Using E85 for Performance Improvement
in Non Flex Fuel Vehicles

This is for the guys running high compression ratios or super chargers, looking for more power, and getting it using a cheaper fuel. It is not directed to the use of E85 to get more miles for less money.

Turbomustangs.com along with Steve Cole Enterprises Inc has completed some preliminary testing with the environmentally friendly, cheaper than 91 Octane, E85 fuel blend.

First off what is E85? E85, is a motor fuel blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline to be used in flex-fuel vehicles. Ethanol is alcohol used in transportation fuels. It is a high-octane, liquid fuel, produced by the fermentation of plant sugars. In the United States, ethanol is typically produced from corn and other grain products, although in the future it may be economically produced from other biomass resources.

Benefits:
It has a motor octane rating of 104-108, it is also quite cold to the touch. It drops air intake temps dramatically, which is GREAT with boost. It is currently about 2.05 per gallon, while 93 Octane is approximately 3.10 a gallon. E85 is cleaner burning, emitting a lot less greenhouse gasses. It is also a renewable resource. To top it off it is made 100% within the confines of the USA.

Cons:
It takes more of this fuel to create the same energy as regular gasoline. Therefore your car will use more fuel and you will see a decrease of approximately 10-15% in fuel economy. To make big horsepower you will need more fuel pump, bigger lines and more injector, or a modified carb and larger jets. Many people state that the fuel is corrosive and it could have adverse effects on aluminum fuel rails, injector o-rings and fuel lines. But so far in 9 months of testing we have seen no such side effects.

Test Car
1995 Mustang GT street car, 331 cubic inch, custom twin turbo system with twin T70 p-trims w/ .58 AR, T56 tranny, solid roller: 242/236, .600 lift. Fuel System: 3, 255lph Walbro in line fuel pumps, 160# injectors. No alky, no nitrous, no ice on the intake, etc.

The first thing we did was add 40% fuel to the fuel map under WOT. We also added about 20% fuel in part throttle areas. We were tuning using a regular gasoline wideband air fuel ratio of 14:1 at part throttle. On the dyno the car made the best and cleanest power at 12:1.

At 6 psi of boost and 35 degrees total timing the car made 575rwhp from 6000rpm until 7500rpm. The power never fell off. We tried less timing but the car didn�t respond well and the power curve was sloppier. At 13psi and about 29 degrees of timing we made 872rwhp. At 20psi and ~24 degrees of timing we made 989rwhp. At 30 psi and 20 degrees of timing we ended up with 1066rwhp. The fuel injectors were at 75% duty cycle at this power level. Whereas with gasoline they were at about 55%. The fuel pressure was also slightly falling off at the top. The lack of a large power increase from 20-30psi is due to the tiny exhaust housings on this street car.

In total we made 16 dyno pulls and we never heard any detonation, but we did hit fuel cut a few times during testing. The next day the spark plugs were pulled and there may have been slight detonation in 2 of the cylinders because the porcelain was speckled. However the car still runs fine. This is definitely a very impressive fuel. I also want to point out how impressed I am with this solid roller setup. Sure it is slightly noisier than my tiny hydro cam. But you can�t argue with that sick power curve. At all boost levels the car makes peak power at 6000rpm and holds it solid until 7500rpm, I am sure it would pull up to 8000rpm no problem. Steve has also tried a larger hydraulic cam to get the same results but it just didn�t work. The cam was a comp extreme energy hyd roller: 248 @ .050 on int and exh, 114 lsa. The car also had larger 74mm turbos at the time but the power would peak at 6500rpm and drop like a rock, even with expensive valve springs. With the new small solid roller cam the car even lugs along at 1500rpm no problem and idles fine at 900rpm.

For more Supercharger and Turbo information,
visit The Turbo Forums

With a flip chip, and a E85 tune on 1 postion, and 93 octane on another, it would be very nice.

To learn more about E85 and to check for stations in your area please go here: http://www.e85refueling.com/

The 105 Octane of E85 is very nice, but with the added cooling effect it makes it perform more like 115 Octane Racing Gas. There are guys running 16-1 compression ratio NA with E85, and NO pre-igniton.

For Boosted applications, several guys are running 30 psi of boost, and not pulling as much timing as they would normally do with only 15 psi. Running E85 does not require as much timing to start with either, which is a added bonus. Most NA guys find they make the best power with about 4 degrees less timing. With that in mind, since mine made the best HP with 34 degrees total timing, I will go with 30 degrees locked timing, and pull a few degrees at about 10 psi to be safe till I get it all dialed in. In the end, I do not think I will need to pull any timing till at 15 psi.

Jay Lenno and Gale Banks on E85 for Power.
Click Here



Will using E85 cause damage to my engine?
Click Here



Some more Performance Related E85 Information
with information on using it with EFI Mustangs
http://www.e85mustangs.com/tuning.html




E85 is Environmentally Friendly

Using E85 does require a increase in the fuel system ability to feed the engine 45% more fuel at WOT to be safe. This means larger pumps, lines, regulators, injectors or carb circuits will most likely be needed if the engine had had many others mods done to it. Things to avoid in the fuel system are, mild steel, standard rubber, copper, non anodized aluminum, zinc, and other soft metals. Most cars built since around 1990s have removed theses from there fuel systems to handle the 10% of ethanol they started adding in many areas then. Some of the fuel injector O rings are still not compatable with high level of ethanol, and will need to be replaced.




E85 is 105 octane, and with the 85% Ethanol, it cools the intake air charge. Ethanol blends will run well at the compression's shown above. If the engine is carburated and has aluminum heads, you will most likely be able to go 1 step higher in compression.


For E85 information for you guys with Carbs, click here

Details on modifying a carb for Blow Through, click here


Complete Carb Tuning



For you guys with that are into Drag Racing ,
click here for E85 Racing information

The higher the compression is, or the more
boost your engine has, the more it will like E85


Getting it ready for the Strip

Full Project

View My Guestbook

Sign My Guestbook