Doe anyone run E-85 on a Regular basis?

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hey way, careful with the mix. It helps to have an AFR gauge and something that can read you short/long term fuel trims like scangauge II, whenever you play with blends.

By the way it's not your head playing tricks, it's the E85/boosted combo powa!
 
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I'd love to get an E85 capable Holden Commodore - but there are only a few E85 pumps and only in the capital cities, none in the country.
 
I've been using E85 in my '88 VW Vanagon (Whitelighting conversion kit) for about 5000 miles now. I get about 10-15% less MPG than with E10 87 octane. I get 21 MPG on pump gas and about 18-19 on summer E85 (which is actually closer to E95.)
 
Originally Posted By: beanoil
Regular unleaded 3.98 . E85 is 3.19 . There is no contest. The flexfuel Grand Caravan gets E85.


At that point I'd at least consider it. Here in the Maryland the difference is about 15-20 cents.

I got a tank of E85 exactly once when I was returning a truck we had rented to the local Enterprise. It had the flex fuel logo on the back, and all they cared about was that the tank was full.
 
If it wasn't for the generous subsidies enjoyed by the ethanol industry, their product would cost more than gasoline and no one would buy it.
 
I've gone about 6000 miles in my '88 Vanagon using E85 (with a WhiteLightning conversion module.)

I get about 15% less range on a tank, but do get more power and the engine seems to like it better than it does petrol.

If your tank has a lot of crud in it, you may need to change your fuel filter after you run some through. It will clean things out very well.
I've moved to a place without an E-85 pump within about 100 miles or so. Haven't used it since.
 
I run it 100% of the time. It can be used as a race gas also. I have tuned the ECM for it also. Truck is a whole lot more fun now to drive. This is on a nonflex fuel vehicle. Love the cold/hot starts.
 
Trial period: last 3 fuelings with 20, 25 and 33% E85. No negative effect, but better acceleration at WOT. Max. 40% recommended without any modification.
E85 is cheaper like gas by 17% and available very well at countryside in Hungary.
Consumption is worst by approx. 5-10%.
No fuel filter change - did anybody check the changed filter for dirt?
 
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IIRC 35% is the max limit you can use without retuning. If you are running 100% E85 don't go adding gasoline to it. I tried it with my E85 tune and the truck didn't like it. If you have a flexfuel vehicle it would probably be ok.
 
Originally Posted By: kaboom10
...If you are running 100% E85 don't go adding gasoline to it. I tried it with my E85 tune and the truck didn't like it. If you have a flexfuel vehicle it would probably be ok...

It's not FFV - but thinking on to tune it; gas price now hits the sky here: USD 6.4 per US Gallon
 
I thought so. Mine isn't either. I have a tuning program and larger injectors to cover the larger volume needed to keep from going lean. It's like race gas and I've increased the spark and fuel. Tire burner now.
 
Originally Posted By: kaboom10
...I have a tuning program and larger injectors to cover the larger volume needed to keep from going lean. It's like race gas and I've increased the spark and fuel. Tire burner now.

My target as well!!!
cheers3.gif
 
If anyone ever puts a station with an E85 pump in my area, then I'm planning on building my engine for E85 only, allowing me to negate many of the perceived drawbacks of running E85.

Hopefully they do soon. The engine is going strong, but it has a lot of miles on it; hard miles. For many of them, the van was not well taken care of. The PO abused it, neglected it and didn't talk to it. Rebuild time is coming.
 
Originally Posted By: DaryleWB
If anyone ever puts a station with an E85 pump in my area, then I'm planning on building my engine for E85 only, allowing me to negate many of the perceived drawbacks of running E85.

Hopefully they do soon. The engine is going strong, but it has a lot of miles on it; hard miles. For many of them, the van was not well taken care of. The PO abused it, neglected it and didn't talk to it. Rebuild time is coming.

And what are you specifically going to do to build the motor for E85? Besides tuning I have only installed larger injectors and E3 spark plugs. Original engine has never been opened up.
 
Higher compression ratio, most importantly, to take advantage of the increased thermal efficiency that ethanol is capable of. I'd like to get to 13.5:1. A friend of mine has an aircooled type 1 1915 that is just producing power and torque swimmingly at that CR. If an aircooled can do it, I figure I can with a water cooled...

I'm also planning to retrofit solid lifters, because they are make more sense and satisfy my sense of involvement and an Engal 110 Cam.

I have not found that extra capacity injectors are needed. The stock injectors on the 2.1 WBX seem more than capable of dealing with the extra capacity that E85 demands.
 
Sounds like a good plan. I'm using additional spark and A/F to take advantage of the high octane. Still I would go at least 35% larger on the injectors and that doesn't cover the horse power increase from the CR jump. Flow is based on the HP produced.
 
I do use E3 plugs and absolutely am thrilled by them. My engine is happy with the stock injectors as it is. I expect I'll be fine with them after the rebuild.

My goal is not increased HP. The current flow, even in my stock configuration (with the additional FI pulse provided by the White Lightning kit) provides plenty of power... more than stock. I am driving a bus. I wouldn't want to be too fast. That would just be unnatural.
 
I tried a few E-85 tankfuls at $2.99/gal from Meijers, but when the temps recently dropped, my Pentastar 3.6L began to really struggle with cold starts. Rather than get the engine block heater recommended by Chrysler, I switched back to regular unleaded gas and the problem resolved itself.

Here's the blurb on E85 from the owners manual:

"The characteristics of E-85 fuel make it unsuitable for use
when ambient temperatures fall below 0°F (-18°C). In the
range of 0°F (-18°C) to 32°F (0°C), you may experience an
increase in the time it takes for your engine to start, and
a deterioration in driveability (sags and/or hesitations)
until the engine is fully warmed up.
NOTE: Use of the engine block heater (if equipped) is
beneficial for E-85 startability when the ambient temperature
is less than 32°F (0°C)."
 
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