I would play with it but there isn't any within 60 miles of me. I would like gas stations to carry 87, 93 non ethanol, and e85. No one uses 89
My son and I both have run E85 for over6 years. Love it. Motor runs cooler,can run more compression, way less costly than race fuel: $2.59 a gallon here, actually picked up .10 to .15 in the quarter. Uses 30% more fuel. For us we get 1 run per gallon. Just make sure you get a E85 carb guru to build one, its not just getting a kit and doing it or someone you know to do it,its far more complicated than that. Mark Sullens is great and its better to buy a complete carb from him than converting yours. He runs them on a mule engine so its ready to bolt on.
I can get it from the pump or pail from the speed shop.. so I may raise the compression a little bit with this rebuild … Amy idea if I should go with any certain cam (I’m sure I’ll be using nitrous) with e85
I hear you need to be careful about buying at the pump because it's not always the same blend......might be e85 one time and closer to e80 the next time. Might not matter as much if your combi isn't on the ragged edge. I've also heard if it sits its similar to methanol and it can dirty up ports and stuff inside the carb...... I have no 1st hand use, but if its not run often it will leave a white powered inthe carb when it evaporates..........and I'm sure it will draw moisture in sitting storage too
E85 may vary in percent some, a simple test tube tester will tell you where its at and its easy to modify. Yes, you need to drain the carb if your storing or not going to run the motor for more than a couple weeks. I fire it up every 2 weeks if not racing and clean it in the fall before putting it to bed. Any old E85 from previous year will need to be checked with the hydrometer and adjusted before using it. Again a simple task. I forgot to mention,its also more consistent with et,its not as affected by weather conditions as fuel.
Cam wise, switching over doesn't change cam spec requirements. Nitrous though I don't know,never run it.
That's all true Ben.. When I finally dig out of the pile of backed up work here, I am definitely going back racing, and there is little chance that I will be paying upwards of $10/gallon for racing gasoline for the bracket cars.. Kinda stuck doing that with the stocker when I get into that program, as E-85 is not allowed. Those of us who live in northern climates need to be vigilant when it comes to buying from the pump.. I always test the fuel when we do an E-85 motor on the dyno.. and I have seen it as low as 70%.. they blend less ethanol in it during the winter months, and because it does not move as fast as regular gasoline, that winter fuel can last well into the racing season. While the ease of just buying it out of the pump is tempting, I will be following the example of one of my customers.. He buys a 258 gallon Tote of pure Ethanol, and a drum of race gas, and then mixes his own fuel.. he uses Sunoco Maximal to increase his octane of the mix. This allows for the best consistency of fuel and engine performance, and keeps the bottom of the barrel gasoline that they use to mix with the Ethanol out of the equation. I will start with a 54 gallon drum of Ethanol, and a couple 5 gallon pails of VP C-12, and hopefully will be racing enough in the future to get into the bigger quantity deals later. And yes, I would echo what Gary said.. Find a guy who does the conversions/builds, and actually tests them. I had a couple carbs converted here by a guy out in western mn who did just this, and they were spot on. Glad I had him do a 4150 and a 4500 for me.. as he retired and the new guy that bought his business is just an LS freak, and not interesting in doing carb work anymore. Whatever you do, don't trust any out of the box E-85 carb... I have seen examples were they are 10-15 jet sizes lean, and have had customers who just bought a shiny new carb out of the box, and blown up their perfectly good race motor, because it was too lean. I don't care who you buy it from, the whole deal is that it has to be tested, on an engine.. I have stuff in the shop from the biggest names in carbs, that was not calibrated correctly..right out of the box. Because it was not engine tested, and carbs are individuals, test enough of them, and you will know what I mean. And yes, the alcohol is corrosive, if it has to sit more than a few weeks, it's best to drain the tank, and flush the system with gasoline. Keeping the fuel system/and storage stuff sealed is a big deal, as the alky sucks up moisture like crazy, right out of the air. I have a customer using E-85 who bolts a carb cap onto the carb and then puts a AN cap on the fuel cel vent, as part of his after race routine, to keep the posture levels down in his system. So yes, more labor intensive, but you can't beat race fuel for a couple bucks a gallon. And as Gary said, the engine runs cooler, and the larger volume of fuel makes it less sensitive to minor ambient condition changes. At least so I am told.. JW
I don't think E85 is corrosive. It's the hydrophilic thing (water absorption) that makes it promote rust. Keeping it dry (sealed for atmosphere) when in storage is key.
As mentioned, speak with mark sullens. Everyone I know uses his carbs with success. I have one built but have not converted yet as I still have a good amount of VP C12 to use up.
Eric at Horsepower innovations is another great choice for a builder,..I've ran it in 2 Buicks Let the fuel cycle if it's gonna sit,..that's all just crank it and let it run If you gonna build an engine to run E85,..then put compression in it,..13to1 works better than 11.75 with corn,..the higher the better For a NA engine,..pump stuff is fine put a meter in the car,..and go with it,..I ran it in my 1100hp Camaro with the factory 10.2 compression,...as low as 70% it didn't care It's not as cheap as it was and so its sitting in the tanks longer something to consider,...
E85 is awesome. I've ran in with a MPFI set up and dry nitrous for years. Personally I haven't seen a huge swing from the pump, at most its e70-e85 and it really doesn't make as big of a difference as you would think. I wouldn't run E85 if you plan on spraying it hard. Around 300-400 is probably max unless you want to by it from a race fuel company. The stuff from the pump is mixed with 87 octane and it's not great with a heavy nitrous hit. For an NA or NA with a small nitrous kit it's great.
