E85 + Leaded Race Gas = BAD

[WFO]

Don't know if this is a re-post or if everyone knows this already,but I didn't find any similar posts,so...

Mixing E85 and race fuel

The guy "Tuner" works for Innovate if I'm not mistaken...

 

[bison]

Don't know if this is a re-post or if everyone knows this already,but I didn't find any similar posts,so...

Mixing E85 and race fuel

The guy "Tuner" works for Innovate if I'm not mistaken...

I mixed a big shot of meth with at different times q16, c16, and c10 and ran 33psi for 3 months on on a 147+k stock bottom end before i had a piston failure. The rod bearings all looked really nice on tear down. I dont see too many on here pushing their engine harder than that. There are still guys on here trying to tune with a narrow O2. His posts have no proof of the bad. Only hypothesis.

 

[WFO]

Your fuel was leaded race gas, augmented with methanol.

He is referring to if the primary ruel is ethanol and leaded race gas is used to "cut" the ethanol mix,i.e. making E85 with leaded race gas instead of unleaded regular gas.

The metals used in leaded race gas actually lower the octane of the ethanol.

 

[1outlaw]

Tuner, and the reference material he refers to are excellent--but the fact remains that it is still being debated and is not proven or accepted by all. I argued this question with a reputable race gas supplier and found that the major oil race gas companies are still divided on this topic. I think from this we can take away 2 points;
1) it is still unknown thus do not try to do a simple octane blend calculation to determine what you think the octane of your blend may be, and;
2) ask yourself why you are doing it to begin with- when E85 has been run in properly tuned engines succesfully replacing up to 116 octane (not saying this is true for all engine combos).

Personally because of the doubt i would stay away from TEL if my goal was to have higher octane and instead go to E98 if it is available OR use a blend of unleaded race gas.

I believe Tuner is correct about MMT. MMT should not be in any pump gas grades since it was prohibited many years ago (even Canada more recently?)--however-- watch out for it in OTC addtives.

 

[WFO]

).
Personally because of the doubt i would stay away from TEL if my goal was to have higher octane and instead go to E98 if it is available OR use a blend of unleaded race gas.

That's pretty much where I'm at with it too.

If you're gonna mix it yourself do it with high octane UNleaded gas.

 

[GNVYUS 1]

IF you're going to mix with hard to find race gas, especially if you buy drums of it, you might as well then just mix it with Rockett Brands E85 since it's a much higher octane Ethanol. It's not only cheaper than Leaded Race Gas but you don't have to concern yourself with the Ethanol/Lead question.

 

[1outlaw]

There is no benefit to blend with Rockettbrand's E85 race version- either use Rockettbrand's stuff as is or use E98 and unleaded race gas for your blend IF you really need the extra tiny bit of octane you would get over 93 pump NL to blend E98 with.
Fuel grade ethanol is the same octane everywhere in the USA- it is a simple compound that is universal today. This was not true up to 1 1/2 years ago when fuel grade ethanol could contain as little as 2% or as much as 4.75% denaturant (natural gasoline)--however the specification was changed to lock it at 2% where it is today. The only exception to fuel grade ethanol would be in very special tightly controlled (due to BATF rules) ethanol used for Indy--they, at one point picked up E100 at ethanol plants and poisoned it with their own denaturant already in the truck- if that was race unleaded the octane would go up 0.6 octane max. The differences today in E85 comes only from the gasoline used and the % of it used- never from the simple compound that is ethanol itself.