Anybody thought about running (or is currently running) E85

CarMichael Angelo · Feb 20, 2012

1991notchbackLX said:
Mike, have you considered water/methanol injection? It cools the air intake charge significantly. The technology has come a long way, and it's worth looking into. I'm more than likely insulting your intelligence by suggesting something you know even more than I do about, but I figured I'd throw it out there anyhow.

I would if I was concerned about cooling an intake charge under boost or to try and keep detonation at bay, but that only works when a preset parameter triggers the injection. (Sitting in traffic w/ the A/C on is what I'm worried about). Running E85 would keep the engine cooler simply as a byproduct of it's usage. I know it's overkill for all other aspects of my combination.

N8Dogg98 · Feb 20, 2012

Wow no-one really answered your question because they were all too busy telling you how far they live from an e-85 station.

Mike, I've considered it for the same reasons you have. In my head I'm planning a high comp 4.6 2V build with something like 11 or 12:1 compression, ported PI heads, nasty cams, etc... I think it would help to know what your c/r is and what cams you're running. The reason I ask is you may not notice much benefit switching to E85 on a N/A car. For example, my tuner was only able to pick up about 5 RWHP going from an 87 octane tune to a 91 octane tune. I kept the 91 tune, but I really should switch back... 5 HP for $0.20 more per gallon hardly seems worth it. Ultimately without forced induction or high c/r the added benefit of the higher octane rating is not as easy to exploit. Something else to consider is cost. Government subsidies of ethanol will likely expire at some point in the near future. Once that happens the price per gallon of e85 will likely exceed the price per gallon of gasoline. You'd then be paying more for something that you need to use more of... not very economical.

CarMichael Angelo · Feb 20, 2012

N8Dogg98 said:
Wow no-one really answered your question because they were all too busy telling you how far they live from an e-85 station.

Mike, I've considered it for the same reasons you have. In my head I'm planning a high comp 4.6 2V build with something like 11 or 12:1 compression, ported PI heads, nasty cams, etc... I think it would help to know what your c/r is and what cams you're running. The reason I ask is you may not notice much benefit switching to E85 on a N/A car. For example, my tuner was only able to pick up about 5 RWHP going from an 87 octane tune to a 91 octane tune. I kept the 91 tune, but I really should switch back... 5 HP for $0.20 more per gallon hardly seems worth it. Ultimately without forced induction or high c/r the added benefit of the higher octane rating is not as easy to exploit. Something else to consider is cost. Government subsidies of ethanol will likely expire at some point in the near future. Once that happens the price per gallon of e85 will likely exceed the price per gallon of gasoline. You'd then be paying more for something that you need to use more of... not very economical.

Thank you. N8Dogg98. Nail on the head. Seems to me the price of E 85 is there already. It was waay cheaper when gas hit 4.00 the last time, but I expect that won't be the case this time. Like you, I'm already starting to consider the future, and when I get done w/ this, I'm calling Patriot Performance, (my stage 2 head/stage 1 cam supplier). AND, since I know the design engineer start a conversation about what I need to start building adapter plates to allow a 5.0 (or any 302) based intake manifold to fit this engine. If I can get that done, ultimately for me I'm gonna put a roots type Weiand 174 c.i. blower on that adapted manifold. And a forced induction system like that doesn't lend itself to inter or after cooling.

(I've always got some crazy s hit going on behind the curtains round here)

N8Dogg98 · Feb 20, 2012

Going off topic for a minute, any reason you wouldn't consider a tork tech or KB on your car? You'd have to convert to EFI, so maybe that's too much work, but the results would be worth it IMO. An intercooled Tork Tech or KB kit would provide a very driveable torquey combo and reliable 400 RWHP, and you certainly wouldn't need e-85 to obtain those power numbers.

Reiterating what I said earlier though, unless you're running at least 11:1 compression or are going for over 10-15 PSI of boost, there really isn't much of a reason to convert to e85. The reason it is such a hit with the import turbo 4 crowd is due to the fact that they're often times running 30PSI of boost and at that level E85 becomes a necessity. IIRC, the limit for an Evo on pump gas is around 20-25 PSI.

Rick 91GT · Feb 20, 2012

Mike, if you want to have the plates made you should look into www.pricemotorsports.com They make all the stuff for the Holley blowers and such. I have had custom stuff done in the past, Bill is a wealth of knowledge. If you need it drawn up in CAD let me know, Ill do it for ya!

srtthis · Feb 20, 2012

ACTUALLY I THINK FASTLANE MOTORSPORTS HAD A SET MADE ALREADY...

Anybody thought about running (or is currently running) E85

CarMichael Angelo

my rearend will smell so minty fresh,

N8Dogg98

CarMichael Angelo

my rearend will smell so minty fresh,

N8Dogg98

Rick 91GT

Mustang Master

srtthis

the guy doing it does every local racers rear end

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Anybody thought about running (or is currently running) E85

CarMichael Angelo

my rearend will smell so minty fresh,

N8Dogg98

CarMichael Angelo

my rearend will smell so minty fresh,

N8Dogg98

Rick 91GT

Mustang Master

srtthis

the guy doing it does every local racers rear end

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