Hot Airs, Why No E85 Or Preturbo And Direct Port Injection?

[GNVYUS 1]

I'll first admit I'm not a frequent viewer in here, but I keep seeing threads about intercoolers and so on and that you're all still stuck with the tiny TA33 turbo so I've got to ask.

Why aren't you guys running E85 and at least a 4gph Preturbo injection nozzle with Direct Port injection in the plenum?

You'd be able to max out that turbo and run 11's with a good combo all for pretty cheap considering the conversions cost.

You have EFI and a Chipped ECM so I'm curious what I'm missing in your setup?

 

[BRAD_PADGETT]

I do not run E85 simply as a result of cost and convenience. E85 requires larger injectors and a new chip-cost. People who use E85 are always looking around for E85 stations(few) and carrying five gallon cans of the stuff in their trunks-convenience. The range of our cars is 20% less with E85. E85 makes it alot easier to open up the car with less risk than 93 octane and methanol. E85 does not make your car faster but it does make it alot less prone to detonation. Brad

 

[jdpolzin]

TurboNut has been running E85 in his Hot Air for quite some time now. His car halls balls on the stuff! It's pretty hard to beat 105 octane right out of the pump at less cost than 93!:biggrin:

 

[fritz]

dumb qustion sorry

whats E85

 

[BRAD_PADGETT]

whats E85

E85- This is a fuel made up of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. It was created by the ethanol industry with the full support of our federal govt. through the support of 50 cents per gallon tax subsidy. The govt. tried to get automakers to build cars for it and gas stations to install special tanks for it. These attempts effectively failed. I live in the middle of corn capital USA and you are lucky to find a station every 20 miles that sells it. Also called flex/fuel cars. This fuel works wonders for turbo charged cars though. High boost with very low chances of engine detonation. Brad

 

[jdpolzin]

E85- This is a fuel made up of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. It was created by the ethanol industry with the full support of our federal govt. through the support of 50 cents per gallon tax subsidy. The govt. tried to get automakers to build cars for it and gas stations to install special tanks for it. These attempts effectively failed. I live in the middle of corn capital USA and you are lucky to find a station every 20 miles that sells it. Also called flex/fuel cars. This fuel works wonders for turbo charged cars though. High boost with very low chances of engine detonation. Brad

Brad, where's Carpentersville? We have E85 all over the place. I wouldnt necessarily say that the E85 program has failed. Most people in our area run it if their car is capable. You never see an empty E85 pump around here.

 

[BRAD_PADGETT]

Brad, where's Carpentersville? We have E85 all over the place. I wouldnt necessarily say that the E85 program has failed. Most people in our area run it if their car is capable. You never see an empty E85 pump around here.

JD- Carpentersville is a northwest suburb of Chicago where suburbia ends and the corn and soybean fields start and continue all the way to NE. My point is that the Chicagoland area has 10 million people and you really have to search the internet and keep a record of where to find E85. It is almost as hard to find as race gas. Don't worry-E15 is just around the corner! Brad

 

[turbonut85]

Must suck to live near Chicago.....(jk) I have 12 E85 stations within a 6 mile radius of my house. I can find one every direction I go on I-80 or I-35 from Des Moines, every 30-40 miles. If you can't find one, go to E85locator.net it gives you a complete list of E85 pumps anywhere in the U.S.

...Oh, and 22-24psi out of the pump for less than $3.00/gallon on a Hot Air is pretty friggin awesome, lemme tell ya! Well worth the $300 for the 60's and chip for the 85 and the $500 for the 120's and modded ECM for the 87....(26psi on the 87) Incedently...I'll be putting my 60's and HA E85 chip up for sale soon....goin to the 120's!! :biggrin:

 

[buickspec6231]

Location

I live in NY. I just went to that E85locator.net website. It says that there are only 15 E85 stations in all of NYS. NYS is about 54,000 square miles....... That means for every 3600 square miles there is one E85 station. NYS is just not set up for E85. The closest pump to where I live is in Rochester and that would be 1.5hrs each way. Its just not possible.

 

[BRAD_PADGETT]

There is no disputing the the value whatsoever of E85 on a hot air from me. I would convert to E85 in a heartbeat and put up with the fuel searchs before ever putting on an IC. What size turbo are you going to use which needs 120"s? Brad

 

[turbonut85]

TA-62. Its not the size of the turbo as much as the E85 itself. 60's are a minimum for E85...and im maxxing mine out already...i want more. Goin with a double pumper and 120's gives me room to play.

 

[Jerryl]

I'll first admit I'm not a frequent viewer in here, but I keep seeing threads about intercoolers and so on and that you're all still stuck with the tiny TA33 turbo so I've got to ask.

Why aren't you guys running E85 and at least a 4gph Preturbo injection nozzle with Direct Port injection in the plenum?

You'd be able to max out that turbo and run 11's with a good combo all for pretty cheap considering the conversions cost.

You have EFI and a Chipped ECM so I'm curious what I'm missing in your setup?

Availability;In Houston (City of oil and gas), there are not a lot of places you can get e-85. Distances here re also too great. A typical commute is about 45-60 min drive.

E-85 myths; Lots of people still have the corrosion fear of E-85
In the Houston area, I only know of 2 HA cars.

Adding an IC is easier than convertig to E-85; (At least that is another myth to run 12's) People do what they are convinced to be confortable with. We all know by now that there is LOTS of social pressures to "convert to IC'd, or add a SBC".

Mike,
One thing I have always appreciated about you, it that you are never afraid to try new ideas and stand alone. It really is too bad you sold the HA car.:frown: It would have been interesting to see the ideas you may have come up with.

 

[racemybuick]

im in NJ... NJ has a total of... 0

"New Jersey E85 Gas Stations

Currently, there are no public E85 gas stations in the State of New Jersey."


NJ sucks $%^&*


John

 

[O SO LO]

I don't know of any staions with E85 out here in Washington... at least it's not advertised as that...

 

[turbonut85]

FYI: I did the search on E85locator.net for my location, and it only listed a handful of the locations that are actually here...not even half of the ones i have personally used were on that list.

 

[novaderrik]

FYI: I did the search on E85locator.net for my location, and it only listed a handful of the locations that are actually here...not even half of the ones i have personally used were on that list.

here is another place to find E85 stations..
http://e85refueling.com/
it says there are 106 stations within 200 miles of me, but i know of at least one that isn't on that list.. i also did notice that one station about 6 miles from me is listed as having E85, but they stopped selling it last fall and switched that pump over to offroad diesel for the local farmers. i asked the owner about it, and he said that they were selling a decent amount of E85 for a gas station in a town of 65 people that is 25 miles from anywhere, but the farmers wanted to be able to buy offroad diesel locally since another gas station 10 miles away that used to sell it closed down last spring.

 

[fmster]

Here is the dumb question of the day,Can you put e85 on your car even if you do not have the chip or injector's for it ?

 

[turbonut85]

If you put in 100% E85 in a stock set up you will lean out under normal driving...not even boosting...and be replacing head gaskets and pistons. It takes 30% more fuel to run E85...hense the bigger inj and chip.

 

[novaderrik]

Here is the dumb question of the day,Can you put e85 on your car even if you do not have the chip or injector's for it ?

If you put in 100% E85 in a stock set up you will lean out under normal driving...not even boosting...and be replacing head gaskets and pistons. It takes 30% more fuel to run E85...hense the bigger inj and chip.

i ran E85 in my car with the stock chip in the stock ecm with the stock injectors for 4 years and didn't blow anything up. in fact, other than starting a little bit harder when cold and usually losing a few miles per gallon, i never saw any downside to it other than having to go a little out of my way to find a pump if i wanted to run it.

 

[turbonut85]

i ran E85 in my car with the stock chip in the stock ecm with the stock injectors for 4 years and didn't blow anything up. in fact, other than starting a little bit harder when cold and usually losing a few miles per gallon, i never saw any downside to it other than having to go a little out of my way to find a pump if i wanted to run it.

your ECM was no doubt compensating alot.