Doe anyone run E-85 on a Regular basis?

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Originally Posted By: harbor
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)."


I'm not far from you and I have no problem with cold starts. I also have my cold start values richer than stock.
 
I was proposed to change the fuel filter after couple of fuelings of E85 (ethanol will clean the fuel tank & lines and this dirt will clog the filter).
After 750 km with up to 40% E85 in the gas + approx. 22,000 miles gas (95): it was waste of money to change...
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Originally Posted By: zoli
I was proposed to change the fuel filter after couple of fuelings of E85 (ethanol will clean the fuel tank & lines and this dirt will clog the filter).
After 750 km with up to 40% E85 in the gas + approx. 22,000 miles gas (95): it was waste of money to change...
smirk.gif



Well, you gave us some pretty pictures, anyhow. I always wondered what the European fuel filters would look like opened up. I wish the North Americans and Japanese would use them. Heck, the old Audi's fuel filter was bigger than the oil filter!
 
Koenigsegg CCXR anyone? 1100hp on e85, 850 on high octane gas.
Originally Posted By: beechcraftted
Yep.

Use it every fill up on the flex Suburban and a 50/50 mix in the non-flex Silverado. My total must be over 1,100 gallons by now, as there are 2 stations near me. Think dollars per mile, not miles per gallon.

Although E-85 is hated by many on this site, I can report no operational issues at all. I am neither a tree hugger, nor a corn farmer, but the US is now using gasoline at a rate of 3.7 million gallons per DAY, I figure an alternative has to be found sooner or later. I dunno' if this is that alternative, but it works for me.

Many engines optimized for GASOLINE are being run on ethanol. Imagine if the engines were optimized for ethanol (i.e. higher compression, more agressive spark timing, modified valve timing, etc). There are many reports of the turbo and supercharger guys just loving this stuff.
 
Originally Posted By: zoli
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?

Last one: 45% E85 in the tank, but approx. 15% higher consumption; little bad, but still good cold/warm start-up + great torque! Only 1 negative remark: the high mile-aged oxygen sensor tries to handle well this mixture, so several tests are running during the cruising (open/closed loop); will be difficult to pass the local EPA (OBD) test with this mixture at the end of March...
 
Just a quick calculation cost efficient point of view - full tank:
E85 = bio-ethanol with 15% gasoline (octane # is around 105)
EN96 = pure gas, octane #95

100% EN95
Gasoline: 410 HUF per L x 65 L with EN95 = 26650 HUF (USD 120)
Consumption = 8.5 L per 100 km (measured by board computer)
Mileage = 765 km per tank
Specific fuel cost = 3485 HUF per 100 km = USD 15.7 per 100 km = USD 25.1 per 100 miles

or

55% EN95 + 45% E85
E85: 329 HUF per L x 30 L = 9870 HUF
EN95: 410 HUF per L x 35 L with EN95 = 14350 HUF
24220 HUF per tank
Consumption = 9.8 L per 100 km (measured by board computer)
Mileage = 663 km per tank
Specific fuel cost = 3651 HUF per 100 km = USD 16.4 per 100 km = USD 26.2 per 100 miles

Sorry to see, but it's not economic for my vallet, but environment friendly + much more BHP!!!
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Hi there. I figured I'd do the same math for Finland at the moment. 98RON gas average price 1.67eur/l, E85 1.08eur/l.

GAS 8.5l/100km*1.67eur/l= 14.19eur/100km = 30.43USD/100m.
E85
12.3l/100km*1.08eur/l= 13.28eur/100km = 28.46USD/100m.

The 8.5 consumption for gasoline may be a little optimistic as I don't have long term data for it. 12.3 is an average over approx 20k kms on pure E85. Plus the fact that the ethanol comes from waste feedstocks. I'm not complaining
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With a 40% ethanol blend my car's computer had to add 15% more fuel to compensate. When it's down in the 20% ethanol range it's neglible. there is a threshold to play with in nonE85 cars and it's about 25% as posted numerous times from several people out there.
 
I have had my 2013 Silverado 1500 5.3L flex fuel for two month. It got the initial fill from the dealer with E10 and a subsequent two fills with E10. Drive primarily two lane hard top, gravel rural roads, with a little in town thrown in. Rolling hills on all of it. The average mpg for all of that was 17 mpg. Haven't had a serious road trip to see what max mpg would be.

Since the first 3 fills, the pickup has been on an exclusively E85 diet. Before the first fill of E85, we ran the tank down to fumes to get an accurate idea of mpg with E85. Several tankfuls of E85 and the average mpg is around 14 mpg over the same roads as I mentioned in the first paragraph.

Now, Regular is currently going for $3.46 in my area. That equates to ballpark $.20 a mile fuel cost using regular fuel at the 17 mpg I mentioned.

For the E85, it currently is priced at $2.49 in my area, and that equates to just over 17.5 cents per mile cost at the E85 mpg number of 14.

So.... no brainer. The pickup will live on a diet of E85 until the cost per mile shifts the other way.
 
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.


That is what I would like... an engine built with compression and other features to take advantage of the higher ethanol and turn in better performance and mpg numbers that are capable with ethanol. I would like to have a pure E85 ONLY engine. We are swimming in ethanol in my area and a proper engine with E85 would be a killer combination.
 
Originally Posted By: kaboom10
I have no idea who would retune your vehicle. My program is for my Ford. Use injectors at least 35% larger than stock.


A simple sct tuner will advance timing and add fuel for running e85

Originally Posted By: DaryleWB
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've gotta say I'm impressed with those e3 plugs. Made a noticeable difference in the mustang for sure. I think I'm going to stick with them.
 
Originally Posted By: zoli
Sorry to see, but it's not economic for my vallet, but environment friendly + much more BHP!!!
lol.gif



A matter of opinion, certainly not a fact. More downsides than up, even in a vehicle that can 'kind of' utilize it.

I LOVE the way my flex fuel 6.0 runs on E85 but after a lot of research I am no fan of alcohol in an IC engine. Too many BAD exhaust byproducts that end in "zene"!
 
Added 9.4gals for 50/50 mixture E85 to wife's '12 2.4 Equinox.
Was getting firm 29+MPG with reg 87 E10. Ran 200 miles, filled back up, 24.85MPG. Minus 4MPG, at 99.99% highway driving at 65MPH.
No Thanks. That's pitiful, and it didn't run any better.
 
Impressive but expected. I once put a gallon of either acetone or toluene in with my gasoline and felt a marked difference. Alcohol makes great race gas so when it was going to be 85% I expected something. I have modified the stock tune to use it with the higher amount of alcohol changing stoic and timing. It's a day and night difference.
 
You don't know which one? If it was alcohol, what kind? Where did you get it? And you put a gallon in with how much?

Looking back at some of your previous your posts you put a lot in your engines. Amsoil fuel system conditioner, Rislone, acetone, alcohol, Auto-Rx, zMax, Lucas - what else? What are you getting from all that?

Originally Posted By: kaboom10
Impressive but expected. I once put a gallon of either acetone or toluene in with my gasoline and felt a marked difference. Alcohol makes great race gas so when it was going to be 85% I expected something. I have modified the stock tune to use it with the higher amount of alcohol changing stoic and timing. It's a day and night difference.
 
kschachn said:
You don't know which one? If it was alcohol, what kind? Where did you get it? And you put a gallon in with how much?

Looking back at some of your previous your posts you put a lot in your engines. Amsoil fuel system conditioner, Rislone, acetone, alcohol, Auto-Rx, zMax, Lucas - what else? What are you getting from all that?

If I knew which one I put in I would have said so. It was near a full tank of gas that a 57 chevy holds. Maybe 16 gals.?
I got it from work when I worked at Holley carb. We got into a tremendously large gasket replacement program and thought I would try this concoction with an experimental gasket. I got the try this bug from my dad who tried things. I try the same liquids in family members cars along with mine. Just because it doesn't work in mine it doesn't mean it doesn't work as I get more results from the family than I do for myself in some instances. That's one of the fun jobs at Holley seeing what worked and how much better. Same with McCord gasket as they had NASCAR parts we would try in our race car or street hot rod. I am an experimenter.
 
Originally Posted By: kaboom10
Impressive but expected. I once put a gallon of either acetone or toluene in with my gasoline and felt a marked difference. Alcohol makes great race gas so when it was going to be 85% I expected something. I have modified the stock tune to use it with the higher amount of alcohol changing stoic and timing. It's a day and night difference.


Funny you mention acetone and toluene. Both are over 120 octane and they will both reduce the surface tension of gasoline which enables the gas to atomize faster and burn more completely which helps use more of the energy contained in the gasoline.
I routinely mix acetone and tc-w3 and add it to every tank of every gasoline burning engine I own or maintain. The engine runs more smoothly with less vibration and the vehicle feels more responsive.
My lawn mower really chews through tall grass easier and bogs less with my Frankenbrew in the fuel.
1 quart acetone per 100 litres fuel and 5-6 ounces tc-w3.
 
Quote:
Funny you mention acetone and toluene. Both are over 120 octane and they will both reduce the surface tension of gasoline which enables the gas to atomize faster and burn more completely which helps use more of the energy contained in the gasoline.
I routinely mix acetone and tc-w3 and add it to every tank of every gasoline burning engine I own or maintain. The engine runs more smoothly with less vibration and the vehicle feels more responsive.
My lawn mower really chews through tall grass easier and bogs less with my Frankenbrew in the fuel.
1 quart acetone per 100 litres fuel and 5-6 ounces tc-w3.

I know very little about the why of why that would work but since it, the acetone, evaporated so fast I knew it had to do something good. What exactly is tc-w3? Love to have that in the tank when I hit the drag strip.
 
Originally Posted By: kaboom10
Quote:
Funny you mention acetone and toluene. Both are over 120 octane and they will both reduce the surface tension of gasoline which enables the gas to atomize faster and burn more completely which helps use more of the energy contained in the gasoline.
I routinely mix acetone and tc-w3 and add it to every tank of every gasoline burning engine I own or maintain. The engine runs more smoothly with less vibration and the vehicle feels more responsive.
My lawn mower really chews through tall grass easier and bogs less with my Frankenbrew in the fuel.
1 quart acetone per 100 litres fuel and 5-6 ounces tc-w3.

I know very little about the why of why that would work but since it, the acetone, evaporated so fast I knew it had to do something good. What exactly is tc-w3? Love to have that in the tank when I hit the drag strip.


Tc-w3 is ashless 2 stroke oil. I use it as an upper cylinder lube.
Xylene works good too and is cheaper than acetone and toluene. Adding that stuff made my nitrous hits harder with the same jetting.
I use my home brew in every tank of fuel I burn. I've found that the cost is minimal compared to how much better my engines run.
I really notice it in my mower,generators and air compressors. There's no lag when draw is applied.
I've found that any more than 100-1 ratio is a waste since that seems to be the tipping point.
Nice to read about someone else using it and seeing positive results.
 
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