E-85 Ethanol

unless you up the compression or go to FI the added octane is a waste. the higher the octane the harder to ignite, so for high compression motors or those under boost it helps avoid pre-ignition. our lowley 8:1 compression isn't going to put out more power with it.

 

now you're cooking. not sure of the effects of ethenol on the motor though. i'll check with some of my drag buddies who burn all kinds of crap...

 

It has as far as I know no negative aspects. It burns a little faster than gasoline, but it´s alot cheaper too (at least in Sweden), and you can get about 20hp just by using it. It´s not hard to convert to ethanol from gasoline either....basically you just change the fuel pressure and make some minor changes....a 40 min job.

 

It loves water. I'll skip it.

 

An interesting concept. I would think a bit of attention in jetting woulkd take care of the air fuel ratio, usually a bit larger.
While I haven't had experience in blended fuels of this type, I do have a bit of expertise in alky injection...
One thing that will cause a lot of problems with them is WATER.
As mentioned Alky draws water like a sponge. Fuel containers must be kept sealed, as the fuel will draw moisture fom air and retains it. It is common for races to have their older fuel redistilled to remove the water. It is that bad.
When shutting down an alky injected rig, after a weekends runs, you must flush the lines by running gasoline thru the system. Failure to do this will mean a lot of work in fixing corroded injectors, control valves, etc.
FWIW...
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The other downside is that E-85 has a lower energy density than gasoline (about 30% less BTUs in each gallon compared to gasoline) so you can't compare the $/gallon prices directly (i.e., E-85 being 40~50 cents per gallon cheaper is actually more expensive than gasoline at $2~$2.50 per gallon).

The "pro-ethanol" sites report that the range penalty isn't quite as bad as doing a straight BTU-to-BTU comparison (and, of course, they try to obfuscate the whole issue with no facts and a lot of BS), but you'll probably get 20~25% less miles per tankful on an IC engine modified to run E-85.

 

During a cross country trip I used two tanks of E-85 and the mileage was horrible. I noticed about a 20% loss in useable range while driving with E-85 fuel.
BT

 

I worry about the seals in those Webber's. Also the Miles per Tank will go down which will shorten range.

Best

 

alcohol is a lousy fuel designed to keep the midwest farmers occupied, it has caused untold damage to cars fuel system and it likes to eat aluminum and you decrease milage. Not alot to recommend it.

 

For the first time ever, I pretty much agree with Gary48!
The lower energy content can be dealt with, as can extracting the power with timing, especially in a hotrod... But it's corrosive to fuel system components and hard on valve seats. I dont' recommend it for anything other than a tank of E10 in the spring to dry out the fuel tank. As a matter of fact, I recommend against it for everything but that! And I've developed production engine calibrations for a vehicle that's on the road right now that can run on E85....

 

Gary48 did not go far enough. Ethanol is a welfare scheme for the American farmer and a massive corporate subsidy for the Archer Daniel Midland Co. (ADM)
"Supermarket to the World" brought to you by the American taxpayer.

 

Hey krowbar, look on the bright side. We Americans will be more than happy to take those old pollution spewing classic cars off the Italians.

 

We should find someone that lives in Brazil to give us some more real world experience with the E-85. They use a lot of it down there

 

I thought castor oil was super corrosive itself! Or does it just get gummy? I know you can't leave that stuff in a kart engine after the race weekend....

 

Exactly, lower Specific Energy for E-85 compared to Gasoline.

Also burns hotter so gaskets and seals will become higher wear items. I'd also check the carb diaphragms to see what affect E-85 has on them and if there is any damage.

 

E-85 is 85% ethanol and 15% low octane gasoline components compined to give the correct pump octane (87, 89, 93). It is not higher octane. A refinery or blender will blend down the 110 R+M/2 ethanol with the lower components.

Being an oxygenate it has a little less enegy per gallon hence lower fuel economy as someone has already pointed out.

The 1990 Clean Air Act requires refiners to put in an additive package that provides fuel injection and intake valve cleaners. Along with this package are additives to control corrosion and other stuff.

Ethanol is a very polar compound. It likes water and can really clean out your fuel system.

Most gasoline today in the east and midwest contain ethanol but only about 10% as MTBE has beed mandated out of gasoline pool since it easily mixes with water and causes real problems with portable water in the instance of a spill.

I would not hesitate to use 10% etanol in one of my older cars. I would never use E-85 in them.