e85 on the street??

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AbodyJohn88

AbodyJohn88

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hey guys. in the process of building my new motor. a 426ci w2 headed sbm. and now there is 2 or 3 gas stations near my house that have e85. my question is how much compression can i run with e85??. i was planning on runnin 9.5:1 with the iron w2 and pump 93. but with e85 can i run higher compression like 12-13:1???. also i know i have to build the fuel system for e85 but thats no problom as im replacing it anyway. one more question is can i just run an alchohol carb???? or is there some special carburator i have to run for the e85?? thanks in advance guys!!! oh yeah, iv heard e85 makes more hp is this true??. hoping to run 11 o's to mid 10s with a street car. 67 notch cuda.
 
Hard to tune for pump E85 is what I've read (unless you are getting 55's). It's different blends from pump to pump. 12.5-13 is the norm (again just reading other articles) Needs more fuel than gas so electric pump would be a must. (30% more) They make kits to switch you gas holley to E85.
 
skep419 said:
Hard to tune for pump E85 is what I've read (unless you are getting 55's). It's different blends from pump to pump.
Click to expand...

...and different blends season-to-season. In months when the temperatures can be below freezing, fuels labeled "E85" contain 70-75% ethanol because 85% ethanol doesn't give reliable cold starts in cold weather.
 
It's not just your carb that will need to be modified, it's your entire fuel system. Standard rubber fuel lines don't like ethanol. It breaks them down making them brittle and prone to cracks.
And it's not just your car either. We don't 'officially' have E85 in my area of SoCal but Arco gas contains various percentages of ethanol. I just took my two-stroke garden string trimmer in for repair over the weekend. It started OK but then wouldn't run under any type of load. Turned out the fuel line was broken from exposure to the ethanol in the gas. They say it's now got carb issues as well. $60-$80 bucks to fix the beast - still cheaper than buying a new one.
 
i believe 13 to 1 or 13.5 to 1 is optimal compression for corn.
your gonna need aluminum fuel line too.
the only reason i see for running corn other then the emissions is that it allows you to run high compression on the street. compression makes power. the price is lower per gallon but you dont get as good of mileage so it almost equals out depending on the prices at the time.
 
i bought and converted my 660 holleys to e-85, yes the blends change here in st.louis mo, in the winter its like e-70 , it seem to be june before my closest station had e-85, a 55 gallon drum of e-85 right before it starts to cool off would be great for me, as far as compression i hear 14.1 or more. i have 11.8 compression in my 418. i can put you in touch with a great e-85 racing carb shop.
 
i just had my carb done,and that was it,my 71 dodge dart 440,runs 6.40s in the 1/8 mile.and im from st.louis too,,unlike race gas u can let it sit in your carb or tank for a long time,which you cant,and have to treat it like alky,i like it work good and runs cooler,and beets buys 8.00 a gal for racing gas when i can spend 3.19 a gal
 
I am building my 451 six pack to run on E85, got the carb kit's from Rob Mix. As far as the fuel system goes I am running braided hose made for alky. Yes the amount of ethanol is different from pump to pump, I am just going to use one station as I will only be driving local and not all the time.
 
wireweld said:
Find somewhere that has a blender pump, then you will get e85.
Click to expand...

Wish that was true but it isnt always. There is one blender station here that still shows about 75% ethanol. You can buy a tester from quick fuel that is easy to use to test before you buy. There is 3 or 4 different blends that they sell under name of e-85. Depending on what time of year you try to buy it. Locally they sell e-74,e79,and e-85. Bad thing is they don't drain tanks when it warms up so depending on how busy station is depends on when you will finally see e-85. Usually I will buy a drum of e-98 when it starts getting cold or I notice the percent change at pumps and mix my own.
Rob carbs are awesome. I am running one of ther 950 hp on my car. Had to only make a couple jet changes and it was good to go. As far as hard to tune not sure. My car changes roughly 4mph from 70* weather to 108* weather which isn't bad. I normally run with in a tenth on et unless temp changes more then 10 or 15 * during night.
I am running between 12:1 to 12.5:1 cr with no worries on e-85 with braided steel lines and a A-1000 fuel pump. You will use between 33 and 40% more e-85 then gas but it also help run a little cooler also. Mileage now that is also roughly 33to 40% worse. But compare e-85 to a race gas with 104 octane and probably worth it


Troy
 
thanks for all the good info fellas, when the motor comes together i will defanitly converting the car to e85. im gettin a fuel cell, electric fuel pump and ill opt for alky approved braided fuel line and a e85 hp950 holley. thanks to all ill let u know how it gos!
 
I have run on E85 for about 5 years. People always ask why..I tell them it's the race fuel of the future. At the track you will want to test your fuel if you addd a couple gallons at a time, or just fill your tank so you know the mixture is the same all day. I feel the E85 is less sensative to the little weather changes that can mess with your et. Once I get the car dialed in it runs VERY consistant. At 12.1 compresion I can't run pump gas and for a street car I'm not spending the $$$ for race fuel.
 
good info.. i plan on running e85 or e98 on my car.. ill probably just buy am drum of e98 when its time..
 
check out http://www.horsepowerinnovations.com for E-85 carb. Eric is a good guy to deal with and knows his stuff when it comes to E-85. I just switched this year and I really don't burn that much more fuel than on gas. I also picked up .25-.30 and about 4 mph over gas.
 
I use E85 regularly. The car runs really good on straight E85 with my modifications. To find the right balance, I have been experimenting with mixing in E10 & find that at around E57-E65 I get the best performance.
Here's my setup:
1967 Barracuda
273 V8 (I estimate this engine can pull around 300hp)
* 1985 Cop Heads, 1.80/2.02 valves/about 9.0:1 compression (ironically I did this
to run 87 octane...apparently the old comp ratio works better w/ E85)
* Higher Perf Cam (forgot what the specs are, but this does
throw an extra bit of complexity which, when I get it right, screams like a BEAST.
* Electronic Ignition (Orange Box).
* 650cfm Demon Carb (upped the jet sizes to 100 & 85 - I think, memory fails me)
Changing the jets really made a difference. Also, I rebuilt the carb w/ an
Alcohol rebuild kit.
* Changed Out All Runner Fuel Lines to be Fuel Injection Spec (about a $25
change)
* Fuel Pump: Standard Mech, but I'm watching it closely. 1 year, no problems.
However, I'd rather have an Elec pump rated for Alcohol. I've used one & it
works good, but I took it off for another project.
* Headers, Dual Exhaust
* 904 Transmission w/ a whopping 2.73 gear in the 8.75 RE (I know, I know...
but it was free)

I take the precaution of never letting the Alcohol fuel sit too long. No more than a
month. Once I let the fuel sit for about 7 months when I was overseas & had to rebuild the carb. A fuel stabilizer seems to provide a little insurance.

Here's what I've noticed:
* Power: More. If I was a better tuner, I could probably say "A lot more".
* MPG: About 20% less, but the E85 is about 15% less, so the cost for fuel isn't
much different.
* Emissions: MUCH CLEANER. So clean that I was able to register the car as an
Alternative Fuel Vehicle (It's fun to drive legally w/ no passengers in the HOV
Lane...All those 'EVO' & Prius drivers give me the dirtiest looks ;/ )
* Total Cost to Mod: Approx $100 (Lines, Carb Kit, Jets & Extra Fuel Filter)

Overall, I am glad I did it. I don't race (but would like to learn it). Anyway, I'd like to hear some thoughts about how to tune it better, so if anyone has experience w/ it, lemme know.
 
I run my 440 on E85 and it is 11 to 1 compression with stealth heads. I love it because it runs so cool. I cruised around the fair grounds 3 times during car craft summer cruise in st. paul and it never got hotter than 180 ( at the t stat rating ) I had to pull the blade fan and put on an electric fan. Most be people do that for better cooling...I did it for better heat! When its 90 degrees out I have to idle my car in the staging lanes to build heat! If I do not it will only be at 110- 120 on the line. It is way cheaper, easy to get here in the twin cities and your exhaust smells like a patron shot! i also run spray so the constant higher octane level allows me to run carb and spray of same tank of fuel![ame="http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGN6R2VFUfA&list=UUdlhD9PxvN089Jp_viRAQ-w&index=6&feature=plcp"]http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGN6R2VFUfA&list=UUdlhD9PxvN089Jp_viRAQ-w&index=6&feature=plcp[/ame]
 
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