E85

[Turbo Brian]

E85 is finally available in town. Can you substitute E85 for denatured alcohol in an SMC kit? E85 is a lot cheaper than denatured alcohol these days.

 

[b4black]

E85 never has quite has 85% ethanol in it. It can be as low as 70% at times. The rest is unleaded regular.

If you talk with a fuel engineer/chemist, he would tell it will work. Maybe not as as effective as denatured ethanol, but close. Considering the price, I'm going to try once I can find it.



I can't figure out why when ethanol is cheaper than gasoline, it's still over $10/gallon at Home Depot.

 

[CTX-SLPR]

Federal Alternative Fuel subsities... simple as that.

 

[Turbo Brian]

While I surfed the web trying to find out exactly what Denatured alcohol is, it seems that there are various blends. "Denatured" means that the ethanol has been made unsuitable for human use. It can be denatured with methanol or other fowl tasting chemicals. Therefore, it seems that ethanol denatured with gasoline should be suitable for an alcohol system assuming that the pump would not be damaged.

 

[wilkinshc]

This was posted earlier : http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164999

Something Saab had released.

 

[b4black]

I picked up some E85 this weekend. It was $1.99/gallon. 87 was $2.70/gallon. The the minivans that were filling up were proably spending more money per mile, since E85 only gets 70% the fuel economy of gasoline.


I don't run ethanol straight. I mix it 50/50 with water, 1) the strech the expensive ethanaol and 2) the reduce fire hazard if a hose came loose. When you mix E85 with water, the gasoline comes right out and floats to the top. I put the gasoline in the lawn mower and the water/ethanol in the injection system.

 

[wilkinshc]

I picked up some E85 this weekend. It was $1.99/gallon. 87 was $2.70/gallon. The the minivans that were filling up were proably spending more money per mile, since E85 only gets 70% the fuel economy of gasoline.

70% is a pretty low estimate. I have ran many tanks of e85 in my suburban and it went from 15 (reg unleaded) to 13 with E85. I think 71 cents covers the 2 mpg drop.

 

[b4black]

I have a table here from the EPA rates the flex fuel vehciles on E85 and gasoline. Lower 70%'s seem to be the norm according to the EPA.

The Dodge Caravans are 13 city/17 hiway on E85 and 18/25 on gasoline.

The Suburban is 11/14 on E85 and 14/18 on gasoline. 78% - Not quite as bad as the minivan. At current prices, it makes sense for you to use E85. You are saving about 4 cents a gallon - more if your truck consistently performs better than the EPA testing.

You would expect the E85 to have remained consistent while gasoline is soaring (the hurricanes hit refineries, not corn fields). From what I have seen, E85 tracks gasoline prices, always staying about 75% of gasoline. The E85 sellers take advantage of rising gasoline prices.

 

[wilkinshc]

I have to agree about the price, it's very dissappointing to see it track the price of gas and not stay consistent. I asked an owner why that is and his reply was that the refinery uses natural gas to process the ethanol. Only problem with that is natural gas has been staying the same still. One good thing is that most my money is going to the farmers and not the mideast.

I have use probably 40-50 tanks of e85 and my mileage has been right at 13 vs 15 (real results not theory).

 

[boostedRS]

http://www.turbomustangs.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=47094

1066 RWHP on straight E85 can't be wrong.

 

[GNVYUS 1]

Fuel System: 3, 255lph Walbro in line fuel pumps, 160# injectors, 75% duty cycle.

Potential is there, but so must this, $$$$$$$$.

 

[wilkinshc]

Fuel System: 3, 255lph Walbro in line fuel pumps, 160# injectors, 75% duty cycle.

Potential is there, but so must this, $$$$$$$$.

I think its for insurance, also remember its run over a 1000 hp at the rear wheels. E85 should only need about 15% more fuel then regular gas.