Differnce Between United E85 And Drum E85?

[Bigkeels]

I can't see any negative in getting an e85 tune. There's 19 united servos in Victoria that sell it and all of the new stores getting built will have it.

[ratter]

At the risk of looking like I'm against E85, which I'm not, it's actually better for making power for the motor, there can be negatives, the short term is higher fuel useage, but it's normally cheaper so the numbers need to be worked out re the operating costs and the set up cost to ensure the fuel system can deliver enough fuel for the intended power. There are possibilities of long term damage to the fuel systems in these cars as the system is not designed for that much ethanol, time will tell how the Falcon fuel system will handle it.

[ebxmple]

Hi Mick,when you say possible long term damage to fuel systems,which components are you refferring to? Rubber lines? Plastic tank?? Im trying to gather all negatives and positives before going ahead with it,rather than just thinking about more power.

[Pazzo]

Intresting read this, I know alot of motorbike companys actually state in the owners handbook not to use any ethanol based petrol as ruins fuel systems. If traces are found total void of warranty

This is from my old R1 handbook

All current and previous models are NOT designed for any Ethanol Blened Fuels at any percentage,

ie[ E5 E10 E85 E100 ]. If any any Ethanol Blened Fuels are used, you may expereince fuel componet failure,deterioration and damge due to moistture in fuel. Any use and warranty will be voided.

Be intresting to see if it does happen to a car in the future on long term use.

[ratter]

All of the above, there are some corrosive properties associated with ethanol, which is one of the reasons it is not recommended by the manufacturers of our cars, the systems will handle E10 reliably and labeled as such.

Initially after converting to E85 you will need to replace your fuel filter immediately and then possibly every 500 klms to 1000 klms for a while until it stops becoming dirty.

Matty, are you VACC members at work, they have had a few informative articles about E85 in the last couple of years in their techtalks.

[Paulie2256]

I have also heard the ethanol will eat away at rubber and plastic parts not designed for it. I think for a daily it will be fine but if using ethanol in a car which sits in the shed the fuel system needs to be completely flushed after use. This could mean doing x amount of k's with 98.

Pazzo, I think it's a similar thing for bikes. The manufacturer knows bikes are more of a weekend toy so the ethanol will be doing damage if left for a period of time.

I remember when e10 first came out. If servos wanted to sell it they would need to change the hose at the pump.

Edited 25/04/12 02:56 AM by Paulie2256

[ratter]

Any possible damage is done from use, not sitting around, sitting around leads to phase separation or moisture absorption

[Pazzo]

I think Ratter is right Paulie, it's more the use than sitting in the tank on a bike. Couple of guys I spoke to also said the 1 time they used e10 on there bikes they had a few problems with starting, and idling.

[Paulie2256]

So the 2 biggest problems with ethanol is the potential corrosion of parts of the fuel system after long term use and phase seperation over a short period.

I think the ebay (test tube) testers people are buying aren't accurate enough when testing e85. They will tell you the ethanol to petrol ratio however they do not test the water content in the ethanol. Since the servos fuel tanks are not sealed there could be a significant amount of water in the fuel even though the test shows the correct ratio.

Am I on the right track now?

[ebxmple]

I think we do get those Tech Talk books Mick,will have to have a look..

I also remember that Ethanol was a big no no when it first came out.. Anything over 10% was not used..

Alot of people are going with the E85 now,so will see if any problems pop up.Its all good for the power gain,but dont want to lose the reliability that I have with BP 98,as its been flawless for years now. If I do go ahead with it,I will need to decide if to run on it all the time,or just the odd weeks for a bit of fun. Just the hassle of draining tanks etc becomes a pita.