E85 ??

[Marker1989]

So I've been kicking around the idea of possibly running e85 in my fox body. Id like to know if anybody on here has tried to do something like this and hear about they're experiences. It is a h/c/i street-strip car and I have a tweecer to tune it with. Is there anything else I would need to run it on the corn fuel or is it pretty much all in the tune?

[SATURNV]

You may need to upgrade the fuel pump and injectors.

E85 needs about 30% more fuel compared to gasoline.

[mustangrfast88]

i think i have heard all in tune and need more injector and pump. but if you have a 255 pump that enough pump and i think the timing need changed and your fuel mileage will go down

[cstreu1026]

Nxcoupe has tuned a bunch of cars on E85 so he should be able to give more first hand experience but you'll need 25-30% more fuel and a tune.

[Jeff88coupe]

Yep....a 255 pump, probably 30# injectors (24's might support a stockish motor), and a tune will be what you need to run E85. I'm not sure how much you will pickup with a stockish combo. You really pickup hp when you build a combo to take advantage of the higher octane and cooling effects E85 has vs pump 93 gas. This is done by running either higher compression or boost most of the time. Checkout www.e85performance.com alot of good info there.

[Rich]

Jeff,

Do you think a 10.8 to 1 engine could benefit from e-85?

[Jeff88coupe]

Jeff,

Do you think a 10.8 to 1 engine could benefit from e-85?

Yes..my old 347 did. It was right at about 10.8-11:1 compression. Was built to be a 93 pump gas motor. I switched from 93 pump to E85 on the dyno on the same day. Once we got the a/f good (didn't even mess with the timing since I would play with that at the track..I just wanted the a/f safe) with the E85 on the dyno it picked up 10rwhp n/a threw a C4 with ~3500 stall.

If your going to run E85...I'd try to run even more compression if you have the heads off for some reason. Lot of guys running 12.5-13.5:1 n/a e85 combos. It's alot cheaper than 110+ race gas too.

[Marker1989]

I have a 255 pump and EV6 24 pound injectors in it now. The short block is a 306 with around 11:1 compression. I hope those injectors will work, I just bought them new.

Edit: I probably should have put this in tuning. If anybody feels the need to move it feel free.

[mustangrfast88]

i think your gonna need more injector 30 would be the min i would run if running e85

[NXcoupe]

I dd an e85 gt. Its got around 12 to 1 and made quite a bit more power on e85 than 93. About 20% more injector and pump. Im making around 450 range on 42 lb injectors and gss340 pump. Id be happy to help you out.

[djom1cincy]

Svtperformance has a section on e85. You might want to research there.

[bestracing]

Something I haven't seen in these E85 threads is that you need to make sure the rubber hoses in your fuel system are compatable with the E85.

Some things you might consider:

* Ethanol can break down resins and fillers in fiberglass gas tanks, causing them to leak.
* Resins leached from fiberglass tanks can go through the fuel system, sticking to valves and other internal engine parts. These deposits have caused bent pushrods and have clogged intake valves.
* The alcohol attracts water, leading to increased corrosion in metal gas tanks.
* Ethanol acts as an efficient solvent, gradually cleaning out the accumulated gunk in fuel tanks and lines, and clogging fuel filters.
* Certain rubber gaskets and fuel lines are weakened by ethanol.

[Jeff88coupe]

Something I haven't seen in these E85 threads is that you need to make sure the rubber hoses in your fuel system are compatable with the E85.

Some things you might consider:

* Ethanol can break down resins and fillers in fiberglass gas tanks, causing them to leak.
* Resins leached from fiberglass tanks can go through the fuel system, sticking to valves and other internal engine parts. These deposits have caused bent pushrods and have clogged intake valves.
* The alcohol attracts water, leading to increased corrosion in metal gas tanks.
* Ethanol acts as an efficient solvent, gradually cleaning out the accumulated gunk in fuel tanks and lines, and clogging fuel filters.
* Certain rubber gaskets and fuel lines are weakened by ethanol.

All this is true..but
-fox bodies (87 and up) have metal fuel tanks and all the stock fuel system components are compatible with E85. It is a good idea to replace your fuel filter once or twice within a few tanks of e85 if the tank has been used for gasoline for years.

[NXcoupe]

Something I haven't seen in these E85 threads is that you need to make sure the rubber hoses in your fuel system are compatable with the E85.

Some things you might consider:

* Ethanol can break down resins and fillers in fiberglass gas tanks, causing them to leak.
* Resins leached from fiberglass tanks can go through the fuel system, sticking to valves and other internal engine parts. These deposits have caused bent pushrods and have clogged intake valves.
* The alcohol attracts water, leading to increased corrosion in metal gas tanks.
* Ethanol acts as an efficient solvent, gradually cleaning out the accumulated gunk in fuel tanks and lines, and clogging fuel filters.
* Certain rubber gaskets and fuel lines are weakened by ethanol.

If your car was made after 85, I believe might be a year or two off, the fuel system is compatible with Ethanol. Remember, most fuels nowdays have E10 to E15 at the pump. IT's nothing new, just a lot better octane with E85 and it's easy to get at the pump and cheaper than race fuel. I started tuning E85 about 5 years ago, and have not had one issue with my personal cars in all those years related to E85 usage. I prefer it to race fuel and my r/s car would have it in it if it was legal as fuel for it.