Thinking of going E85- Info and thoughts please

[Amelio]

I have been thinking of going to E85 for a while but just dont have any experience here, no one in my area is running so I cannot readily see and talk about it. I have a station about 15 mils from me so its close and I don't take my car on long trips. I currently run my car on 93 only, I have a cooling mist alky setup but I don't have a controller which I really need. I do not know if I should buy the controller ($300 or so) or just convert to E85. I do like the idea of just filling my tank and not bothering about buying alky or topping off that tank

From what I have read I will need to step up my injectors.....not sure what size but maybe in the low 100's and I believe I have enough pump. I am not looking to set the world on fire I just wanna run 22-24psi all the time. The car currently runs 17-18 psi on 93 oct and is good for mid 11's as it sits. Please chime in on what I need to buy and rough cost....I am all ears as I want to learn!

Current combo- stock bore and stroke, forged pistons stock crank girdled and studded, champion ported and polished heads (studded) and intake with bigger valves. Roller cam 210/215 Old dinosaur TE-66 stock location precision 1 1/2 IC 55# injectors twin Walbro 340's in tank. Fuel lines are SS braided -8 feed -6 return ATR headers 3" DP full exhaust. Still running stock ECU with Eric's chip.....ECU does have the drivers installed for my injectors

I think that's it....fire away guys I am listening.

 

[Turbo Keith]

I'm all ears also , Thinking about it myself

 

[Dhos1]

Me too

 

[turbo89]

I have been thinking of going to E85 for a while but just dont have any experience here, no one in my area is running so I cannot readily see and talk about it. I have a station about 15 mils from me so its close and I don't take my car on long trips. I currently run my car on 93 only, I have a cooling mist alky setup but I don't have a controller which I really need. I do not know if I should buy the controller ($300 or so) or just convert to E85. I do like the idea of just filling my tank and not bothering about buying alky or topping off that tank

From what I have read I will need to step up my injectors.....not sure what size but maybe in the low 100's and I believe I have enough pump. I am not looking to set the world on fire I just wanna run 22-24psi all the time. The car currently runs 17-18 psi on 93 oct and is good for mid 11's as it sits. Please chime in on what I need to buy and rough cost....I am all ears as I want to learn!

Current combo- stock bore and stroke, forged pistons stock crank girdled and studded, champion ported and polished heads (studded) and intake with bigger valves. Roller cam 210/215 Old dinosaur TE-66 stock location precision 1 1/2 IC 55# injectors twin Walbro 340's in tank. Fuel lines are SS braided -8 feed -6 return ATR headers 3" DP full exhaust. Still running stock ECU with Eric's chip.....ECU does have the drivers installed for my injectors

I think that's it....fire away guys I am listening.

Depends what your goals are .. if its just in the 10's you can get away with 80's and Erics Chip setup for E85 and the parts you have listed out..
if you want to run mid to low 10's go with 120's since you have the drivers already .. to me this would make more sense as an option for you...

That's all you need .. injectors and chip ..

be forewarned .. once you try E85 @ the boost level all buicks should have run from the factory .. there is no going back to anything ... it really lets the cars be what they can be

 

[Shawn N]

I've been messing around with a 50/50 blend of e85/93 running 20lbs of boost out of a TE-44 on a stock motor. I'm still on a TT 93 chip and stock fuel lines with 50lb injectors. And yes I do have a compatible pump, new sender, injector seals, and a new spectra tank. I will agree with turbo89 this shit is gold. I'm already getting instant gains in performance and no knock wot. I'm not running alky either. My a/f ratio is still good. So far the only drawback is 20% less milage but it's a 1.64 a gallon vs 2.25 for 93 so there's not really a cost increase to use it. Just keep in mind this is a true stock motor/heads on a daily driver. I'm a bit paranoid to run 100% e85 through oe fuel lines and filter. If someone else wants to chime in on that I'm all ears!

 

[BEATAV8]

I'm a bit paranoid to run 100% e85 through oe fuel lines and filter. If someone else wants to chime in on that I'm all ears!

The stock lines and filter work perfectly fine with E85.

 

[Heskahoka]

Your car sounds 90% of the way there. Some injectors and chip and you are ready. https://www.turbotweakstore.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=INJ-120-FM-COMBO

I will join the chorus: Once I converted to E85, it changed the car. I was skeptical but it has turned out to be the real deal. I am never going back for my Grand National.

Good thing is, you can get a gas chip for the car in the future and can still take it on the road.

 

[Flyin Brian]

I think you will like E85. I know I do. For a little more money you could step up to the SD2 flex fuel chip, add the sensor, and run whatever mix of ethanol you want. I just got my flex fuel sensor in and running and it is great. I went and filled up with 93 instead of E85 to test and it worked perfectly. Of course the next time I fill up it will be with E85.

 

[Amelio]

Thanks for the reply's guys! Hey Turbo89 I dont really have a e.t goal for the car as I dont hit the track in it very much.....I will still play with it but I have another car I beat the snot out of at the strip. I just want to run 22-24 psi all the time as the car is an animal at that boost level. I have had it there a few times with 110 in the tank and its fun! I may get a wild hair and want to break into the mid 10's which I imagine Id have to squeeze the car pretty good 28-30psi??
Ok so a set of 120's and a new chip from Eric....thats easy peasy!

I read on another threads that tuning is about the same however the target A/F is different on E85 is this correct?

 

[turbo89]

Thanks for the reply's guys! Hey Turbo89 I dont really have a e.t goal for the car as I dont hit the track in it very much.....I will still play with it but I have another car I beat the snot out of at the strip. I just want to run 22-24 psi all the time as the car is an animal at that boost level. I have had it there a few times with 110 in the tank and its fun! I may get a wild hair and want to break into the mid 10's which I imagine Id have to squeeze the car pretty good 28-30psi??
Ok so a set of 120's and a new chip from Eric....thats easy peasy!

I read on another threads that tuning is about the same however the target A/F is different on E85 is this correct?

You got it.. On the AFR .. Dont just go by a number you saw on a post.. Let the car tell you what it likes.. e85 gives a pretty big tuning window.. There is no need to run it PIG rich just to say its safe.. Some cars like 10.8 on a fuel scale .. Some like 11.20 .. Find what the car likes

 

[Amelio]

You got it.. On the AFR .. Dont just go by a number you saw on a post.. Let the car tell you what it likes.. e85 gives a pretty big tuning window.. There is no need to run it PIG rich just to say its safe.. Some cars like 10.8 on a fuel scale .. Some like 11.20 .. Find what the car likes

Got it! my car currently like the 11.0-11.20 nice and clean and scream however its only 17-18psi so not much. thank you!

 

[Amelio]

have any of you guys performed a volume test on your pumps? The reason I ask is because my twin Wlabro's are old as sh8t as in like 14 years!!!! I have never had an issue I have my secondary pump turn on at roughly 14psi just as backup and my fuel psi is roughly 62-63 @18 psi of boost, right on target. I know fuel systems are crucial and more so with added boost and E-85. Just curious as to your thoughts and or experience. My gut always says dont mess with it if it aint broke, but.....

 

[turbo89]

have any of you guys performed a volume test on your pumps? The reason I ask is because my twin Wlabro's are old as sh8t as in like 14 years!!!! I have never had an issue I have my secondary pump turn on at roughly 14psi just as backup and my fuel psi is roughly 62-63 @18 psi of boost, right on target. I know fuel systems are crucial and more so with added boost and E-85. Just curious as to your thoughts and or experience. My gut always says dont mess with it if it aint broke, but.....

Ditch the Walblos and step upto DW300... Single is good for a 10.80 car no problem.. If you plan on faster just get twin DW300's.. They work great

 

[Boost231]

Single 450 for high 10s. That dw300 wouldn't cut it on my car

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[turbo89]

Single 450 for high 10s. That dw300 wouldn't cut it on my car

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Something wrong with your car then .. that pump has been into the 10's on E85 on I couldn't even tell you how many GN's ...

Ive personally run it on a mid 10 second GN without issue .. just need to make sure the electrical is up to the task

 

[texasmr2]

Great topic gentlemen as I was wondering about the whole E85 thing. When I had my T66 boosted '92 MR2T I would simply run to the local Sherwin/Williams paint store and dump 1 or 2 half gallons of toluene in the tank when I filled the tank with 93. Since I live in Houston and 90% of gas stations sell E85 I just may go that route when I get my own GN.

The wealth of knowledge here is amazing and much appreciated,
Gregg

 

[Boost231]

Something wrong with your car then .. that pump has been into the 10's on E85 on I couldn't even tell you how many GN's ...

Ive personally run it on a mid 10 second GN without issue .. just need to make sure the electrical is up to the task

Wouldn't say that. Some cars are different then others. It would have been close on mine but not worth seeing it start to fall off on pressure even the slightest

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[turbo89]

Wouldn't say that. Some cars are different then others. It would have been close on mine but not worth seeing it start to fall off on pressure even the slightest

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Correct .. they are different .. if your talking about a 4200 pound GN running 160's on a 270" 6700 rpm motor and making 9 second power I could see that...

on the setup the OP has or even close .. NO WAY are you running out of pump on a 10.80 car .. UNLESS your not feeding the pump powerwise or there are other rookie mistakes.
I'll stick to what I said based on NEVER seeing one yet that runs the pump out @ 10.80's .. guess its all on how they are setup

 

[Toby_Goodmk]

I run 7.5:1 fuel ratio WOT at 5600-6200 rpm on the dyno last month 19lb boost no knock, E85. I have a pretty stout setup and we got a street tune set at 550hp. I run 120lb injectors, 2 DW301 pumps, Teflon lines, and a nice sender made by AZGN. I have been pretty hard on the car with the E85 and with the new tune things have woken up. I would not hesitate changing over, should have done it earlier

 

[TURBOPOWERED68]

E85 is like crack
i am hooked
BTW cold start sortta sucks, but once it gets going it's badass