E85 Fuel... Thoughts?

[Mr G8]

So, I recently made the mistake of putting E85 into my AUII Forte , and now its as sick as a dog, so I'm wondering what your thoughts are on this type of fuel? and what cars have you tried running it in?

[xisled]

E85 none, but E10 tried to on my BA XT and it hated it.

[blueoval]

please DO NOT put E85 in your car unless your car is tuned for it. There is a chance you will bugger your engine if you run it without a tune

E85 will get the most benefits from boosted vehicles. Has a higher octane but requires more of it to make a bigger bang, hence the higher fuel consumption.

Most vehicles that are tuned for it and run it straight, have bigger fuel pumps and injectors to handle the increased volume. Those that dont have these improvements run a blend depending on what your tuner has suggested.

[dimka100]

E85 must only be run in cars that are designed for it!

It's actually surprising the E85 pumps don't have a slightly different nozzle, just like the diesel pumps do, people will be accidental filling E85 into their cars and damaging engines ...

[Mr G8]

hence my mistake, all the pump said was "only for cars that use e85" granted i should've known better, but others might think its just like the E10 or "Plus ULP" in which they'd be wrong. Now my weekend consists of taking the fuel tank off and draining it, and purging the fuel lines

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by dimka100

E85 must only be run in cars that are designed for it!

It's actually surprising the E85 pumps don't have a slightly different nozzle, just like the diesel pumps do, people will be accidental filling E85 into their cars and damaging engines ...

The amount of stories I have heard from fuel pump attendants on people willing to save a buck and not researching the fuel first is astonishing. And yes, the nozzle is the exact same shape as the unleaded fuel pumps. But there are warning stickers on the pump, handle and lever as you lift the handle off warning of the risks involved for those who do not know what it is.

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by fairmontbrother

hence my mistake, all the pump said was "only for cars that use e85" granted i should've known better, but others might think its just like the E10 or "Plus ULP" in which they'd be wrong. Now my weekend consists of taking the fuel tank off and draining it, and purging the fuel lines

Im not having a go at you mate. You at least realise you stuffed up and know the consequences. This is for those who have no idea that are reading this thread. Hopefully your experience will save them heart ache and money.

[supershifty]

It's 95 or 98 for me. Never tried e85. e10 or 91 didn't give pleasant mileage in my '97 XH.

Cheers!

[jpd80]

E85 is a complete an utter waste of time, it was developed in the USA as a way of delivering
a greener fuel and tagged to big concessions for Motor corporates if they made their
vehicles E85 compatible and was backed up with subsidies to Corn-Ethanol plants.

E25 blend would a good balance for improving power with turbo engines but it's only available in South America.

[opto]

If your car is running sick as a dog, disconnect the battery for half an hour, ECU will reset, start again.

[Franco Cozzo]

E85 is awesome for boosted applications, but you need bigger injectors, higher flow fuel pump etc as you burn around 30% more of it, combustions temps are cooler too.

The ones at Caltex are branded E-Flex and have warnings all over them, so I don't know how you managed that, as I assume the other brands would too lol.

[LG17]

Used E10 once by mistake in a BA ute I had. Coughed and farted all the way from Townsville to Cairns and used 3/4 tank as opposed to less than half normally.

[ratter]

E85 is great for making power if the fuel system and tune are set up for it.
United in vic have an extra lever with warnings on it that needs to be lifted before filling your car.
Late model falcons will run on e10 without problems
Ethanol based fuels will need more fuel to go the same distance as normal petrol

[Mr G8]

Originally Posted by opto

If your car is running sick as a dog, disconnect the battery for half an hour, ECU will reset, start again.

Good idea, but i think its more then just an ECU thing, as i have a full tank of E85!

[ratter]

Drain it out or at least half of it out and fill with 98, the ecu should be able to adjust to run cruise mixtures with this content, but do not give it a hard time or it will be lean

[makattkd]

Check it hasn't corroded your fuel lines

[Fiesta_Man69]

E85 is brilliant - for cars tuned for it: its used widely in the skyline community, for example. But not everyone drives a tuned turbo car with a fully programmable independent ecu (and upgraded fuel pumps, lines etc).

However, use it in an ordinary car not tuned for it and you will most probably destroy your engine. E10 is bad enough.

The only cars tuned for it are some Commodores and Saabs (there may be one or two others).

I've seen one or two E85 pumps: there are signs all over it and the handle near the nozzle to make sure people don't mistakenly put it in their car....

[Fiesta_Man69]

Originally Posted by fairmontbrother

Good idea, but i think its more then just an ECU thing, as i have a full tank of E85!

Drain the tank.

[madmelon]

E85 has approximately 31% less energy per volume compared to typical petrol, though it has a much higher octane rating, depending on blend. I used it in a trial on my old Formula SAE team engine dyno for a few weeks. The max power rich and max power lean mixture levels are actually slightly richer than 98RON, by lambda 0.01 to 0.03 if I remember correctly. The net result was a 32-34% increase in volumetric fuel consumption over 98RON with zero improvement in performance. Static compression was 12.5:1 and timing could be advanced until torque output was reducing without detonation. Testing with ~13.4:1 static compression should take place in the coming weeks but it is expected 98RON will still perform without detonation.

As an additional note, LPG and E85 have approximately the same energy density per volume yet LPG is much cheaper. It is by far a superior value proposition than E85.