Posted By: tboomer
The official E-85 thread - 03/28/13 01:40 PM
These questions have been popping up lately on E-85. I am also considering the changeover. So...Let's have some good input on this. Likes? Dislikes? Tips? Thanks,guys!!
Quote:Mike,if you find the blend off,what do you do? Just not buy it at that time? Or do you have some way to fix it? Sorry for the dumb question but I have no experience with this and I have been thinking about making the switch.
I was filling 2 drums of e-85 towards the end of the
racing season (still the e-85 blend) to use in the spring
time if I was going out early... around here it would
drop down to e-70 during the winter months... I had
QF set up my dom and it was perfect on idle but I did
jet up 2 jet sizes for the wot... its much more consistent
than the 110 fuel I was burning... in 1.5 years it
payed for itself just in fuel cost... not adding
in the wins
EDIT
I test every time before I buy it... I buy from Meijer
and would ask someone in line for the last little
bit in the nozzle to fill my tester... most were
curious to see what I was doing and would wait for
the answer
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Can this be stored in a 55 gallon plastic drum?
Quote:Sam...What trouble did you have? I have a nice 1150 dominator that I want to convert..Don't have enough scrap metal to haul in to get a new one!! I think a Q/F dommy is around 1100.00?
after jacking with a qf kit I ordered a carb from eric at horsepower innovations and it has worked very good for 2 years now.
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I also have a carb from Eric at Horsepower innovation. Some of the best customer service I've ever had, I promote his stuff any chance I can get.
http://www.horsepowerinnovations.com/concrete/
I love the stuff so far in my turbo car. Cheap race gas that will take a beating.
That being said... I have had some issues with the fuel. I let my car sit for about 3 months after it came off the chassis dyno, while I was finishing up some other wiring/interior/roll bar stuff.
When I went to start it up, the car ran terrible. I pulled the carb apart and it had really "goo'd up" inside. I had to send it back to Eric for him to completely go back through it.
I'm not quite sure why it happened, because there are certainly lots of guys who don't do any maintanence with the fuel. I honestly believe them, but from seeing it with my own eyes, it can have issues.
I was just more careful this year when I put the car away for the winter. I just ran 93 octane through it so I didn't have to worry about it.
Quote:what kind of ignition? i had the same problem coming off the 2 step.
had a really bad dead spot I coulndn't get rid of,and seemed lean no matter what I did.
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I like the stuff, but I've seen/learned a few things
A) a vacuum pump helps get the water vapor out and oil looks good longer.
b)I need to take my carb apart more often and clean, have had a few rust/corrosion issues(pump springs, steel button on the pump dia.,white fuzz/goop) now I pull it apart every few months. A little lite oil on the block gasket to main body helps that area to stay nice.
C)It takes longer to build heat in the engine warm it up early in the lanes, and don't go to the line cold. Sure is nice when you are hot lapping in hot weather.
Quote:Quote:what kind of ignition? i had the same problem coming off the 2 step.
had a really bad dead spot I coulndn't get rid of,and seemed lean no matter what I did.
Quote:
Mike...Do you run it thru the whole system?
Quote:Quote:Quote:what kind of ignition? i had the same problem coming off the 2 step.
had a really bad dead spot I coulndn't get rid of,and seemed lean no matter what I did.
I have learned that more heat in the motor will help that problem. Only time I have had that issue is in the cooler weather.
Quote:I don't know I have tried about everything you can imagine. come to find out the dig 6 is not recommended for alcohol/methanol and anything over 11:1 compression so that may be the problem. the volume of fuel may be to much for it to overcome coming off the 2 step for a split second.Quote:Quote:what kind of ignition? i had the same problem coming off the 2 step.
had a really bad dead spot I coulndn't get rid of,and seemed lean no matter what I did.
I have learned that more heat in the motor will help that problem. Only time I have had that issue is in the cooler weather.
Quote:same here for 1 season, will probably switch the arrow over this year. the cost saving is a bunch.
Been running it for 2 years now .would never go back.,
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You were selling your new heads last week.......now you are going racing ???
Quote:it's quite the combination-accell 300 box,msd dist.,Jacobs coil.i had eric build the carb for my engine-car combo and worked right out of the box.i would save up until I could afford a carb built by someone that knows e-85 before I would do the kit.Quote:what kind of ignition? i had the same problem coming off the 2 step.
had a really bad dead spot I coulndn't get rid of,and seemed lean no matter what I did.
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come to find out the dig 6 is not recommended for alcohol/methanol and anything over 11:1 compression so that may be the problem.
Quote:
Why do you need to buy a carb from someone? What are they doing with it? Why? What is the theory behind this? I know the quantities go up with E-85, and you have to have bigger jets, this should be a calculation. Why can't I modify my carb? Is there a "secret hole" that has to be drilled? I have been working on carbs for over 45 years, I'm not new. I have some max wedge carbs I am going to try this with, but I am going with bigger jets. Should I send my carb to some expert to modify? I think I can put these together with my eyes closed, what do "they" know that I cannot learn? Isn't the whole theory just that there is 70% the energy of gas in alcohol. The AF ratio is different as well. I have seen these threads everywhere but NEVER have seen the "whys". Here is a big question, what do you do with the timing? I could go to the track and figure this out I guess. So, if we can state the theroy here, in this thread, we can all learn, and don't have to go to some "expert" who is no smarter than any of us, eh?
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Why do you need to buy a carb from someone? What are they doing with it? Why? What is the theory behind this? I know the quantities go up with E-85, and you have to have bigger jets, this should be a calculation. Why can't I modify my carb? Is there a "secret hole" that has to be drilled? I have been working on carbs for over 45 years, I'm not new. I have some max wedge carbs I am going to try this with, but I am going with bigger jets. Should I send my carb to some expert to modify? I think I can put these together with my eyes closed, what do "they" know that I cannot learn? Isn't the whole theory just that there is 70% the energy of gas in alcohol. The AF ratio is different as well. I have seen these threads everywhere but NEVER have seen the "whys". Here is a big question, what do you do with the timing? I could go to the track and figure this out I guess. So, if we can state the theroy here, in this thread, we can all learn, and don't have to go to some "expert" who is no smarter than any of us, eh?
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I have talked to quite a few racers who use either Lucas ethanol fuel treatment or Seafoam fuel treatment as an additive to keep the gumming down. Most are turbo cars,blow thru and efi both. They complained about needing to clean injectors or carbs often. After using these products, they said the problem was greatly reduced. Just thought this info might be usefull.
Quote:don't remember the name, got it from summit.added blueberry scent also
What kind of top lube you puting in it ?
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come to find out the dig 6 is not recommended for alcohol/methanol and anything over 11:1 compression so that may be the problem.
Quote:thats what MSD said mine does comong off the 2 step not going on. it is at full throttleQuote:
come to find out the dig 6 is not recommended for alcohol/methanol and anything over 11:1 compression so that may be the problem.
Quictree, I have been running a Digital 6 Plus for 5-6 years. First with a 11:1 451 ci. then 451 12.7:1, and now 493 ci 13:1 no problems.
A couple years ago with 12.7:1 451 ci, had a similar hiccup when I would hit the throttle VERY fast while on 2 step. It was at the begining of the season when the air was cool And dry. This was with a converted 950 HP (4150) I put a 50 cc pump on the front and staged @ a warmer temp, cured the problem.
I have been using a 3 circuit 1050 Dom. which is probably richer. Havent had that problem.
Hope this helps, Don
Quote:Quote:thats what MSD said mine does comong off the 2 step not going on. it is at full throttleQuote:
come to find out the dig 6 is not recommended for alcohol/methanol and anything over 11:1 compression so that may be the problem.
Quictree, I have been running a Digital 6 Plus for 5-6 years. First with a 11:1 451 ci. then 451 12.7:1, and now 493 ci 13:1 no problems.
A couple years ago with 12.7:1 451 ci, had a similar hiccup when I would hit the throttle VERY fast while on 2 step. It was at the begining of the season when the air was cool And dry. This was with a converted 950 HP (4150) I put a 50 cc pump on the front and staged @ a warmer temp, cured the problem.
I have been using a 3 circuit 1050 Dom. which is probably richer. Havent had that problem.
Hope this helps, Don
Quote:Quote:
Can this be stored in a 55 gallon plastic drum?
It should be stored in steel drums if your keeping it
for any length of time... plastic drums will permeate
which will kill any fuel.... unless the plastic drum
has a permeation barrier(which you can see along the
opening.. a different color plastic molded to the
other plastic)
Quote:go to e85.com and find them
Ok tell me where the E-85 stations are in Va and Maryland.
Quote:Quote:go to e85.com and find them [/quote
Ok tell me where the E-85 stations are in Va and Maryland.
Been there done that, it said one in Fred city but it was closed. I don't want to ride 50 miles and hope it's open. Looking for stations that someone has been to and still in business.
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I have had some experiment with up to e45 mixed with e85 and 89 octane to achieve the 45% requirement.
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Thank you for the info. Charlotteville is the closest. Can you explain the percentages, smaller number more alcohol or less?
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Maryland comes up with zero
http://e85prices.com/archive.php?state=maryland&year=2013&month=allmonths
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So the number e85 is 85% ethanol 15%gas. E45 is 45% eth 55% gas. So you mix e85 with 89 octane unleaded to dilute the mixture from 85% to 45%. Gives you some benefits of ethanol without major carb mods. [/quote
What is the end result octane of E45?
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These questions have been popping up lately on E-85. I am also considering the changeover. So...Let's have some good input on this. Likes? Dislikes? Tips? Thanks,guys!!
Quote:
A few months back I was wondering about the actual octane of E85 (since all the usual web sites seemed to me to be quoting each other) so I went web searching and found this document:
http://ethanolrfa.3cdn.net/dd9e74ce1c454a97cc_rbm6bdgh3.pdf
It's full of good information about fuels, historical and current, and how and why various changes were made over the years. It also includes a chart for determining the alcohol content of a blend and it's a LOT more complicated than those cute little test bottles sold by the web sites that encourage E85 use. It also includes a statement of the octane of E85 that's sure to PO a lot of people who've accepted and quoted the number found on so many web sites. I found it interesting reading, you may not.Quote:
These questions have been popping up lately on E-85. I am also considering the changeover. So...Let's have some good input on this. Likes? Dislikes? Tips? Thanks,guys!!
Quote:
I know most of the stuff quote in the article I do
disagree with his octane rating.. there is only 1
way to test true octane and thats on a knock engine
and I am sure he doesnt have one... we wrote our own
data base for release(Chrysler Fuel Lab which I was
part of) and we had to base the octane on US release
data since they are one of the few places that has
a knock engine... my own results say that its higher
than he posted.. my engine would be knocking big time
if it was low 90s....
As to the oil question that would be the only one I
have heard of... Chrysler doesnt spec any one oil
to stay away from... unless Penn feels that it could
be diluted on short cold runs on a drag strip..
otherwise I have no clue
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Octane: A minimum octane for E85 is not specified. FFV’s
can tolerate the lower octane of gasoline i.e. 87 (R+M)/2.
There is no requirement to post octane on an E85 dispenser.
If a retailer chooses to post octane, they should be aware that
the often cited 105 octane is incorrect. This number was
derived by using ethanol’s blending octane value in gasoline.
This is not the proper way to calculate the octane of E85.
Ethanol’s true octane value should be used to calculate E85’s
octane value. This results in an octane range of 94-96 (R+M)/
2. These calculations have been confirmed by actual octane
engine tests.