Just found out a local station sells e-85

[usetaboost]

Should I bother try setting my car up for it? Is there a safe mix of premium and e-85 so you don't have to make any changes, except maybe a chip? I'm not educated on this stuff so please someone fill me in

 

[wordy1]

Should I bother try setting my car up for it? Is there a safe mix of premium and e-85 so you don't have to make any changes, except maybe a chip? I'm not educated on this stuff so please someone fill me in

Your car was designed to be compatible with 10% ethanol, most stations in the midwest use a 10% ethanol blend in all grades of gasoline, check the pump next time your at a gas station. If you are running a bit rich, you can add up to 25% E-85 without any problems.. But won't be able to notice the full benefits without changing timing and fueling on your chip. About the only worry is that you may clog up your fuel filter as ethanol is a great fuel system cleaner and any sediment in the tank will wind up in the filter. Just be sure to pay attention to knock and your O2's and you should be fine with a 25% blend.

 

[novaderrik]

has anyone ever heard of anyone that actually had their fuel filter clog up after putting E85 in the tank? i've never heard of it.
of course, like every new thing, there are going to be myths that need to be busted. just becasue you overheard a guy in the men's room of the Quickie-mart that said that he heard that a friend's cousin's wife tried E85 in her 1973 Pinto and her fuel tank fell apart, doesn't mean that it actually happened.
and, to get to the original question- unless you need a 100+ octane fuel, then there is no reason why you need to mix E85 with premium unleaded. you can run it mixed with 87 octane and it will work better than just premium unleaded, but for significantly less money.

 

[wordy1]

All of our cars can benefit from the added octane and the cooling effect of E-85, even for daily driving.

 

[bsdlinux]

All of our cars can benefit from the added octane and the cooling effect of E-85, even for daily driving.

X2 on that. Just ask that HEMI yesterday morning

 

[Shifty]

If anybody is looking for E85 in their area, just click the link...


National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition

 

[DailyDrifter]

E85 is more corrosive than regular gas, which will sometimes cleans out you fuel system and could clogs injectors. just my 2 cents (its only woth 1)

 

[bsdlinux]

E85 is more corrosive than regular gas, which will sometimes cleans out you fuel system and could clogs injectors. just my 2 cents (its only woth 1)

Yeah its more corrosive but not by much. Anyone that takes care of the fuel system will have no problems. I've have yet to run into or hear from anyone running a TR on E-85 that has had this problem.

 

[mark ace]

has anyone ever heard of anyone that actually had their fuel filter clog up after putting E85 in the tank? i've never heard of it.
of course, like every new thing, there are going to be myths that need to be busted. just becasue you overheard a guy in the men's room of the Quickie-mart that said that he heard that a friend's cousin's wife tried E85 in her 1973 Pinto and her fuel tank fell apart, doesn't mean that it actually happened.
and, to get to the original question- unless you need a 100+ octane fuel, then there is no reason why you need to mix E85 with premium unleaded. you can run it mixed with 87 octane and it will work better than just premium unleaded, but for significantly less money.

i have to laugh, everyone talks about all the crud in their tank in my auto shop we replace one or two fuel pumps a week, & i have yet to see a gas tank with a bunch of crud in it maby on a junker that sits all the time. the fuel filters do get full on all cars & is just a maintenance thing

 

[bsdlinux]

i have to laugh, everyone talks about all the crud in their tank in my auto shop we replace one or two fuel pumps a week, & i have yet to see a gas tank with a bunch of crud in it maby on a junker that sits all the time. the fuel filters do get full on all cars & is just a maintenance thing

Yeah that and the fact I was told that my fuel system is going to corrode off my car. Almost a year later and I'm still waiting.

 

[MrMNTTA]

Yeah that and the fact I was told that my fuel system is going to corrode off my car. Almost a year later and I'm still waiting.

X10 - I've heard the exact same thing so many times.....and not one of them was even running E85. Some people just want to believe everything they hear, and stay in the stone age.

 

[House]

any one running 100% e85 on stock fuel system? there's 4 e85 pumps near me

 

[novaderrik]

any one running 100% e85 on stock fuel system? there's 4 e85 pumps near me

i've ran an almost full tank of E85 on a few occasions, and the result is usually that the car is doggy until it gets up to temp but more powerful once it gets warmed up, and the mileage falls down from 18 to 13.
but, on one particular tankful of pretty much straight E85- i filled it all the way up as soon as the "low fuel" light came on, which is usually about 2 miles before it dies- i got 24mpg on a 130 mile interstate blast at 80mph with 2 passengers with their luggage packed in the trunk and the AC blowing ice cold. that was the best i've ever seen with that car.
but i generally try to keep it about 50% E85 mixed with 50% 87 octane- which gives me the same fuel mileage as straight 87, with the increased power of E85.

 

[bsdlinux]

I've run over 10,000 miles and over a year on E-85 with the a STOCK fuel system. I have more seat time with this stuff in a TR than anyone I know.

Obviously the injectors and the chip have been changed. Also the pump is a Kirban intank replacement( not an E85 pump ). Everything else is stock and yes I even use a paper fuel filter. There are alot of myths out there, but a stock TR fuel system will handle this stuff quite well as long as you don't need anything faster than high 10s.

novaderrik - is right the car will be doggy when its cold. However running a hotter thermostat will help. I now run a 195, car runs better, better mileage, more power, etc.. 160 degree stat is not good for E-85, even worse in the winter. I know thats counter-intuitive but the alcohol fuels like the engine to be a lil warmer to work well.

I also play with the mixtures as well. I run typically 1 gallon of 87 for every 5 gallons of E-85. 50/50 works well but you'll lose some of the performance gain of the E-85 with that much 87 in there but the mileage will be close.

 

[GNVYUS 1]

The thing I would be concerned with on the fuel sock and filter is how much crude you might already have in your 21 year old gas tank. E85 will clean it out and your fuel sock is the first one to have to deal with all the new debris that used to be on your tank walls.

I don't see why anyone wouldn't change out their $15 fuel filter after the first 1k miles to address this known issue to stop any possible injector clogging.

 

[novaderrik]

The thing I would be concerned with on the fuel sock and filter is how much crude you might already have in your 21 year old gas tank. E85 will clean it out and your fuel sock is the first one to have to deal with all the new debris that used to be on your tank walls.

I don't see why anyone wouldn't change out their $15 fuel filter after the first 1k miles to address this known issue to stop any possible injector clogging.

if your gas tank has always been kept full so moisture doesn't get in there and cause things to rust, then there won't be any "crud" in the gas tank to worry about.
hell, my car sat for 13 years outisde in MN with all the temp and other climate changes that come with this area with 1/4 tank of gas in it before i got it, and i've never had any problems with clogged filters or pickup socks. if ever there was a car that should have junk in the tank, it's mine.

 

[bsdlinux]

The thing I would be concerned with on the fuel sock and filter is how much crude you might already have in your 21 year old gas tank. E85 will clean it out and your fuel sock is the first one to have to deal with all the new debris that used to be on your tank walls.

I don't see why anyone wouldn't change out their $15 fuel filter after the first 1k miles to address this known issue to stop any possible injector clogging.

The White has never been a garage queen so it doesn't have that problem. Cars that sit for a while with half filled tanks gas or alcohol could have probems. I run 20 gallons a week through my car, no issues. Same fuel filter I was using before I switched.

 

[vacuum 6]

About 4 years ago I installed a new tank, the original tank had very little junk in it.

 

[b4black]

novaderrik - is right the car will be doggy when its cold. However running a hotter thermostat will help. I now run a 195, car runs better, better mileage, more power, etc.. 160 degree stat is not good for E-85, even worse in the winter. I know thats counter-intuitive but the alcohol fuels like the engine to be a lil warmer to work well.

This has to do with the lower vapor pressure of ethanol. That's the reason for the "15%" gasoline in the E85. In the winter, they add more gasoline to keep the vapor pressure up.

 

[MrMNTTA]

This has to do with the lower vapor pressure of ethanol. That's the reason for the "15%" gasoline in the E85. In the winter, they add more gasoline to keep the vapor pressure up.

In the winter, E70 is the norm, even though they still call it E85.