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Anyone running E-85 fuel?

K I'll call Edelbrock. Otherwise, I have a old thermoquad.
I would be interested to hear you report back. I know they generally put stuff out for the lowest common denominator car guy on paper. So if a couple parts can be changed to make it work I'm all ears and interested in making the swap.
 
How big of jets? 30 percent?
I dunno for sure, I never tuned the carbs. But when on E100 it used about three times the fuel and washed down the rings so badly it would fill the oil sump with fuel.
Nitro methane drag engines are on the verge of hydrolocking they are so rich and pretty much turn into Diesels.
Engines running ethanol are hard to tune as the fuel doesn't turn the plugs a pretty tan color. But they sure run cool temp wise.
 
I dunno for sure, I never tuned the carbs. But when on E100 it used about three times the fuel and washed down the rings so badly it would fill the oil sump with fuel.
Nitro methane drag engines are on the verge of hydrolocking they are so rich and pretty much turn into Diesels.
Engines running ethanol are hard to tune as the fuel doesn't turn the plugs a pretty tan color. But they sure run cool temp wise.
Yeah, the one I worked on had red tinted plugs
 
I dunno for sure, I never tuned the carbs. But when on E100 it used about three times the fuel and washed down the rings so badly it would fill the oil sump with fuel.
Nitro methane drag engines are on the verge of hydrolocking they are so rich and pretty much turn into Diesels.
Engines running ethanol are hard to tune as the fuel doesn't turn the plugs a pretty tan color. But they sure run cool temp wise.
I've also have a wide band o2 kit
 
I will share some of what I've learned over the years of running this in both dd and race cars. You can run your cruise leaner than with gas. Also, it can handle slightly more timing and leaner at wot. Apples to apples, it will yield more hp than gas does due to it being an oxygenated fuel. Don't store the car with E85 in it for long periods. Run gas in it before storage
 
I will share some of what I've learned over the years of running this in both dd and race cars. You can run your cruise leaner than with gas. Also, it can handle slightly more timing and leaner at wot. Apples to apples, it will yield more hp than gas does due to it being an oxygenated fuel. Don't store the car with E85 in it for long periods. Run gas in it before storage
You had any problems w the carb or fuel pump?
 
How big of jets? 30 percent?
You really need a E85 specific carb. There are how-to's on conversion on you tube, but there is lots more to it than just bigger jets. Almost every standard passage in a gas carb is too small/a restriction, for E85.
The price savings is pretty much canceled out by the loss of energy/efficiency of E85. My friend in california is running her flex fuel expedition on E85, cause gas is $7. Her mileage went from 13 to 8.
E85 is an EXCELLENT fuel for a power adders application, or a engine built with LOTS of compression for race gas. E85 then makes sense, because of almost race gas octane rating, and a third or less the price of race gas. That price difference can get eaten up by the new carb, fuel pumps and lines necessary to run the alcohol.
There are advantages as well as disadvantages to E85 as a racing fuel. Tuning can be easier, there is a wider window of rich/lean, it tends to run very consistent et's, it runs very cool, even on hot days, can be hard to start on very cold days.
I drove a friend's mid 6 eighth car, running on E85. (12 1/2 to 1 440). It HAD to be warmed up to at least 170° to run right. I remember sitting idling in the lanes for ten or fifteen minutes, to warm it up.... in 85° southern california weather.
 
You really need a E85 specific carb. There are how-to's on conversion on you tube, but there is lots more to it than just bigger jets. Almost every standard passage in a gas carb is too small/a restriction, for E85.
The price savings is pretty much canceled out by the loss of energy/efficiency of E85. My friend in california is running her flex fuel expedition on E85, cause gas is $7. Her mileage went from 13 to 8.
E85 is an EXCELLENT fuel for a power adders application, or a engine built with LOTS of compression for race gas. E85 then makes sense, because of almost race gas octane rating, and a third or less the price of race gas. That price difference can get eaten up by the new carb, fuel pumps and lines necessary to run the alcohol.
There are advantages as well as disadvantages to E85 as a racing fuel. Tuning can be easier, there is a wider window of rich/lean, it tends to run very consistent et's, it runs very cool, even on hot days, can be hard to start on very cold days.
I drove a friend's mid 6 eighth car, running on E85. (12 1/2 to 1 440). It HAD to be warmed up to at least 170° to run right. I remember sitting idling in the lanes for ten or fifteen minutes, to warm it up.... in 85° southern california weather.
What he said. I'm not a fan of E85 with a carb. I'm going to do efi and run it simply for higher octane and cooler running temps.
 
You really need a E85 specific carb. There are how-to's on conversion on you tube, but there is lots more to it than just bigger jets. Almost every standard passage in a gas carb is too small/a restriction, for E85.
The price savings is pretty much canceled out by the loss of energy/efficiency of E85. My friend in california is running her flex fuel expedition on E85, cause gas is $7. Her mileage went from 13 to 8.
E85 is an EXCELLENT fuel for a power adders application, or a engine built with LOTS of compression for race gas. E85 then makes sense, because of almost race gas octane rating, and a third or less the price of race gas. That price difference can get eaten up by the new carb, fuel pumps and lines necessary to run the alcohol.
There are advantages as well as disadvantages to E85 as a racing fuel. Tuning can be easier, there is a wider window of rich/lean, it tends to run very consistent et's, it runs very cool, even on hot days, can be hard to start on very cold days.
I drove a friend's mid 6 eighth car, running on E85. (12 1/2 to 1 440). It HAD to be warmed up to at least 170° to run right. I remember sitting idling in the lanes for ten or fifteen minutes, to warm it up.... in 85° southern california weather.
How bout mixing 50/50? Probably not worth it?
 
Yes, but only for it's qualities other than price.

By me E85 is nearly the same price as 87, and would cost more to run per mile than 93 in cars that could run on 93.
 
I was tempted to give it a go since I run fuel injection and my unit is rated compatible for E85. But, it is less common up here where I live, only a handful of stations carry it so that could be an issue. It is considerably cheaper as some have said, but you will burn 30% more fuel than gas. So do you really save anything? Would be my only reason to use it is cheaper cruising, but seems like it would just balance out in the end.
 
It is not 30% more fuel. If you do the math it's about 23%. If you utilize the octane, oxygenation, and cooling effects, you can run it leaner than gas, meaning you can get that down from 23% roughly. My 14 5.0 stang got 20 mpg on the highway and 16 combined. And was considerably cheaper than 93 with more hp. For your average vehicle not wanting performance and not understanding or able to optimize it, it is indeed a waste if time.
 
Had a half tank of gas in my Scout that was nearing a rebuild. A local station had just got E-85, so I filled up. I noticed nothing so when I got down to a half tank, I filled it again. Still didn't notice anything and filled it again. Never had any issues I could see. Of course, it was a low compression, Holley one barrel, with a worn out 258 that never passed the 60mph mark. How does one notice a loss of power in a six cylinder IH? I did notice a lack of power one day, so I stopped to look the rig over. It turned out I was dragging a piece of rope that was slowing me down. Quit using E-85 as the station that had it was 20 miles away, round trip, so I don't know about long term usage.
 
It is not 30% more fuel. If you do the math it's about 23%. If you utilize the octane, oxygenation, and cooling effects, you can run it leaner than gas, meaning you can get that down from 23% roughly. My 14 5.0 stang got 20 mpg on the highway and 16 combined. And was considerably cheaper than 93 with more hp. For your average vehicle not wanting performance and not understanding or able to optimize it, it is indeed a waste if time.

E10 stoich - 14.1

E85 stoich- 9.7

Is that not 31% ?

I've not seen anything run well at 1.08 lambda
 
I just bought an AVS2 Edelbrock carb and there was a big warning sticker on it saying that the use of E-85 voids the warranty
 
? I thought the octane was actually more?

I
It is....lots more..... typically 100 to 105....that's why you can up the compression to take advantage of it without detonation (pinking)......but you need to burn rather more of it due to it having less energy per unit compared to petrol (ok...gas!).
 
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