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E-85

3K views 61 replies 31 participants last post by  94transam25th 
#1 ·
well I jumped the ship over to E-85 today :thumb:

stoped into auto zone and picked up a exter fuel filter and then ran over to Myjer to filled up my big pig with E-85 at $2.92 /gal that is cheeper than putting gas in my Taco
 
#12 ·
That seems like a lot of work that you could do by putting a programmer to your car or truck. I just switched back to an ethanol blend for my XJ. In Iowa we have something in between regular gas and E85. They list it as midgrade out here and charge $.20/gal less for it. So far I haven't seen a down side to it aside from a 2mpg drop in my highway driving.
 
#13 ·
well.... being a fuel engineer I get to dable in this stuff every day.... To run E-85, it takes much more then just putting a few wires in series with your injectors....

E-85 is a more corrosive fuel then gasoline. It will eat away at things such as certain plastics, level sender cards, electrical harnesses within the tank, hoses etc.... if you don't know what you are doing, and don't have the means to find out the details on your components, don't do it....

I have an E-85 Impala and I never run E-85. Why? cuase its roughly only $0.30 less here in the Detroit area then gasoline. It doesn't work out. When I first picked up the impala I ran 4 tank fulls of E85 to check out the mileage.... I would get roughly 50-60 miles less per tank then what I would with gasoline. However, in the Impala, as noted before, it checks for the alcohol level in the fuel and adjusts the timing accordingly....

Check ot these links...
http://www.eere.energy.gov/cleanciti...g.html#webcast - might not be present anymore.... basically was a guy from GM that went to the EPA and gave a rpeentation about a year ago about E85 and what manufactures do to certify their vehicles and... what E85 does to them...

http://theserviceadvisor.com/octane.htm

Bio-diesel on the other hand isn't quite as bad as wht can come with E-85 but it also has its issues....

One thing to note is that there is an open mandate that any gasoline that you use right now may contain E10, and they don't have to tell you. If it contains more then that they do. Unless you live in Minnesota, they have a mndate for E20, which I am lead to believe is actually more corrosive then E85.... thats what the whole cuntry was to goto but it was recently shot down, we will see if it gets passed on a retification soon....
 
#15 · (Edited)
So they LIE on this page? ... :thumb:

http://www.change2e85.com/servlet/Page?template=Myths

1. E85 Ethanol is corrosive

Yes ethanol is corrosive, but not very much. Gasoline is corrosive too. Ethanol is biodegradable in water. So it has a tendency to contain and attract water. It is not the corrosive properties of ethanol that can cause damage to your vehicle; it is the water which can rust a vehicle’s fuel system from the inside out. Today’s vehicles (since mid 1980s) have fuel systems which are made to withstand corrosive motor fuels and rust from water. Also today’s distilling processes are superior to way back when. We now have better techniques for drying out ethanol or reducing the water content.

On side note, gas contains water too. Ever hear of dry gas?

2. If I put E85 in my gas tank, it will eat it away.

If your car was built in the old days, it was had a lead coated, steel tank. The water in ethanol would cause the tank to rust from the inside out. The government mandated that all gas in the USA contain 10% ethanol to help reduce tail pipe emissions. In the 1980s, automakers made vehicles with fuel systems to be ethanol and rust tolerant. Gas tanks began to contain polymers and Teflon which are extremely durable.

6. E85 will eat my rubber fuel lines.

This is another myth from the old days. Rubber technology has significantly advanced so the concerns of a 20 year old car or newer having issues like this are extremely rare. Plus the 15% gas will help keep lines lubricated.

7. E85 will destroy my fuel pump.

E85 won’t destroy your fuel pump. If you convert a high mileage vehicle to Flex Fuel, the E85 will cause the sediment in the gas tank to dissolve and then get sucked up by the fuel pump. It is believed that this sediment may shorten the life of the pump of your higher mileage vehicle (100,000+). Fuel pumps are not expensive to replace. After thousands of conversion kits sold, we have had our first report of a failed fuel pump. The vehicle was a 1994 Audi with 200,000 miles on it. It was the original fuel pump. The owner blamed E85. His mechanic said it was just time. A fuel pump that lasted this long is impressive.
 
#26 ·
Iowa I think is an E20 state as well, or something near it. Personally I'd like to know what it really is, because I've been using the stuff with no ill effects so far.
 
#28 ·
Wl assuming what you mean by "it" is E85.... here are some facts that I have posted on another forum....

if you run E85 here are the possibilities (or probabilities) of what can / will happen....

- You can Void your warranty (if they catch you and you still have one)
- Your Engine will run lean (lean as described is a bad thing)
- Fuel pressure is probably not an issue - but still not ideal
- Materials on the level sender / pump / electrical components within the fuel tank all may degrade much much sooner then designed due to the corrosive nature of E85 relative to gasoline (E0 or E10) which may cause a situation where your shoes may be more handy then your car
- Check engine light triggering a multitude of codes
- Possible breakdowns of components either within or related to the fuel system
- Loss of fuel mileage / economy

basically if your vehicle isn't designed for it you are using it as a test bed.... which you may, or may not be able to afford....
its not really an unknown if the parts will degrade within E85 or E100 or whatever... its a known fact... they will.... part of the reason why the vehicle needs to be "certified" by the manufacture to be able to run the fuel in the first place.... imagine a fuel pump over time looking like a moldy piece of bread.... that can happen with the wrong materials within an E85 system. Fingers on your level senders can become brittle / corroded and flake off - wires going to the level sender and the fuel pumps will also degrade creating loss of connection or intermittent connections.

As anyone that owns and runs E85 in their Tahoes, Suburbans etc what their fuel economy is for E85 relative to gasoline.... it will be less with E85, another well known fact....

ECM mods can help for preventing the engine to run lean, but this would require constant changing if you plan on running gasoline and E85....

Just because you put an ECM calibration in the car doesn't mean that the EVAP system will work properly... you could set a multitude of codes from that system and potentially not be able to pass certification emissions if your state requires that check to be done....

My recomendation.... don't run E85 in your vehicle or you are just asking for troubles.... Go find that 94 Octane fuel and add octane boost if you feel you MUST have that extra octane....
now, there is a guy who has been running E85 in his LS1 Camaro for some time now... however, he truly understands E85 and knows what materials it works with and doesn't work with. So again, if you decide to do this just because you read it somewhere that it would work and don't really know what you are doing, you have to be able to pay the consequences if they occur.

On a side note, with E85 becoming more popular, there is a trend where the auto companies are starting to use more components that are capable of being run in both fuels, but again... unless you know what those are and what your components are don't do it.... but again.... its just my opinion - written on the internet....
 
#22 ·
In the big picture, yes, IMO. Because of what it takes to grow the corn (or sugarcage or hemp or whatever) to create the ethanol. Especially in 3rd world countries, they are slashing and burning to start up fuel farms. It also drives up the commodity price on corn.
 
#18 ·
My 14 yr old daughter is currently developing E45 in her school science class. Conversion kit involves 6 hamsters, 1 spool of 18 gauge wire, and a lock of Boggin Boys hair. It gets 2 miles to the gallon, and if you complain about it, it tells you to fuck off.
 
#24 ·
Filling up yesterday ($181 in Diesel) this old man next to me filling his 07-08 F250 Diesel blurts out " I hope the fkin Arabs choke on their god damn oil" I loled and asked him how much he was putting in.. "$30" he replied, "Fk em'" You show them old man :)
 
#29 ·
Overall, ethanol from corn is a load of bunk. It was pushed by the agriculture lobbyists and is nothing more than a hidden tax that is being used to put farmers back to work and to stimulate tractor and equipment sales to support growing corn. It is worse for the environment than just using oil. The energy output of corn is less than the energy required to produce it in many areas due to the required use of fertilizers, pesticides, watering systems, etc... It is nothing more than a feel good effort by our government to make people feel that they are making a difference and sticking it to the "arabs or big oil." Ethanol can help solve our oil crisis, but it won't be based on corn as the source. There are MANY alternative crop sources that will provide more ethanol with less energy needed to produce it. Unfortuantely, the agriculture lobbyists have incredible pull in DC. Their main agenda is stimulating agriculture in the US again, not conserving fuel.
 
#35 ·
E85, blah


the money to convert a car over to run on it, and the drop in fuel mileage, and the fact that you have to drive further to find it.

Meh, just get an Early 90's import that isn't rusty that will get 40-45 mpg's, and save the gas guzzler for special days.


Now if i could find a Justy :tonka:
 
#43 ·
Detroit Free Press just mentioned that it takes 600 gallons of fresh water to produce enough ethanol to allow the average car to travel one mile.

With dwindling fresh water supplies this doesn't bode well for teh ethanol either.

my uneducated $0.02
 
#46 ·
I just have aj and all his friends push me around where ever I want to go.
 
#59 ·
E=MC^2


Werd. :rock:
 
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