e85 guys, step in

I’m in the market for another carb, and with the cost of race gas, and all gas skyrocketing for that matter, I want to run e85.

I’ve been reading on people picking up a tenth and 2 - 3 mph in the eight just by switching on the stock gas fuel systems.
I’ve also read that once you get the full e85 set up carbs, and tune them properly, you can expect up to 3 tenths in the 1/4 due to it being a cooler mix ect.

Anyone here running an e85 carb set up? high compression motor?
Reccomend me an e85 carb? I was looking at Demon carbs, but I heard they closed down shop, so that would make future parts possibly hard to come by.

Thoughts? Experiences?

Unless you’re running high compression and a lot of timing I wouldn’t bother.Though a 350 that is 14:1 would rock.

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/ccrp_0611_e85_ethanol_fuel_test/index.html

http://www.e85carbs.com/

I’ve got some really high dome pistons that I havent been using due to race gas being close to 10$ a gallon.
with 64cc heads, the compression should be in the 13:1 + range

That would rock, do it. You can buy the carbs E85 ready or just convert a used one.

E85 pricing mirrors gas pricing for the most part, but has been cheaper than regular gas by 10-25% in NY state on average over the last year.

Like you’re doing though, I compare it to race gas pricing because we’re using it instead of race gas. At that point there’s no comparison. :slight_smile:

According to what I’ve been reading and watching on the news. Gas is expected to reach a another record high this summer. There is now a station in East Aurora that sells it for under 2.80 a gallon. Around north Carolina I had seen it going for around 1.30 a gallon. I believe it all depends on the market for e85 in the area. There isn’t much of one in the area as of right now, but as gas prices skyrochet this summer and the price of e85 doesn’t change it will start to catch on. Hopefully when that happens the price will lower.

Regardless if prices go up to over 4 dollars I’ll probably go e85. Seeing as though I already have the injector and fuel system ready to do so. All it will take is a little tweaking of my fuel mapping and my injector constant.

I definately filled up with E85 this weekend for 3.10 a gallon. It’s going up just like regular gas is. Shitty

In Rochester, E85 was $2.30 or so a gallon, where as current 93 Octane is $3.77 at the cheapest locations.

The problem with E85 for a money-savings stance, is that you have to use more of it. In the long run, E85 is much cheaper than running C16 or equivalent. I would argue that it is not much cheaper, if any, than running pump gas.

I run it in my '06, love it, and I run knock free even at 34 pounds.

–mark

64cc heads and .125 dome is what im running on 93 octane.

as for carbs, ive heard the newer demons have some issues. i was looking into it and across the board out of the box they need a bit of work with cleaning up casting marks and such. older ones were much better. older holleys were better quality then the newer ones too i guess. just an fyi to dissassemble the carb and go through it real good before bolting it on.

Theoretically you can get the same mileage out of e85 as you can with 93oct. By the lowered exhaust temps and cooler burn, in theory you can run a lot more lean then you could with regular gas. I just think there are few who want to actually test those waters in high HP setups.

You got it mixed up man. You need about 25-30% more fuel than you would with 93 octane so you get worse gas mileage. But more power due to the higher octane level and cooler burn.

this thread makes me happy I am building my project for E85

Can you really lean the car out 30%? That’s 19:1 AFR at cruise, and 15:1 AFR at WOT on most setups. Not sure how well that would hold up!

I don’t have anything mixed up… I know that the general understanding is that you need around 30% more fueling but you can go alot leaner than you would with 93octane in theory. Consider this you need to upgrade injectors for a bigger turbo. Sometimes with the right tune you get the same, if not better fuel milage when your not WOT for a good majority of the time. If you use a higher octane fuel with a cooler burn you can technically run a bit leaner then you would with gasoline, but most are to skeptical to attempt it. Lowered combustion temps and a fuel less prone to detonation allow you to do this.

I am starting to do some research in a higher compression 40X LSx motor running E85 I will post up if I find anything relevant.

The reason you get the same gas mileage with a bigger turbo and bigger injectors at cruise is because you still tune the car for 14.7 afr, and you still make the same power. with a T25 turbo or a 78mm turbo, at cruise you’re still going to make like 60 whp, which is why the gas mileage doesn’t change too much.

To get the same from E85 and 93, you have to tune it like I mentioned above, and I don’t think the car would run at 19:1 afr cruise.

I understand it wasn’t the best comparison it was to get an idea of what I was talking about across. I don’t think you would have to run that kind of A/F on cruise to get a 15% jump in gas milage. Alot of aftermarket e85 conversions that I’ve seen have only lost around 11% gas milage when they got their fuel trims in order.

19:1 is a 30% jump, 15% would only be 16.9:1 or so, which is closer to the realm of possibility!

I know my sho would run decently with a lean AFR in the high 16’s. at one point that was where the tune kept it cruising on the highway. it had a 32mpg result on the highway at 65-70mph A gas engine will run there decently.