ok, i was looking around on the red site and saw that some were looking into running full E85 in their SRT's. what is the final word on this? i know that the "tuner" market is making great power and that the Fed Gov is offering up to $500 tax credit until 2009 for switching over. GotStroke? i know you were asking about this on the red site, what'd you find out?
There has been much discussion and even know a guy who has converted his 300SRT8 to E-85. http://www.rolloutedition.com/ Call Leo and tell him I sent you.
You're going to need about 30% more fuel flow capacity to run straight E85 and you're going to fill up more frequently as well. Meaning if you want to run straight E85 you're going to need to upgrade your injectors and anything rubber in the fuel system (seals/lines). If we had forced induction we could take advantage of the ~110 octane E85 affords however since we don't and only have 10.4:1 static C/R it's not going to do much for us--in fact according to Dave/B&G it could actually hurt power. I tried running 1-2 gallons of E85 mixed in with my regular Shell 93 for a few tanks a while back. I noticed no real difference in STKR or performance.
Anyone really interested in E85 tunes should look up [email protected] He may have done more E85 tunes than anyone in the land. Hes the man responsible for those cars that were making well over 1100rwhp on the Dynomax Power to the Wheels tour. I cant imagine losing power if the car is tuned properly for use with E85, as he sees gains of up to 30+ rwhp on most late model vehicles that he converts. Also, the fuel system is already up to par, as most all gas you can buy in the US has some % of ethanol blended in already. You can also find alot of useful info on rune85.com Thanks Mike
So here we are with another example of the positive benefits of E85, can someone tell me when it will be sold in mass in the state of Florida????? You can be on any side of the arguement you want, but I come from a farming family and have NEVER understood why we pay farmers to not grow corn when we could be increasing the market for a corn based fuel.
Most gas has a max of 10-15% ethanol added, which is the inverse of E85. Losing power on a 10.4:1 motor makes sense when swtiching to E85 or even running 104-110 since the burn time is increased and there isn't enough compression to take advantage of it. Run 35 degrees of timing @ wot on a Hemi with E85 and it won't make any more power than 30 degrees on straight 93. The more efficient a motor is overall, the less advance timing it needs to make optimal power. Again, forced induction is obviously a different story. Last, our fuel systems are not up to par for running straight E85. Anything rubber needs to be replaced or the alcohol will dry and crack it and larger capacity injectors are needed for anyone with even bolt-on mods (I'm making 400rw with stock longblock N/A). Even the DCX engineers, as full of shit as they are most of the time, agree on this. You can see the effects of higher alcohol content fuels (or even those lacking oil ala VP race gas) when tearing apart racing engines that run on a spec fuel such as 100 oct for NMRA PS/FS. The combusition chambers and valve seats get pitted to all hell unless you spray WD40 into the TB at idle after running the motor/before shutting down.
A Tahoe ran for almost 120,000+miles with no FFV components using 'almost' exclusively E85 with no issues. Leo seems to have been running this for some time now. Wonder how his 300 has held up thus far.
If his power levels were stock then his injector sizing was probably ok, however, the rubber components of his fuel system are probably hurting, badly.
Another thing to keep in mind is that although E85 is cheaper than 93 octane (locally by 50-60 cents per gallon) since you're not getting as many miles per gallon due to E85s lower energy content vs. gasoline, you're not saving money.
Again, the PCM already has flex fuel programming in it, so the fuel system should be up to par...it is on most late model GM and Ford vehicles whether or not they are flex fuel equipped from the factory. In most areas where it is readily available, the miles per dollar comes out ahead of gas....comparing miles per gallon is not an accurate representation of the possible cost savings. Thanks Mike
I read on a few sites, yet don't know how reliable they are, that from 18-24 months from (well, this was 4 months ago now) E85 is projected to drop to 75% the cost of REGULAR gas. Now this would make more of a difference. Of course, other ethanol blends are already in the works and from different sources as well...time will tell...but the more choices the better. At least, I hope.
Yes but the rest of the fuel system isn't. Actually that's not true Mike. Dollars spent per miles driven is the only accurate method to compare, and E85 loses even to 93 octane. How else would you compare?
To answer your question I truly cant see any positive benefits of E85, if you were to come visit me you would see an E85 factory on every corner, but with that said numerous plants are and will be shutting down as soon as the government (we American tax payers) stop funding and supporting all the E85 plants. With corn prices as high as they are making E85 is no cheaper than the fuel we have been running for years. Around here E85 is nowhere near 50 to 60 cents cheaper. More like 10 to 15 which to me is not even worth talking about
Hmm. Can't it also be made from sugar cane in a more efficient manner? Also, at 105 octane, a projected price drop, potential Govt. rebates on conversion kits and ffv purchases, reduced emissions (even running long tubes, h/c/i) AND less reliance on Middle Eastern oil supplies...it seems like a way better choice than regular gasoline..but of course, these are only things I've read about it and have no direct experience with it.
hmm. ive heard of vehicles getting nothing more then a reflash to run e85 and after 100,000miles everything comes out good to go, including fuel system. is this phony bologna?
Basically what I was saying in my previous post is that without government funding, and the price of corn continuing to rise....E85 is not a good choice. I base my opinion on the fact that fuel is already too expensive, and if things continue to go the way they are, with crop prices rising, and the government sooner or later pulling out, E85 is easily going to surpass the price of fuel from the middle east, which will then shut down numerous E85 plants... Like Mike said a lot of the newer vehicles which dont necessarily state they are E85 compatible ARE compatible, to a certain extent....so conversion kits would not be necessary. I believe like stated above, majority of the newer vehicles could simply be tuned and be safe for E85
I do agree...from what I've learned, E85 in it's current manufacturing process and blend is not the most efficient fuel to run vehicles or to process but it really sucks that the government would consider abandoning it when what they should do is support dramatic proliferation of any and all kinds of alternative fuels that share the beneficial characteristics of of E85. Isn't a methanol blend also gaining popularity? M## something...
Well the money that the government is using to support all the E85 is the same money that we Americans are giving them every single day of the week....With that said I believe there are numerous things out there, that could use both government attention, and money...E85 not ranking on the top of my list
You got that right, lets not forget that the tractors and combines harvesting this corn burn Diesel at a rate of over 20 gallons/hr. :beer:
