My Experience With E85

[PSYCHO XRT]

Hi guys,

I have been requested by a few members now on my thoughts and experience with this fuel so I thought id do a small write up which might help out fellow colleagues..

IMHO, if anyone is thinking of going down the path of using E85 I would strongly recommend to get the conversion done properly from the beginning as this will work out cheaper in the long run and save alot of unwanted hassles for the owner and tuner. Some of the bits required for a proper conversion are bigger fuel lines, compatible fuel filter (earls as I mentioned before), surge tank, twin 044 pumps, fuel pressure regulator, dual feed rail, 1000cc injectors and a one way check valve to avoid starting issues...

PROS: Heaps of gains in power went from 329rwkw to 404rwkw, could have gained heaps more if I had a bigger turbo.

Smoothness at idle and while driving is like factory.

Its extremely good for the enviroment inc my exhaust tip.

Hardly produces any carbon dioxide meaning my engine internals stay clean resulting in crystal clear looking engine oil.

Cheap to fill up @ $1.04 a litre. For once I can use my shopping vouchers to get an extra 4c off a litre meaning I pay a $1 a litre which is damn good value for this fuel.

CONS:

Hardware wise dont mind the sound of the twin 044 pumps but it can get quite annoying in due course especially when driven in and out of your driving as it echoes like hell and getting strange looks from the neighbours

Worsened fuel economy. As expected Ethanol burns quicker than petrol meaning I now get an ave of 332km, sometimes 380 as opposed to 480km with 100ron which isnt as bad as I first thought.

Overall, im happy with the conversion and thouroughly recommend E85 for ppl thinking of going down this path. Performance wise its unreal, pulls harder and lasts longer than a 12yr old! Even the flamin fuel smells nice, lucky I didnt mistake it with white wine..lol

On a serious note, if your one of those guys (tightasses) who's always worried about bad fuel economy than simply stay away from it as a full tank will not last a week if driven as your daily. Im lucky I dont live too far awawy from the bowser but for those who do, well you'll just have to wait your turn. Sorry...

So far, its all good from my end and I hope for those who go down this path thourougly enjoy this experiecne as it has brought a big smile to me amd my pride and joy.

Knowing me, I bet I've missed something but meh that's my 2 cents on E85.

Over and out.

[Henz]

Thanks for the write up, I've got a few more questions too.

If the tanks halffull and you top it up with 98, do you just flash the 98 tune and it's roses?

What's the costs for all the hardware to convert it?

[Dillz]

I doubt it.

So could you do the figures for us San, and see if it's viable? E.g on par cost wise with 98 or at least how much more expensive it is?

[phantom6]

good thread man :D 10/10

I make regular trips anyway for my car with bp98, 330ks use 3/4 full tank. I never let it go under last quarter mark, yes I have a surge tank but just never leave it empty. I fill ruffly 1 n 1/2 tanks a week. so I will be filling up 2-2n half time a week on E85. I'll keep in touch guyz.

[spoolxr6]

Why do you need the bigger rail, injectors and dual pumps? Do you need more ethanol per stroke as oppossed to petrol? Thanks for the write up.

[possum]

Yep you need to use more ethanol to create the same amount of energy as 98 would hence the need for bigger fuel systems and also less economical! But more power!

[_John_]

I`ll weigh in. I have a standard Process West Surge tank, single pump and no check valve - anti drain back. It winds over a second or 2 longer before it starts when cold but generally about the same once its warm. I thought it would piss me off but it doesn`t. Much.

I have stock fuel rail and reg. So set up costs for me were really, nil depending on how you wanna look at it. I wanted a surge tank anyway but to be sure I beleive you do need one. If nothing else it makes draining you fuel tank easier.

As the Op states, the car runs beautifully and due to the added timing allowed and its just frickin` awesome to drive even when you`re not humilating some schmuck in a GTS.

It smells noice and no soot in ya tailpipe.

its obviously not for everyone. Not all the time. Though it could be if that makes sense. You need to talk to people and do some research which I bet you will do if you are sitting at a computer reading this now.

It`s interesting. It`s different. It allowed my car to make 57 more horsepower which is a very noticeable gain I might tell you.

[SuckSqueezeBangBlow]

this is a spreadsheet I whipped up.

I think depending on the tune you can save money using e85.

e85 calculators.xls

[PSYCHO XRT]

  On 25/12/2010 at 11:08 AM, henz said:

Thanks for the write up, I've got a few more questions too.

If the tanks halffull and you top it up with 98, do you just flash the 98 tune and it's roses?

What's the costs for all the hardware to convert it?

You can basically add and mix fuels all u like as long as the oct ratings meets the criteria of the tune. You would obviously need to have the hardware to support this but as suggested by my tuner the best way for me to go was having a separate tune for each fuel as both fuels/bowsers are available near my home. Having a few jerry cans and filling them up at the same time is great insurance too, afterall you wouldnt want to waste a drop of this fuel going back and forth to the bowser when you can simply fill up at home in your garage.. lol

This exercise isnt as cheap as ppl think unless you already have some of the hardware bits on your car. For anyone starting from scratch the hardware alone can cost anywhere between 3.5k to 3.8k. If your handy with some tools than you can save yourself a great portion of labr costs whereas if you dont have the time as I did then add that plus a full tune and that's enough to make a person think twice about the conversion...... I could have saved a bit of $$$ and installed some of the bits myself but didnt have the time hence getting it all done from my tuner. I dont re-gret going down this path as I've always wanted to run my car on E85 and after months of saving im glad I did as im loving every bit of this conversion. Well worth it IMHO.

OH forgot to add, got to love when a guy working at the bowser said, you know we can do the full conversion for $600.00 :roflmbo:

Edited 26/12/10 12:07 AM by PSYCHO XRT

[Panda Eyes]

I have been running a 50/50 e85/98 ron tune for months now. I already had a pw surge tank and 60lb dekkas, but the rest of the fuel system is stock. so essentially it cost me a jerry can of e85 and the cost of the tune to change to ethanol.

power increase is excellent as it can cope with extra timing which in an xr6t means ALOT of extra power. mine is held back a little though as the ba rods are not up to the task as much as later model ones, so that limited the amount of timing the tuner would dial in, just for safety.

the down side for me is the closest place I can get it from is 45mins away. so whenever im going to town I take 7 jerry cans and fill em all. with a 50/50 mix it lasts 6 tank fulls, so not too bad...

I also reccomend running e85, just have a 98 tune in the flash so if it is not available, your not inconvenienced.

enjoy!