Zchef85 Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 has anyone converted their Z to E85 if so how did it go and what modifications did you have to make? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woldson Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 Been discussed. Search some. Highly corrosive stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimZ Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 Been discussed. Search some. Highly corrosive stuff. Methanol is highly corrosive. Ethanol is not nearly as corrosive. E85 doesn't like natural rubber (very few modern hoses use natural rubber anyway), bare aluminum, brass or terne plated tanks. I removed any brass fittings in my fuel system and anodized all of the aluminum bits. Also pulled the tank and had it internally coated with a methanol-resistant coating (if it holds up to methanol it should be fine with ethanol). So far so good, we'll see how it looks in the spring. This has been covered before - search on E85. I think I've gone over the difference between ethanol and methanol about a dozen times already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zchef85 Posted December 8, 2008 Author Share Posted December 8, 2008 thanks a lot, I know I probably should have used the search function. But the information you have given me has definitely made me think, if only E85 was readily avaliable in CA the high octane would be nice for once. is water /meth injection corosive because I am planning on putting one of the snow cooler systems on my Z31 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimZ Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 thanks a lot, I know I probably should have used the search function. But the information you have given me has definitely made me think, if only E85 was readily avaliable in CA the high octane would be nice for once. is water /meth injection corosive because I am planning on putting one of the snow cooler systems on my Z31 I think I've been hearing that California is gearing up for E85: http://www.geocities.com/sacramentoe85/stationlocator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woldson Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Just as a fyi, e85 here is 40ct. more expensive then reg. (At least right now) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZZZeee Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Just as a fyi, e85 here is 40ct. more expensive then reg. (At least right now) Same here... not to mention you'll be burning approximately 40-60 percent more per mile than gasoline. So your out of pocket fuel costs, for now at least, is considerably higher. But money savings is obviously not the reason to switch to E85. Keeping our money in the USA and higher performance are the selling points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimZ Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Just as a fyi, e85 here is 40ct. more expensive then reg. (At least right now) I'll bet you can't run 28psi on regular... Last I checked here is was either the same or slightly less per gallon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Last I checked here is was either the same or slightly less per gallon Ag states in the Midwest is considerably different than pricing in other parts of the country, like the coasts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 I think I've been hearing that California is gearing up for E85:http://www.geocities.com/sacramentoe85/stationlocator Grrrrr. Now the question is do I build a L30er for 91 octane cr*p, or do I build it planning on E85 being available.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woldson Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Chevy can do both. Build something similar. If you have tank, lines and gaskets that can support it, it will be easier to adapt to fuel costs differences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Chevy can do both. Build something similar.If you have tank, lines and gaskets that can support it, it will be easier to adapt to fuel costs differences. I'm actually talking about boost/compression, not making sure my lines can take it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobythevan Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 I converted my talon over the weekend and today when I filled up E85 was $1.29, premium was $1.69. I had to run premium to run 18psi boost. Now on E85 I will turn up the boost to 26psi. At the same 18psi level with only the re-tuning to E85 I got 20mpg. I use to get 27mpg on premium. I figured with the prices that mpg was about 75% and cost was about 75% give or take, so it is basically even on pricing to what I was doing before, but now I can move up from 18psi to 26psi. Too many WOT runs at 26psi is going to cut that mpg:mrgreen: BTW, my fuel was increased by more than 30%, but my timing under all of boost was raised significantly so I should be making more power at 18psi with E85 than I was with premium at 18psi. Gas mileage seems to confirm this since it did not drop by more than 30% to match the amount of fuel that has been added. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimZ Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 BTW, my fuel was increased by more than 30%, but my timing under all of boost was raised significantly so I should be making more power at 18psi with E85 than I was with premium at 18psi. Gas mileage seems to confirm this since it did not drop by more than 30% to match the amount of fuel that has been added. The other thing that is significant here is that even though E85 has less energy per unit volume, the amount that you burn for max power rich more than makes up for it, and you should see ~5-10% power increase just from running the fuel at the proper mixtures. The added power mitigates the added fuel to some extent (i.e., less throttle is required). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobythevan Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 The added power mitigates the added fuel to some extent (i.e., less throttle is required). That is a better way of putting it. The only real problem for me here in Colorado is that it was 16 degrees F this morning. It was a little hard to start on E85. I am thinking if it dips below 10 I better park in the garage or get out the starter fluid so it will hit right away. It took about three times as long cranking before it fired the first cylinder. I see more cold start tuning in my future, which is my least favorite type of tuning. Trying the get the laptop fired up when I am freezing, ugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woldson Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 Wow that is some great frist hand knowlage for e85 use! Like TonyD said, prices may vary, 1.95 here in Spokane wa. With what you said I will consider a dual option in my build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brokebolt Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 Here is a nice page: http://e85prices.com/ In Rocklin California, $1.85 reported on Dec. 7, 2008. Gas listed as $1.75. I paid $1.69 today. She's getting more economical to drive...just in time for winter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
510six Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 I plan on running two seperate fuel systems using the stock fuel tank and smaller 240cc injectors when not in forced induction mode using 87 oct. gasoline.When under boost the E85 fuel system from a 3 gallon fuel cell using 1600cc injectors. Basically I am using the components from the previous methanol injection system to run 100% E85 rather than 35% methanol. The cold starting problems with E85 and reduced fuel mileage should become a non issue, it just requires a far more complex fuel system. http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2071134/7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobythevan Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 The cold starting problems with E85 and reduced fuel mileage should become a non issue, it just requires a far more complex fuel system. From what I have seen I wouldn't add the complexity just to fix those two issues. The cost to drive the car is the same for me on either fuel, maybe E85 is more exspensive in your area. I started my car this morning at 4 degrees F. I am still working on the cold start settings with megasquirt, but I just converted a week ago so I don't think it will be that hard to finish getting the cold start to work as well as gas did. You probably have a few other reasons to do a dual setup I am guessing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
510six Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 The dual fuel setup is for the fuel mileage of gasoline combined with the horsepower potential of E85. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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