greengiant912 Posted August 29, 2009 Posted August 29, 2009 So I found out that my car is apparently able to run Ethanol or e85 as it is called. I was wondering if any here has a flex fuel vehicle, and have tried running e85. They just opened up a service station about 2 miles away from my house that sells e85 I was thinking about filling up with some today. Anyone have any good/bad stories? I know that it burns faster then gas, but apparently it is supposed to have a higher octane level. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_bowtie Posted August 29, 2009 Posted August 29, 2009 it does and you consume more because alcohol is an oxygenated fuel.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_TheAlexO Posted August 29, 2009 Posted August 29, 2009 it does and you consume more because alcohol is an oxygenated fuel.... English please What does that mean in terms of performance Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overclocker16 Posted August 29, 2009 Posted August 29, 2009 You'll get less performance out of E85. Due to the fact it burns faster, once the computer recalculates timing, it goes into normal driving style. You get less distance per gallon of E85 compared to regular gasoline. So that dollar or whatever it is now cheaper you pay, you have to fill up more often if you run on E85. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compxpert Posted August 29, 2009 Posted August 29, 2009 Hence why if you out looking for gas you should try and get gas that does not contain up to 10% ethanol. You lose fuel mileage if it has ethanol in it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shibby_geek_guy_69 Posted August 30, 2009 Posted August 30, 2009 Hence why if you out looking for gas you should try and get gas that does not contain up to 10% ethanol. You lose fuel mileage if it has ethanol in it. and no matter how much car manufacturers will try to market, Unless they develop a way to change the compression ratio in an engine dynamically, you will never get the most out of e85... I Know boys making hundreds of horsepower more than stock on e85, and doing it quite cheaply (relative to cars in this performance bracket...) but you wont get the benefit from e85 unless you are running 15+:1 Compression, not the measly 9.5:1 your average 92RON designed engine runs at. Or if its a turbo, you could wind the boost right up on e85... In short, don't waste your time with e85. Get a car dedicated to e85 if you want to run it (Can you get a dedicated car in your locale) if its feasible to do so. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_bowtie Posted August 31, 2009 Posted August 31, 2009 English please What does that mean in terms of performance depends on what you do with it... in most all cases you get more performance because it is an Oxygen rich fuel....but it takes more Alcohol because of the burn characteristics.... gas burn at an AFR of around 14:1 where as Alcohol burns at a AFR around 20:1 give or take on both.... Alcohol has a higher Octane rating than fuel and burn cooler such as higher Octane racing fuel....but like high Octane fuel it has the potential to produce higher combustion temps do to the ability to support higher compression ratios.... We have been experimenting with racing engine on E85 with great results....going fast cheaply... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shibby_geek_guy_69 Posted August 31, 2009 Posted August 31, 2009 depends on what you do with it... in most all cases you get more performance because it is an Oxygen rich fuel....but it takes more Alcohol because of the burn characteristics.... gas burn at an AFR of around 14:1 where as Alcohol burns at a AFR around 20:1 give or take on both.... Alcohol has a higher Octane rating than fuel and burn cooler such as higher Octane racing fuel....but like high Octane fuel it has the potential to produce higher combustion temps do to the ability to support higher compression ratios.... We have been experimenting with racing engine on E85 with great results....going fast cheaply... What engine are you playing with? I saw a friends Mazda BP Engine running 16:1 Compression on e85 and it made some pretty impressive figures. I Cant be certain, but i am fairly sure he just decked the block/head to bring the compression up. Stock everything, and a cam gear adjuster... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
greengiant912 Posted August 31, 2009 Posted August 31, 2009 So I filled up with e85 yesterday and have been driving around with it. My avg MPG dropped to 13mpg from 21mpg. Which I don't know if thats right because what I have read is that you should only be noticing about a 10% difference in gas millage. However It dose seem to pick up and go a lot better, and it sounds a lot quieter when driving. Its something that I wont go out of my way to find a place to fill up @, but it is defiantly something interesting to play around with. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLS2008 Posted August 31, 2009 Posted August 31, 2009 If you're just running a normal FlexFuel vehicle, E85 isn't worth it unless it's significantly cheaper than gas. I mean like 80% the price of the gas. You get less miles per gallon than gas. One gallon of gas my get 25 miles while a gallon of E85 gets 20 miles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GabrielT Posted August 31, 2009 Posted August 31, 2009 My avg MPG dropped to 13mpg from 21mpg. Which I don't know if thats right because what I have read is that you should only be noticing about a 10% difference in gas millage. However It dose seem to pick up and go a lot better, and it sounds a lot quieter when driving You may have changed your driving habits a bit, if you have been enjoying this noticeable increase in power you will pay for it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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