E85 swap

[hotrod 80]

Very seriously considering going to E85 next year . Cheap high octane fuel , consistant ET due to latent heat of vaporazation . Looking for input or general disscussion about the pros and cons

[Super73]

I have seen more power and a wider tuning window. But, lam with low tuning seems to go faster.

The only issue is oil changes more often with wide ring gap.

[hotrod 80]

Kinda went all in on the deal . Having Eric @ horsepower innovations build me a carb . Appearently when the tune is correct the oil doesn't get milked up like rich Methanol . Mark sullins told me he only changes his oil once a year . Mark does the rebuild type work . Eric sells the new ones .

Guessing the foam needs to come out of the fuel cell and any paper type filter removed . Im going to try it with pump E85 and see what happens .Not worried about making more power , just hoping it will be as consistant as possible .

Been testing E85 and it seems to be 85% and will vary to 87/88% worst case . Looks like im far enough south that they don't change the blend for winter .

[HemiChallenger71]

Originally Posted by hotrod 80

Kinda went all in on the deal . Having Eric @ horsepower innovations build me a carb . Appearently when the tune is correct the oil doesn't get milked up like rich Methanol . Mark sullins told me he only changes his oil once a year . Mark does the rebuild type work . Eric sells the new ones .

Guessing the foam needs to come out of the fuel cell and any paper type filter removed . Im going to try it with pump E85 and see what happens .Not worried about making more power , just hoping it will be as consistant as possible .

Been testing E85 and it seems to be 85% and will vary to 87/88% worst case . Looks like im far enough south that they don't change the blend for winter .

Luck you. My buddy has an e85 mustang. The winter blend definatley sucks if you happen upon it. He has a tester too. During the summer here its consistently 85-90% and pretty consistent from station to station. When he got some winter blend (last yr) the car didnt run as good yet it still tested 83%. AFAIK the winter blend is some additives to make the vehicle start easier (my guess lowering octane) much like diesel fuel. Also the winter blend stuff will see more temp changes (weather) and get a lot of moisture in it.

Storage can be tricky here in MI because of the humidity and weather. You dont want to let your junk sit with e85 for more than a month. In dry texas im sure its no where near as big of a deal. My buddy pickles his engine and fuel system for winter storage.

Its always fun to run into an e85 hot rod on the street, almost smells like theyre running alcohol but not quite as sweet. Also like an alcohol car e85 runs cold. My friends car can sit in traffic without the efan on in the heat for a lot longer than you would think is safe.

I havent heard about removing fuel cell foam yet but it seems plausible. Some braided line you have to be careful with, mostly the old stuff. Also e85 wont "eat" rubber hose as bad as everyone thinks or says. However its a good idea to put at least fuel injection hose in place of regular rubber hose.

There is a combination fuel filter water separator that is popular with the e85 guys and I would recommend it as well. My friend hits his water drain with some regularity, the amount of water is surprising.

[hotrod 80]

Im thinking that during extended storage im going to swap the fuel line from the nitrous cell and run the motor on 110 to flush it . Im also 4 mile from the gulf of Mexico so humidity is an issue , but we race almost year round so my truck doesnt sit much . Trying to get out on the 3rd and race again already . All my hoses are the newer style non rubber lining stuff so i dont think ill have a problem there . Word im getting is that i wont need to worry to much about the higher methonal percentage as the lower will make it rich .

Any info you can give me on the fuel filter water seperator would be great .

[HemiChallenger71]

Have you seen www.raceone85.com?
I cant find the water separator I was talking about, but we followed posters from raceone85.com and their recommendations. Its been quite a few years since we did my buddys mustang.

Its convient for him to pickle his car with a return style system. He runs it low on e85, dumps in a gallon or 2 of premium and idles the car until it starts to run rich/rough and shuts it off. Fills it with 5gal. e85 in the spring and drives it.

[BR3W CITY]

I like E85 but I'd consider running a small supplementary tank and keeping a seperate tune on the laptop. That way I can drive to the track and get 18ish mpg, switch to corn goo at the track for the consistency and power. Drive home.

[Super73]

Hot Rod,

As far as e85/oil contamination, it will really depends on several things. AFR is only one part of the equation. Ring gap and piston to wall clearence is another. My truck idles at slightly leaner than stoich and part throttle is stoich. Wot however is .82 lambda (12.0afr on gas scale 8.0afr on e85 scale). I need to change my oil more frequently but have .028/.032 ring gaps and pistons are .0045 in the cyl.

[hotrod 80]

Originally Posted by HemiChallenger71

Have you seen www.raceone85.com?
I cant find the water separator I was talking about, but we followed posters from raceone85.com and their recommendations. Its been quite a few years since we did my buddys mustang.

I will lurk around and see what i can dig up over their . Keep the input coming . I was also thinking about just running it out of E 85 and or pulling a bowl screw and draining it and WD 40 through the vent til i got pump squirter then blast the vent with a shot of air to coat the bowl and float done for winter . Probably overthinking it . I tend to do that .

Its convient for him to pickle his car with a return style system. He runs it low on e85, dumps in a gallon or 2 of premium and idles the car until it starts to run rich/rough and shuts it off. Fills it with 5gal. e85 in the spring and drives it.

Originally Posted by BR3W CITY

I like E85 but I'd consider running a small supplementary tank and keeping a seperate tune on the laptop. That way I can drive to the track and get 18ish mpg, switch to corn goo at the track for the consistency and power. Drive home.

I am carberated so i dont have that option , plus this has really beacome a full on bracket truck .

Originally Posted by Super73

Hot Rod,

As far as e85/oil contamination, it will really depends on several things. AFR is only one part of the equation. Ring gap and piston to wall clearence is another. My truck idles at slightly leaner than stoich and part throttle is stoich. Wot however is .82 lambda (12.0afr on gas scale 8.0afr on e85 scale). I need to change my oil more frequently but have .028/.032 ring gaps and pistons are .0045 in the cyl.

I'll have to look at my notes , but i tend to be a bit leaner like 12.5 wot A/F . I am gapped for spray also and i am considering swapping my spray fuel to E85 also . I now have a tune up for the kit also . I have heard alot of people that run E 85 tell me just do it ( E85 swap) and use your head . Seems some people hate the stuff . Had one guy that runs Methanol tell me it was the worst mistake he ever make . We will see . I think i understand the fuel enough to make it work .

[Super73]

So you are as lean as 12.4 afr on a gas wide band with e85 (.843 lambda)? I stopped at .82 (12.0) as I was not sure how far to take it.

If you are saying you run gasoline at 12.4, well I run that even leaner at 12.8 to 13.0.

I do run e85 for my bottle to, too easy to hook it up to my fuel rail.

[hotrod 80]

Yes 93 Exxon pump gas set up aiming for 12.5

[hotrod 80]

I am set up .79 to .81 lambda at wide open . Idle is at .87-.88 cruse is .74ish . I pulled the power valve out and squared it up and it is consistant until after dark when the dew falls , then it slows down a lot . still working on this . As far as storage goes it's easy . I add a piece of tape with the time , date and location with % value . after 3 to 4 weeks I dump it in my wives explorer , all gone . I have sprayed on it and it is a bit lean .84 and rock solid their. Probably need to add some fuel to the spray tune up .