if the pump(s) and injectors have enough capacity.

I don't want to hear that it sucks or doesn't work. I know it does, I DD with it every day. I'm just wondering if any of the tuners who are working with the ST have done it.

Thanks.
 
#115 ·
That newspaper column was about E-85 pumps that aren't clearly marked in their town. Everything it says in regards to how dangerous it is is clearly speculation, as noted below. This is hardly a source worth quoting, let alone one that is actually pertinent to the discussion.

The dangers posed by ethanol blends to automobile or other engines is highly controversial, but it's believed the threat rises along with the level of ethanol. The substance offers about a third less energy than gasoline, and opponents insist it can damage fuel lines, injectors, hoses and other rubberized parts, and cause engine startup problems, rough running and other ills. Flex-fuel engines are modified to prevent those problems.​

E85 has been used for many years by the boosted and high-compression n/a community as a cheap alternative to race gas. I don't even know why people continue to argue over it when, as stated previously, this is one of few forums that can't seem to wrap their head around the concept. This thread is cray-cray.
 
#113 ·
That article is spot on. Nobody who has not modded/tuned for E85 should ever use it. No brainer. If you have to be told that, again, you shouldn't be modding your car.
 
#116 ·
For every person that sais its good and they run it there is a person that use to say it and has a blow engine

Almost everyone I know that use to run and said how good it was for years now does not use it any more

I dont know of anyone that ever used race fuel and went to e85 , most that run race fuel run at least 105 and e85 has never been close to that octane , its almost always street guys that think e85 is a wonder fuel

Tom
 
#119 ·
For every person that says its good and they run it there is a person that use to say it and has a blow engine

Almost everyone I know that use to run and said how good it was for years now does not use it any more

I dont know of anyone that ever used race fuel and went to e85 , most that run race fuel run at least 105 and e85 has never been close to that octane , its almost always street guys that think e85 is a wonder fuel

Tom

Do do sort of.
He went from C16 to E98. Gained ~150hp on 3psi less boost.
I know I've heard of more but haven't personally talked to them or seen before and after dyno sheets.

I also can't think of anyone off the top of my head up this way that has blown and not went back. Infact I can't think of anyone who has blown up due to the fuel.

The most common reason for blowing up that I can think of is tuning wrong. It's pretty tough to find MBT on booze if you're just looking at a Knock Sensor. Hell, it's almost impossible. Many times you'll never see knock, I don't. SO I had to go off my gut and some tricky math to figure out what kind of spark timing I should be running ... mind you I'm on a conservative/safe tune. WOT I get zero knock and have pushed a fair bit more timing for S&G. Still no knock.
So I can honestly say that W/O tuning on a dyno, I have no way to know what my max timing is.

But I think we can both agree that too much pressure too early is always a bad thing.

But being in MN, I think we have a better network, more usage and tighter tolerance on production/blending than other states.
I know the fuel varies state to state. But so does Gasoline.
 
#120 ·
Yeah, like here all we have is 91 and it knocks on most stock tune vehicles, especially in the summer when it's 100 degrees plus. E85 is almost a requirement for FI here if you want to make any power. Us street guys just tune conservatively timing-wise and make power with boost.
 
#122 ·
What I'm saying is that E-85 quality varies state to state.
Here in Minnesota I haven't heard of anyone complaining about it. But we have one of the highest consumption/MFG rates in the nation. And we have some of the top research with it.

Down your way I don't see as much support for it. So I'm sure quality suffers.


I have thousands of hours of logs over years with the car and I can't say that I've ever got a bad tank of fuel. Least not that ever showed up on a log or that I could feel.


I've heard rumor of E-98 maybe becoming available at the pump. I know I'm all for that. I actually haven't got to try it in the car yet. Can't find a good supplier with reasonable/comparable prices.
 
#123 ·
I run E85 as race fuel and E10 as daily. I run a fuel composition sensor and can switch back and forth at will, and run any degree from E0 to E85 (and probably E98 if it ever comes available). The computer will automatically adjust and I have tested this by watching my AFR while the E10 is being purged from the lines and the surge tank. My afr never varied by more than .03 lambda from it's commanded value. I have inspected the pump, the rail, and the injectors after running E85 straight for 1000 miles and notice no abnormal wear or corrosion.

I just don't see why people are afraid of it. My only complaint is my mileage takes about a 25% hit when I run it.
 
#125 ·
No knocking at all, anywhere. A bit of lifter noise though from the exhaust cam
 
#132 ·
Are either of you two going to FF2014? If so, come find me there. Look for a red ZX2.
 
#134 ·
If I get the turbo in by then..... Otherwise it would be pointless.
 
#136 ·
Go read my build thread at teamzx2.com
 
#139 ·
Getting 63lbers so I can still run E85. 42lbers will suffice for gasoline only. Wow, it was not my intention to totally derail this thread.
 
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