E 85 Ethanol

[AleroDrime]

the amount of ethonol in regular gasoline is going up, and im wondering if thats ok for the ecotecs or do we need to worry about it

[Redog]

Maybe somebody else can chime in, but personally, i don't thnk so

[falloutboy]

A friend of mine (here in Germany) tested it out a few years ago.
at this time we normally had E5 - since February we have E10 - he tried it p until E85 - the car ran fine - except starting / cranking got more difficult. Till you had to try several times (about 3 or 4 times) to crank it with E85.
The fuel consumption shot up and after about two years he stopped it, cause the more amount of fuel needed diminished the price advantage.

If parts were seriously hurt - cant say, but I doubt that it did major harm.

but it worked - so you may try it for yourself

[Ttop191]

it's basically like what fallout boy said, they add ethanol to keep fuel prices down it will run with the ethanol, but just know that the car isn't tuned for it so it will run like crap and cause your mpg to go down...the added ethanol is also the main cause of build up on injectors causing them to stick...if you run e85, you will definitely damage components though because the characteristics of the fuels are totally different

[AleroB888]

it's basically like what fallout boy said, they add ethanol to keep fuel prices down it will run with the ethanol, but just know that the car isn't tuned for it so it will run like crap and cause your mpg to go down...the added ethanol is also the main cause of build up on injectors causing them to stick...if you run e85, you will definitely damage components though because the characteristics of the fuels are totally different

^??

almost totally contrary to my experience with E85

[Valley olds]

^ Maybe it helped you because you are boosted, and ethanol has a higher octane rating.

As far as I knew though, on an OEM engine, ethanol will yield approximately 20% more fuel consumption (not sure where I read it). Maybe a blend of ethanol and regular gasoline would help.

[AleroB888]

^ Maybe it helped you because you are boosted, and ethanol has a higher octane rating.

As far as I knew though, on an OEM engine, ethanol will yield approximately 20% more fuel consumption (not sure where I read it). Maybe a blend of ethanol and regular gasoline would help.

I said "almost" :) Mileage is lower, but in normal, everyday driving in the Summer I had no bad effects. I only used it for 2 tankfulls at first, but then tried mixing in various percents of gas as well. My main concern would be if the car had to sit for a long time with alcohol in the tank, but that's a concern for any fuel.

http://i493.photobucket.com/albums/rr299/Gflash01/Album%20-%202/E85vsgas.jpg?t=1299050908

[03Sleepr]

Maybe someone can verify this, not sure If its true. but what I've HEARD is e85 gives worse mileage because it doesn't burn as hot, but what if you added acetone (5oz for every 10 gallons)? would that not work like it does with gasoline? I tried acetone in my truck a while back and it made a noticeable difference.

and does anybody know of a good place to get some carbs to run e85?
stock carbs are 32 mm Mikuni CV carburetors, theres four of them.

[jayson_waltz]

if you run e85 on a engine not designed to use it, you can cause serious internal problems. I've seen it happen first hand before, not me thankfully. it really effed up the internals of a lincoln LS v8. Also, your not gonna be saving much at all if you do run it. The price you save filling up is almost totally offset by the economy you will lose. you might end up saving a buck a fillup after figuring it in, usually you will save less than that.

[AleroDrime]

The reason i asked is i herd once that on some engines all they need is diffferent fuel pump, also some cars are be afftected by the 10 or 15% mixture that is common now. Im all for renewable fuel but i know the auyo teacher to my highschool is driving 10 or so miles to find ethanol free gas( but hes normally that weird).

[kwhauck]

Maybe someone can verify this, not sure If its true. but what I've HEARD is e85 gives worse mileage because it doesn't burn as hot, but what if you added acetone (5oz for every 10 gallons)? would that not work like it does with gasoline? I tried acetone in my truck a while back and it made a noticeable difference.

and does anybody know of a good place to get some carbs to run e85?
stock carbs are 32 mm Mikuni CV carburetors, theres four of them.


correct, it burns cooler, but it has a higher octane rating.....

also it doesn't leave deposits or corrode like methanol would......

[Lucalare]

So wouldn't E85 be better in the long run then?

[kwhauck]

only if you want to race, otherwise ethanol technology is a wasted research, although the new algae ethanol is showing promising results........

[Lucalare]

So I'm guessing E85 doesn't like low compression engines?

[kwhauck]

No stock engines are really that low compression, unless factory boosted. It would be fine, but really like I said unless a better viable solution is made for the ethanol production, it really is a stupid, subsidized technology......

[AleroDrime]

Well im almost certain the ethanol percent of most gas is going to increase again under this "crunch"

[Alerojester]

$3.50 a gallon here for regular unleaded

[BlackJack]

Ethanol should not cause more build-up or damage just because it's ethanol. It will cause damage (but not buildup) because if your car isn't tuned for it, it will run lean. It requires much more fuel to get the same combustion from ethanol than gasoline.

A car that isn't programmed for "flex fuel" use isn't going to benefit very much from the ethanol because it won't be able to make adjustments as well off the O2 sensor input. The O2 reading for stoic in a gasoline engine ideally would be 14.7:1 under normal driving conditions. For ethanol it is somewhere around 9:1 or something rediculously crazy like that.

Now if your computer thinks it should be tuned for 14.7:1 according to readings at the O2 sensor, ideally, and you're putting in E85, it's going to constantly think your mixture is WAY out of whack and be trying to make adjustments accordingly.

That's my theory anyways.....

[XanderWiFi]

So is the 10-15% ethanol in gas these days bad for our cars or no?

[kwhauck]

no.......