your thoughts on e85

whats your opinion on running e85

From what i've read,the octane consistency is very INconsistant from pump to pump,and batch to batch.

bbf-falcon wrote:From what i've read,the octane consistency is very INconsistant from pump to pump,and batch to batch.

that's what i am seeing and hearing, about 5-10 point difference especially when its close to winter , not sure when they change it

I hear the same thing.......

Could be usefull stuff if you can get it, not avaliable in all areas....

i can get it here no problem, guess i could buy a 50 gallons at a time that would be more then enough for a season for me but i do not know when they make the change to summer blend even looking at real alcohol--methanol

Some have good luck with it, honestly Id just use plain alky and be done with it, and it will make more power.

I know people who run E85 and they all say the same thing about inconsistancy, unless you buy it from a good company like rocket fuels. it does make good power but I agree with Jon here and go with alcohol.

my compression will be 12.5 maybe 13-1

the test kits are easy to use to check the ethanol content, a good way to go is to blend your own, tune for say e80 or e75, just add enough gas to get you to where you need to be. there are plenty of charts available to make this easy...........

My CR was very close to 13:1. Good E85 was great...bad E85 is just plain bad. Unforturnately, E85 does not have the standards of gas. I am fortunate to have a local co-op that blends their own. They told me that it is not the ethanol but the gas that is mixed in. They said that some blend stuff in that is such poor quality that it is not even called 'gas'. When I use the co-op stuff...no problem. If I have to use something else, I can hear the detonation out the fenderwell headers! I am moving to EFI this year so I can make adjustments on the fly.

Sounds like alot of BS trouble.If I were too NOT run gas,I would just go w/Alky on a race car/truck. JMO Good luck

Yep, you are correct. With race gas or alcohol, you are dependent on your support team to bring along a 55 gallon drum of the stuff. On the street, it is such a pain to tow a fuel tanker. It is really great to pull into a convinence store and fill up with 106 octane at $2.75 a gallon. Not to mention a cleaner engine, cleaner exhaust, a cooler engine temp, and a renewable product grown just down the road.

Just out of curiosity how much road tax is on e-85 is it taxed on the 15% gas or what ?

the real determining factor...........is this a drag only application or street strip?

tell this fellar that lol

GaryS wrote:Yep, you are correct. With race gas or alcohol, you are dependent on your support team to bring along a 55 gallon drum of the stuff. On the street, it is such a pain to tow a fuel tanker. It is really great to pull into a convinence store and fill up with 106 octane at $2.75 a gallon. Not to mention a cleaner engine, cleaner exhaust, a cooler engine temp, and a renewable product grown just down the road.

I know of only (one) e85 pump w/in 40 mi. of me. sure makes it really convenient

I dont know of any within a hundred miles from me.

Certainly, change is not easy. Gas stations are what their names imply...GAS station. It is a large investment to add equipment to support another alternative fuel. Yes, another! Look how long it took to get good coverage for diesel. Diesel has been around forever and just a few years ago you diesel pickup guys had to wander around to find a convience store with a diesel pump. What about you 92 octane guys, how many convience stores do you hit before finding your grade. Just think of what the search would be like if you are driving an electric or a LP vehicle. I am fortunate and have at least six pumps within twenty miles of home. I also have a 44 gallon Baja fuel cell in my trunk. I printed a list of E85 retailers from a web site. The '09 Power Tour ran in the midwest from Madison WI to Bristol TN. What do you know, Kentucky was a dry state with no E85 infrustructure along I75. My range is limited to the Midwest. I can not go west of the Mississippi nor go to the east coast or south of TN. At least, for now. With EFI, I think that I will be able to extend that range.

Quality of fuel is always an issue when you use an unfamilar supplier not matter whether it is E85, diesel, or 92 octane. If all else fails, build you own still! Isn't experimentation some of the reason we do this stuff. I support everyone's right to turn a nut or cut something up. E85 may not be the answer but, I am not yet done asking questions.

Until one of the big 3 automakers "takes a chance" on profits/sales and designs an engine entirely to run on ethanol and proves to the consumer that it is efficently wise possible its going to be a while before e 85 or like operations show up wide spread.

Its about $$ and energy. The oil companies are using the energy that dinosaurs invested (just living in general) and making money along with our government, and wasting as little of "their" energy as possible. You are suggesting building a still and using "your" own energy to convert it to fuel which will save money , but you are going to waste it the savings because you are using it in a powerful engine instead of one desined to get ethanol milage . You will however keep the energy off of your body fat content hoeing corn and cutting wood though.