Totally agree with this statement. Thank you.

 

Just to be perfectly clear I am obviously a huge proponent of E85 - My car runs like Buckaroo Banzai across the 8th dimension on it. It's pretty slick. The extra volume required helps cool cylinder temps, and helps spool turbos quicker. The evaporative qualities make intercoolers less important, as it pulls more heat out of the air/fuel swirl before ignition than standard gasoline.

Yeah, it's a "little" corrosive - the fear of Ethanol in the 1980s was real. These days all fuel system components have been redesigned to be pretty much impervious to the stuff. Viton o-rings, etc. You're not going to have a complete meltdown in a 997.

That being said, there is not as much safety margin on E85 as there is on C16/Q16/Import. The line between having a good time, and having a bad time is narrower. I'm not trying to discourage people from using E85 - on the contrary I encourage it with enthusiasm. Just don't get carried away and think it's completely infallible. You can run 5 second 60-130s with a completely stock fuel system other than injectors with it. On stock turbos even.

Call Cobb and get an AP, and hold on...

 

I've been running it for about 6 yrs prob 30 k miles & just had some recent issues & had to replace my upgraded fuel pumps & some relays associated with the fuel system relatively minor stuff & well worth it considering how much i've saved in race gas of those yrs.

 

Great points Rix!


I still need to conduct the acidic test on this fuel mix to verify that it truly eats the seals that we have..


I happen to already have the Cobb itch. Thanks Mitch!

 

Excellent Feedback with time to back it up.


I know you have been pushing much more HP with your setup. Is it E85, or the lack of pump capacity due to your setups requirements? Did you recently do something to your car to require these changes?


Thanks again for your input. These are the facts that most of us need to understand.

 

No started with Proto e85 tune & 83 lb injectors only prob for 1st 3 yrs then upgraded full fuel system with 1000 cc injectors & Cobb tune about 2 to 3 yrs ago & just recently had to replace the above mentioned items.

 

I have the 1000cc Injector Dynamic setup with a Cobb tune also. I guess that you were a true early adapter to E85.


What symptoms did you see or experience prior to these changes and what do you think brought you to this decision to change?


Fuel pump due to its failure to deliver or physical failure?


Relays, not sure on this one. Maybe ambient air humidity?


Thanks again for your valuable input.

 

E85 is the best power to $$$ "mod" I have seen in these cars

Tune the torque down a little in the sub 4000 rpm range and keep timing 13* or so in the same area and do not go for crazy nos and a bolt on car with E85 = another car with better turbos

 

With all the E85 knowledge bais on this thread, I feel that I should comment on a recent E70 Consequence I encountered.


I recently ran "Miller Motorsport," to only find that the nearest E85 station was 1 1/2 hrs. away.


Although the location upset me, the gas content upset me even more. The stations true ethanol content really had an effect to my car. I had this doubt at the track after one session.


I was able to test the fuel once returning home to find that it rated at E70. What a blindfolded difference!


Word of advice, Test your fuel!

 

@elite1 this is why tuners that have been around tuning 'pump' E85 won't tune you for strictly E85. In a system that doesn't have flex fuel integration where you can calibrate for varying levels of ethanol accordingly, such as the OEM DME, you always tune for a blend anywhere from E60-E70 to alleviate risk. Power gains out of ethanol past E50-E60 blends are negligible in most cases anyways.

Dzenno@PTF

 

I intentionally tuned my car for "E85" with at least 3 gallons of 93 in the thank before I filled up the rest with E85. This takes the variance from the pump out of the equation. Frankly, there's not much power to be made going from about E60 to E85 anyway. Tuning it on the edge just increases your dependence on testing and having a stable supply of actual 85% ethanol.

 

Good thread. Seems like to me that flex fuel sensor is a must with ethanol due to the fluctuation in alcohol volume at the pump. From the sounds of it...a tune that cannot adapt fueling needs and timing puts you at a higher risk than without.

That being said, I still am a little apprehensive about switching over to full time E85 and I have the flex fuel sensor, 1100cc's injectors, huge fuel lines, e85 pumps and Pro-EFI. My concerns are more with the fuel lines, in-tank fuel lines, oil changes, Fuel filter, etc.

For example - I am running a 10-micron paper element fuel filter...which should be great for filtration of ethanol, however, I have heard both sides of the argument on paper elements breaking down. Some say that paper breaks down, however, GM runs paper elements on their flex fuel vehicles and have no issues at all with ethanol.....so it's stuff like that keeping me from making the change. And running a stainless 60-100 micron fuel filter doesn't seem like enough filter to me.

I did research on my internal tank fuel hoses, however, I'm still a little worried about them breaking down after time sitting in ethanol. Same thing with the wiring for the fuel pumps....I have seen some issues with the wiring insulation breaking down with ethanol (even wiring made for ethanol) and exposing wiring so that really worries me as well. I've been thinking about building some aluminum tubing for the internal fuel tank lines for extra safety.

All of my buddies who run e85 don't seem to worry as much as I do about it...lol. And they love it.

Scot

 

The OEs build cars to run on E85. If using the right materials I think your concerns are unjustified..

 

use weldon 100 micron and 40 micron stainless steel filters in line. you can remove them open them and clean and then reinstall them. bullet proof filters

 

Hey Steve! Well why do that if my 10 micron filter (although be it paper element) can do the job...I say the lower the micron the better for E85. Assuming the paper doesn't start to deteriorate. I'll use it and see how it goes...if it appears to breaking down on the E..I'll move to the stainless element. I need to quit slacking and get the e85 tune on the car!

Here's the filter I'm running...btw. Except with the paper element.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/aaf-all40218