Alky - E85 - ethanol

[87GN_70GS]

Instead of running a stand-alone alky system, why not use E85 ethanol in the gas tank? It's 105 octane, so you should be able to dial the boost way up. I know there are some fuel system material compatibility issues and the chip will need to modded for the different stoich value, but is this approach feasible?

 

[vacuum 6]

I would say yes after the fuel system is recalibrated and the entire system is E85 compatible.

 

[Adam Connell]

You would need a lot of sutff... bigger pump, LOTS bigger injectors, ethanol compatible stuff... IMO it's a pain in the ass... besides that you cant find the stuff... there are only a handfull of stations that have it here in houston... oh and it would cut your mileage by about 50%

It would still be cheaper to run on plain jane 93 and an alky kit... oh and a lot easier.

 

[bison]

If you have a stand alone and dont drive your car daily i would say there is no reason why you shouldnt run it. Much higher detonation tolerance and not that much of a PIA if you have a stand alone and some 160lb injectors:smile:

 

[Lee_Burough]

I would say yes after the fuel system is recalibrated and the entire system is E85 compatible.

As you consider using E85, do not overlook your fuel system's compatibility with E-85....It probably isn't compatible.

 

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

Talked with Eric Marshall about it this past week, he said everything was pretty much straight forward, but getting the correct E85 blend was the problem.
Said you never know what kind of fuel each fuel station has, and they dont know either. Could be E85 or E75 or less. Major issue during the winter.

I would assume that just getting some new injectors, fuel rubber hoses and a pump along with a E85 chip might work, but then again.. What happens when you dont get true E85?

Maybe in a few years when the fuel is consistant and readily avail, then things might change????

BW

 

[GNVYUS 1]

There are High Z 95lbs injectors out there ( fuel injector clinic said they have them ), I would run those.
You will probably be the guinea pig for that chip though.

A steel gas tank is not going to work with E85, Plastic or Stainless are the way to roll.

An Aeromotive Eliminator Pump will be able to push enough pressure and volume to handle plenty of HP and TQ.

E85 will NOT lose 50% gas mileage, read around and everyone is saying 15% to 20% at most on performance vehicles. You might need 30% more at WOT but that does not mean you will lose that much in gas mileage.

I am in the process of an E85 conversion on my GTO and if you don't run a wide band to tune with this you are asking for trouble. As stated the blends change around winter time and you would be able to see that easily with the wideband.

 

[Ormand]

THe fuel pressure regulator might be a problem, too, depending on how it is made. And there was a study just done at Stanford which shows that E85 makes for worse pollution thar straight gasoline! Of course, the corn farmers and algore are disputing this study.

 

[tom j]

I will be running straight e85 and using maftpro hopefully I will be doing initial start up this weekend, my fuel system consists of a plastic fuel cell, aeromotive pump, 83lb inj, and -10 feed -8 return.

 

[vacuum 6]

Let us know when any of your guys do the conversion and its up and running. I would love to convert the Buick over to E85.

 

[SGRIM]

I "think" someone at the Tech session at BG said they were working on a conversion kit for our cars... Maybe I was dreaming...

 

[NVRL8]

Then both of us were dreaming at the tech session. I believe the Fullthrottle guys are working on a conversion kit.

 

[tom j]

I went to do initial startup this past sunday, I ran about 5 gallons of e85 through the fuel system to clean it up before tried to start, but after a few minutes a noticed a leak from my fuel pump, I pulled it all apart to find a dried cracked oring on the elecrical bulkhead. Hopefully by friday it will be running, I'll keep posting

 

[d0n_3d]

I ran E85 for a month last year. I had a stock ECM setup and I noticed the blm and int were both pegged at 150. This was even with a custom chip. The computer was trying to add fuel like crazy. The car idled and drove OK. I never did get on it because I was afraid I was way too lean. You need about 33% more alcohol fuel just to get even with gas as far as volume goes. Not to mention you need stainless everything. Over time...it will eat up the rubber lines.

It would work great in a turbo application, you just need an engine management system to control the fuel, and big injectors and pump. I've been running the Translator Pro system for a while now and I bet I could run E85 effectively now. Maybe if I get bored one day I'll test it again. I'm able to control the fuel now. You won't get good gas mileage with E85 btw. The ONLY thing good about it is the octane and how it cleans the entire fuel system.

 

[tom j]

I got the car started to today, first impression is that the trottle response is extremely crisp, I have a few bugs to work out, possible bad alternator and a few others, keep you posted ounce I get the car on the road and start tunning.

 

[PowerKraus]

Interesting topic. Please keep the information flowing.

Thanks !

 

[kjhansen]

My question is can you mix E85 with gas and get an octane boost like with xylene? What would be the ratio?
Keith

 

[novaderrik]

i don't know about long term durability, but my 84 T loves the stuff. the only real issue i discovered is cold starts- it acts like a poorly tuned 75 Pinto with a non functioning choke for the first minute or so until the engine gets some heat in it. after that, it runs just like it does on 93 octane- but with a LOT more power. it feels like a 50 hp shot of nitrous.
i normally run it about 50/50 with 87 octane, and it runs better than 93 octane for less money.
as for mileage- it usually gets slightly worse mileage with more than a 50/50 mix of E85 and 87 octane. on straight gas, it gets around 17mpg. on 100% E85, it gets about 14mpg. 50/50, it gets the same as straight 87 octane. cost per mile came out about the same 2 summers ago if i ran a full tank, but gas and E85 don't have the same price spread they used to, so that might change now. one time, tho, i filled it up from empty with E85 and hit the interstate for 150 miles, and it got 24mpg.
i really need to get the stock trans rebuilt so i can actually enjoy that car, and if the E85 destroys anything, i will replace it with more modern stuff that is made for it.

 

[Lee_Burough]

i don't know about long term durability, but my 84 T loves the stuff. the only real issue i discovered is cold starts- it acts like a poorly tuned 75 Pinto with a non functioning choke for the first minute or so until the engine gets some heat in it. after that, it runs just like it does on 93 octane- but with a LOT more power. it feels like a 50 hp shot of nitrous.
i normally run it about 50/50 with 87 octane, and it runs better than 93 octane for less money.
as for mileage- it usually gets slightly worse mileage with more than a 50/50 mix of E85 and 87 octane. on straight gas, it gets around 17mpg. on 100% E85, it gets about 14mpg. cost per mile came out about the same 2 summers ago. one time, tho, i filled it up from empty with E85 and hit the interstate for 150 miles, and it got 24mpg.
i really need to get the stock trans rebuilt so i can actually enjoy that car, and if the E85 destroys anything, i will replace it with more modern stuff that is made for it.

Be sure to have a fire extinguisher handy....A failure caused by E85 will make you vulnerable for a fire when the leaks start.

 

[kjhansen]

Around here (south central Missouri) E85 is 45 cents a gallon less than 87 octane (E-85=$2.44/gal to 87 Octane=$2.89/gal) and a WHOLE bunch cheaper than 93 octane! Both E-85 and 93 are only available at one station each (not the same station either). I've been running 93 octane with 30% xylene which is pretty expensive too ($45 for a 5 gallon drum), in order to run 24-26psi of boost--and that's with alcohol injection too. I can run about 19-20psi on 93 octane with alcohol injection alone. I don't know why, but I can't get the boost numbers on alcohol injection alone that others get. If I put a big jet (.036) in, it floods the engine. Smaller jets up to .030 don't give me the knock suppression I want. Without alcohol injection my car will knock at 14psi, which it shouldn't, but always has (I've had it for 11 years and have lived in California, Texas, Colorado and Missouri in that time so I've used lots of different kinds of gas) so I'm always looking for ways to increase octane without running leaded gas all the time. I admit I'm addicted to high boost.... There's nothing like the rush of 24-26psi. I'd love to run 30, but can't get above 26 without red-lighting the knock detector ;-(
So, maybe E-85....

More boost is better.

Keith