Anybody running e85?

Discussion in 'General Maverick/Comet' started by 7D2 Grabber, Sep 8, 2013.

  1. junrai

    junrai Member

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    okay thats what I thought. Im used to seeing things like that on imports.

    thats a good way to keep the power under your hood and have a sleeper like that silver comet thats super charged :thumbs2:
     
  2. jasonwthompson

    jasonwthompson Member

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    You need to also check if your tank will work with E85. It is highly corrosive to metal parts.
     
  3. Hottrod1991

    Hottrod1991 Member

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  4. jayss10

    jayss10 This is Minerva

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    wow how many of you are running or have ran e85 giving all this info......
     
  5. lm14

    lm14 Member

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    I think you have too much compression for the blower. You need to be a couple points less. Is your bottom end built to handle the extra pressures it will be dealing with? Is your engine cammed for the blower?

    Do you realize that E-85 is a very inconsistently mixed fuel? Buy a hydrometer and check a few gallons. The actual percentages jump around a lot.

    E-85 will do several things for you. It will attack all things metal, eat any rubber hoses, gum up if not kept in use and you will burn nearly half again as much to produce the same BTU's ad you would with gas.. You will need around 20% more fuel an part throttle and 40% more fuel at wide open throttle. Will your entire fuel system support that additional flow needed?

    You will need to run a lot more timing and a different timing curve. E-85 is a very slow burning fuel and you need to get that spark started early.

    http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/hrdp_0801_e85_ethanol_alternative_fuel/viewall.html

    [​IMG]

    Also realize your mileage will go down as well as your options of where to buy fuel. Not everyone sells E-85, it's not available just anywhere.

    It looks good at first thought. I ran methanol alcohol engines for 10 years racing, have messed with an ethanol fired 1000HP Honda drag car and I prefer to continue burning dinosaur bones in my vehicles. The gains aren't worth it to me.

    JMO
    SPark
     
  6. Maxx Levell

    Maxx Levell Member

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    Well...I DO run E-85, and I love it! As long as they're selling it, I won't be running race gas. I did change to a poly fuel cell and black nylon-braided lines when I made the switch. I'm also running an Aeromotive A1000 Fuel pump, and it provides more than enough fuel supply. I run a return-style regulator, and have had no issues. I can buy it locally from the pump, and test it regularly. I haven't noticed the wide range of percentage change like some report. I do see a change from summer to fall/winter, but that's about it.

    My car runs cooler, and throttle response is fine. I double enter my car in two classes racing, and cooling down between classes is a non-issue. In fact, in the fall, I often have to let the car run to get heat in the motor. Right now, it's less than $3 a gallon locally...vs $7.50-$8 at the minimum for a gallon of race gas. I haven't seen any inordinant buildup of sludge or anything else in the motor...and I've had it apart plenty! In fact, the pistons and valves usually only have a slight discoloration to them that wipes off with a rag...absoloutely NO carbon buildup whatsoever. Oil has always looked fine...just black...same as it was when I ran gas. I have noticed a stickiness in my phenolic carb spacer, but that's about it. I figure something in it's composition (maybe BPA) is incompatible with the fuel. Hasn't really caused any issues though...and I made a mental note to get an aluminum spacer next time I place an order to the parts house.

    As far as using with a super charger, I have zero experience there...but I do run 13-13.5 to 1 compression...and it's never hiccupped once. I'm still running 34 degrees total timing...haven't tried more yet, as the car seems to like it just fine where it's at, and I barely have enough time to get to the track and race, much less test and tune lol. If I ever get a break, I may play around some with the timing and see what it does. Until then...I'm definitely an advocate for the corn juice! Oh...I also ran it in mine when I only had about 10-1 comp ratio with flat tops...and it ran fine then as well.

    I have no real world experience with it doing anything nasty to any part of my fuel system, or engine. Nor have I actually met anyone who runs it who has either (and there are several of us who run it locally, including my brother, nephew, and cousins). However, all of us are running fuel system components that are compatible with E-85 to begin with.

    That's my .02...it's worth exactly what you paid for it :thumbs2:

    Good luck with it!
     
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2013
  7. Rick

    Rick G8I operations

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    OMG, I can't believe all the false information in this thread. Except for Max, trust what he says. I've been running E85 as well for years with no issues at all. It's good stuff, very consistent, and won't break down like gas in the off season. I paid $2.92 at the pump for my last batch, my buddy pays $10.00 for race fuel at the track. Save your money for some more go fast parts.
     
  8. 7D2 Grabber

    7D2 Grabber Member

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    It's nice to know people have real world experience with e85. Hopefully there's a couple more e85 stations that will pop up. Thanks for the input.
     
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2013
  9. Hottrod1991

    Hottrod1991 Member

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    Last edited: Sep 9, 2013
  10. Maxx Levell

    Maxx Levell Member

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    I've seen and read all of the links above before, and when I first saw them, it gave me pause. But, I can assure you, other than the sticky inside of my phenolic carb spacer...I've had zero issues. I'll see if I can find the pistons I took out and post up a pic.


    Ok...edited...I just went out and snapped a pic of a piston that was run for 3 years on E-85. And I routinely double enter the car in Pro and Footbrake. With these flat top pistons, the car was running 7.0's in the 1/8th mile at around 98 mph. It wasn't babied at all lol. Valves looked the same way...there just wasn't any kind of buildup there. This stuff burns clean.
     

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    Last edited: Sep 9, 2013
  11. Hottrod1991

    Hottrod1991 Member

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    yeah, never had any issues either, but when i read the first link, I switched from brad penn to amsoil and use their e85 stabile for the buick
     
  12. junrai

    junrai Member

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    anyone use this in street cars? excellent thread (y)
     
  13. 7D2 Grabber

    7D2 Grabber Member

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    Hey Maxx, what was your combo? I'm running the same pistons on my comet. 347 probe flst tops.
     
  14. jayss10

    jayss10 This is Minerva

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    I agree ive been running e85 for 10 yrs,love it clean motor ,change my oil like gas guys several times a year,stock tank with sump,i cant believe all the miss information here,us guys that run it love it ,it adds about 5 % more hp 1/3 the cost of race fuel,will handle 13 to 1 comp.,runs clean,cool,and loves timing......
     
  15. jayss10

    jayss10 This is Minerva

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    I do on my s10 ,and my 02 z28
     

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