Thread: E85, anyone?

Ethanol + Alloy arent the best of friends.

The E10 fuel is certified OK by LR E85 would not be in the ballpark, not to mention it would kill the fuel pump, fuel lines, rubbers on the injectors etc....

False economy.... Dont do it!!! Just dont!!!!

Plus economy on E is far worse than Petrol. So besides $$$/L or $$$/Km for fuel, add the $$$/km/l repair costs in also!!!

yep what e said.. although if you refit the right rubber in the pumps and seals you can get away with it and if you use it in slow revving, low compression, long stroke engines(think series 2.25 petrol) the power loss isnt too bad and the economy factor is reasonable.

Ive not played with ethanol fuels and alloy yet only the series stuff.

The latest Saabs are built to run on any blend from nil to 100% ethanol. The ecu detects the blend and adjusts parameters accordingly.

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

yep what e said.. although if you refit the right rubber in the pumps and seals you can get away with it and if you use it in slow revving, low compression, long stroke engines(think series 2.25 petrol) the power loss isnt too bad and the economy factor is reasonable.

Ive not played with ethanol fuels and alloy yet only the series stuff.

Had any change of heart Mr Knight?

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

Had any change of heart Mr Knight?

no, since that post Ive found the key problem with any engine thats capable of running ethanol is that the injection pressure is either non existant or far to low to produce any comparable low end torque cube for cube so I've stopped doing much with lightweight fuels other than relegating it to use in small engines that I need to push or carry around and even then everyone I know mixes it with some heavier fuel and I've replaced them with electrical stuff.




In newer modern low compression engines that boast proper multi fuel capability all of the fuel lines, pumps and seals are capable of dealing with 100% ethanol, so an e85 blend wont be a problem. as mentioned earlier on an engine that boasts proper multifuel the maps will be able of dealing with all permissible variations of ethanol mixes. Older engines wont be hurt by short term runs of high E blends but I wouldnt want to leave them sitting and I wouldnt want to run them straight. I'd blend it or at least switch it out say 2 weeks of the E mix and then a week on the good fuel which will help keep the seals and rubber sorted.

A newer engine with adaptive mapping will suffer less performance degredation on the lighter ethanol fuels but if you set yourself up to run a high ethanol blend as your permanent fuel you can retune the engine to take advantage of it by running more advance, upping the injection pressure, changing the injection timing and durations but that then requires you to change it back if you have to run something other than your high Ethanol mix.

Theres some long term exposure issues you have to worry about with Ethanol fuels on aluminum with the biggest issue being how corrosive ethanol can be which is less of a problem while you're moving the fuel around and using it but once you let it sit with heat thats when the damage starts being done.

Then youve got the next issue of how well ethanol picks up other contaminates and shuffles them around its also, compared to straight petrol, hygroscopic which then brings around corrosion issues all its own.

Depending on what you'll take as "acceptable maintenance issues" I'd be prepared to advise that so long as you're prepared to accept that there will be some teething issues with running the high Ethanol content fuel and so long as you're prepared to accept the cost of having to potentially replace those parts (which would have had to eventually be replaced anyway) sooner than expected but with the advantage that you are gaining longer term reliability and the ability to not have to worry about your ethanol percentages are.

Thanks for that Dave
The small side tank still had around ten litres of pulp when I added twenty of E85 so the dilution is there,,
The D2 only uses it for starting so it sits in the steel tank and high pressure line up to the injectors. I would hope by 2015 most aftermarket fuel stuff (pumps, rubber bits) would be compatible with ethanol??

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

Thanks for that Dave
The small side tank still had around ten litres of pulp when I added twenty of E85 so the dilution is there,,
The D2 only uses it for starting so it sits in the steel tank and high pressure line up to the injectors. I would hope by 2015 most aftermarket fuel stuff (pumps, rubber bits) would be compatible with ethanol??

If I was told to put a line in the sand as to when I would have expected things to be ethanol compatible from factory I would have said 2000.
As to aftermarket stuff, no. Cheap bottom of the range fuel line is not always ethanol compatible, quality stuff is and will have its compatabilities listed in its product sheet.

Ethanol in a steel tank will allow the tank to rust out from the inside sooner than straight petrol. There are some things you could try to minimise this but from what I know of them its not very scientific.

Unfortunately what you're proposing to use it for is about the worst thing you can do with fuel. But in your case you're facing the double edged sword of damocles deal. Do you run the straight petrol which will gum in the fuel rail and cause sticking issues or do you run the ethanol mix which will over time corrode things?

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

If I was told to put a line in the sand as to when I would have expected things to be ethanol compatible from factory I would have said 2000.

My 2005 Ford cannot run anything more than E10, according to the stealer. I'm not game to try.