OzVMX Forum
Clubroom => Tech Talk => Topic started by: suzuki27 on January 05, 2011, 10:04:42 pm
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Anyone tried the E85 fuel? I have been hearing some good things about E85(Ethanol 85%) fuel - such as the V8 supercars run on it and it is 108 octane etc.
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Yes it's OK. The engine has to be set up for it and ALWAYS test for water content. I think it's around 120RON and 108MON.
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I would anticipate substantial jetting changes - ethanol is less dense in energy compared to petrol and you'll have to pass a lot more (about 10% more IIRC) fuel for the same performance.
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It's shit...Holden spent most of it's VEseries2 update money on getting the engine to run on the crap.....V8 supercars use 30% more fuel to get the same power as the old fuel and the engines have half the lifespan.Government propaganga....shit next they'll be telling us Labor's good for the economy!!! ;D
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V8's are limited to 7:1 static compression that's too low to take advantage of. Used e85 based fuel brews many times, dyno shows a quick and easy 8-10% gain across the range, more if you up the static comp. Can't make it any easier than that................ ::)
Ethanol should be 1.25 times the amount of petrol used (methanol about 1.5 times) but that is 100% ethanol the amount decreases with the petrol added. Using ethanol blends have yet to need a jetting change.
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Calculations should be easy.
How many BTU,s in a liter of jungle juice vs how many in the real stuff. BTU,s tell the real story because they are units of energy,
What air to fuel ratio ? From memory (petrol 13-14/1), (methanol 5/1) Why are the ratio,s different ? Could it be because the petrol contains more energy per liter . Wikipedia article states that the octane rating of E85 is in fact 94/95 and not higher as commonly thought.
V8's are limited to 7:1 static compression .
Why would you run 7/1 compression ratio ? Briggs n Stratton has more than that. Sideplate 179 had 8.5/1. Dud fuel maybe?
1986 WR 240 Husqvarna has a listed compression ratio of 15/1 so this stuff (E85) should make it run real good .
The only reason Australian cars can run on ethanol is the computors which are working their ass off trying to stop the pinging.
Remove the computor and the car stops real quick.
As you can see this is a favourite subject of mine and I rekon this fuel is a big con because you don,t get what you pay for BTU wise.
Why do piston engine planes STILL run on proper petrol? Safety reasons ?
Mike
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I read an interesting artical in a boat magazine ( Tuesaday ) explaining advantages and disadvantages.
Disavantages 12-25% less power
absorbs water ( hydroscopic )
Blend ratios differ from 60-40 to 50 -50 mix ratio's
colder burning fuel
With all the enegy required to produce this product is there an actual reduction in Hydrocarbons ??????
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Does anyone remember seeing Roz Kelly , the minister who signed us up for this fuel , pushing an electric mower ( on tv news ) and saying that these were the future as they gave off no polution.
I laughed so much I cried.
She had to keep kicking the ELECTRIC LEAD out of the way.
IQ ? Not real high was the thought at the time.
Mike
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Avgas still has lead in it....why, because they cant afford all the planes falling out the sky...they have tried the other shit and it doesnt work.....shit, Quantas cant even keep their planes serviced correctly...imagine if they used E85 blend....I vote for Lozza to test pilot one ;D
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With all the enegy required to produce this product is there an actual reduction in Hydrocarbons ??????
Holden's press release said it was all inclusive including growing, harvesting, transport and manufacture etc etc. But I think it was a litre for litre comparison. I'll bet that when you are burning 10-30% more the comparison is not so attractive.
Although I believe alternative fuels are the future, I believe methanol and fuels based on agricultural/food products are not the answer. Methanol is 98% GM marketing BS, political spin and Greenie 'warm inner glow gooey Feel Good' ::). And Misleading >:(
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I don’t think that the intent of these new fuels is to be better or cheaper than our current petrol but to be more self sufficient.
Then the Middle East can go back to farming.
The logic of running our everyday cars on crap and keeping the good stuff for all the older classics appeals to me.
And by making race teams use the stuff will ensure that some decent development work is going on.
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The message is more about , not taking endless pollution for granted .
I'll bet given the choice between starve today or a pollution problem tomorrow I'll bet people will take the 'food today' option ;) :).
Methanol based fuels are NOT the future for Australia or anywhere else - guaranteed. Not even short term.
So why are GM, Pollies and Greenies advocating it?.
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And by making race teams use the stuff will ensure that some decent development work is going on.
Give me a break. The car racing industry, and especially the Australian V8 taxis, belongs in entertainment not engine/fuel R&D.
Put race dollars directly into R&D and you'll get a bigger, faster and more appropriate technological return.
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You are right Graeme , the ratio is not the best ( at the moment ) , but I would not call it missleading . The message is more about , not taking endless pollution for granted . The world is now changing and renewable energy is fledging into a recognisable industry that should not be over looked in any investment portfolio.
Quoted for truth.
E85 has advantages and disadvantages, same as evertything in life.
The sky is not falling.
The V8 Stupidcars have rules that limit the static compression ratio, thereby negating much of E85's potential benefits.
There's plenty of guys in the USA who have tuned cars to run properly on E85 and have gained impressive results.
AvGas is a shit fuel for dirt bikes and cars, even if you could still get it easily.
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Avgas still has lead in it....why, because they cant afford all the planes falling out the sky...they have tried the other shit and it doesnt work.....shit, Quantas cant even keep their planes serviced correctly...imagine if they used E85 blend....I vote for Lozza to test pilot one ;D
Sure no problems bring your plane down anytime your ready. I'll even show you how to tune it ::)
Why would you run 7/1 compression ratio ? Briggs n Stratton has more than that. Sideplate 179 had 8.5/1. Dud fuel maybe?
Why do piston engine planes STILL run on proper petrol? Safety reasons ?
Mike
Planes are under CASA control, they make the rules go and ask them. The over-riding factor will be cost.
Alchohol fuels don't detonate.
Surely you can grasp the concept of 'limited' ?
Turbo cars love it (work that out) ;)
Already 'Sucrogen' has emerged as a 'premium' e85.
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light aircraft,hobby ultalights and outbords (DO NOT USE) even says that in my yamaha out board manual
98 v8 commodore
98 yamaha out board
98 two stroke yz125 cz400
methenol 4 stroke dirkttrack bikes and my cr250m
wont use the blend
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Go to Wikipedia,
type in ETHANOL,
then type in METHANOL,
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quotes ....It’s a blend of ethanol 85 per cent to petrol 15 per cent, made by Caltex with a higher octane rating than 98 Premium fuel but less “calories” meaning you use more for a given amount of driving. Holden says the “well to wheel reduction in emissions is up to 40 per cent.”
Quote .....
To make its engines E85 compatible, Holden engineers have installed harder valves and use a remapped engine computer along with minor changes to seals and the exhaust system. The direct injection V6 is an ideal E85 recipient while the OHV V8 could have been a bit more difficult to harness.
To me it's all smoke a mirrors by the spin doctors..... FFS cows are farting all the time which is supposed to be putting a whole in our Ozone, lets see how they fix that ...... a levy on milk products ??????
http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/the-cow-fart-tax-is-this-just-another-scam-by-the-obama-administration-to-tax-people-making-less-th/question-423617/
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Avgas still has lead in it....why, because they cant afford all the planes falling out the sky...they have tried the other shit and it doesnt work.....shit, Quantas cant even keep their planes serviced correctly...imagine if they used E85 blend....I vote for Lozza to test pilot one ;D
Well in yesterdays Vic paper Qantas is indeed looking at a company that turns waste products into fuel.
I'm not going to get into this E85 bizzo because people are stuck in their own ways as I work for GM and the amount of testing and money GM has put into to is because "someone" has to make a move for the future and invested in it,including the Coskata company that will manufacture waste into fuel.
The biggest problem in testing (cars) was to keep the emissions regulations people happy.(Thats where 90% of the cost goes)
Its not as easy as tweaking the ECU and shes right.
Cold starts ie @-30c in the snow cold climates for countries where the C/dores are exported..N America.
Hot starts for middle east @ +50c meanwhile in between you have average Joe plodding along and leadfoot Larry doing 6000RPM on every gearchange and to learn how every person would probably drive is a nightmare (as i've found out seeing what the engineers are going through) and have changed my opinion about E85.
I as well thought "what a crock of shit and a waste of money" but driving them everyday at work has changed my mind because the cars run fine on plain old unleaded all the way upto E85.
Blends will change throughout the year just like petrol for temp changes.
As long as unleaded fuel sits above $1.20lt you will come out in front on E85 cost going from tests at work.
Below that and unleaded works out cheaper...but remember you'll be able to run ANY fuel in that C/dore,you are not stuck with an E85 only lemon.
As Lozza says good power can be had with E85 as long as the bike is set up for it.
Trust me i was the biggest sceptic but after a 1 1/2 years of testing and driving at work,its changed my mind and agree that someone (GM and Coskata,Caltex and the Vic goverment)) has the balls in Australia to not rely on just petrol.
Once 91 unleaded goes (won't be long) i don't think 95 and 98 will be getting any cheaper will it??
E85 is here now and will be for a while...so go out there and do some testing ;)
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Avgas still has lead in it....why, because they cant afford all the planes falling out the sky...they have tried the other shit and it doesnt work.....shit, Quantas cant even keep their planes serviced correctly...imagine if they used E85 blend....I vote for Lozza to test pilot one ;D
Well in yesterdays Vic paper Qantas is indeed looking at a company that turns waste products into fuel.
I'm not going to get into this E85 bizzo because people are stuck in their own ways as I work for GM and the amount of testing and money GM has put into to is because "someone" has to make a move for the future and invested in it,including the Coskata company that will manufacture waste into fuel.
The biggest problem in testing (cars) was to keep the emissions regulations people happy.(Thats where 90% of the cost goes)
Its not as easy as tweaking the ECU and shes right.
Cold starts ie @-30c in the snow cold climates for countries where the C/dores are exported..N America.
Hot starts for middle east @ +50c meanwhile in between you have average Joe plodding along and leadfoot Larry doing 6000RPM on every gearchange and to learn how every person would probably drive is a nightmare (as i've found out seeing what the engineers are going through) and have changed my opinion about E85.
I as well thought "what a crock of shit and a waste of money" but driving them everyday at work has changed my mind because the cars run fine on plain old unleaded all the way upto E85.
Blends will change throughout the year just like petrol for temp changes.
As long as unleaded fuel sits above $1.20lt you will come out in front on E85 cost going from tests at work.
Below that and unleaded works out cheaper...but remember you'll be able to run ANY fuel in that C/dore,you are not stuck with an E85 only lemon.
As Lozza says good power can be had with E85 as long as the bike is set up for it.
Trust me i was the biggest sceptic but after a 1 1/2 years of testing and driving at work,its changed my mind and agree that someone (GM and Coskata,Caltex and the Vic goverment)) has the balls in Australia to not rely on just petrol.
Once 91 unleaded goes (won't be long) i don't think 95 and 98 will be getting any cheaper will it??
E85 is here now and will be for a while...so go out there and do some testing ;)
A very true and valid. But a narrow GM point of View.
As I said before;
"Although I believe alternative fuels are the future, I believe methanol and fuels based on agricultural/food products are not the answer. Methanol is 98% GM marketing BS, political spin and Greenie 'warm inner glow gooey Feel Good' ::). And Misleading >:("
And;
"Methanol based fuels are NOT the future for Australia or anywhere else - guaranteed. Not even short term.
So why are GM, Pollies and Greenies advocating it?. "
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sorry Gents - I am a long way from regular news and often (at best) can only get snippets - but on a similar train of thought - hasn't there just been a new gas injection system trialled in Australia which gives LPG powered cars close to the same output as petrol - I think my beloved HSV are trying it out?
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People pissing in each others pockets and the old brown paper bag....better to be seen doing something than nothing even if it is BS.....Now if you could make the farkers run on water, we've got plenty up here in the Sunshine State...going cheap....I could do you a deal...say 20c a litre, but keep it quiet...dont want everybody ringing me. ;)......rusty nuts ;D
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Go to Wikipedia,
type in ETHANOL,
then type in METHANOL,
you cant use methanol in cars as it uses 3 times as much a my petrol engines.they are totaly different fuels they can be blended but for the life of me i cant se why.
get your ass on a good bike running on methenol you wont go back to pissy petrol.i run at lest 1 bike on petrol as at the end of the day i drain the methenol out of the tanks and run 2t through to lube things up.methenol eats alloys and is hydroscopic(look that up in wikipedia) prick of a thing to start in the cold though airo start thank goodness
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The mechanic I get my methanol from said that E85 requires 30% more fuel delivery/supply. That is 30% more give or take, than ,say Vortex98. He said that with some adjusting of jetting my 2 valve Jawa would run good on it- I don't go through enough methanol to be bothered changing, but if methanol got very expensive or hard to get I would. He did say that E85 does really need to be run through largely plastic fuel pumps in cars.
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Just reading up on ethanol.
Interesting stuff.
Makes you go blind. Not what they told me when I was a kid. ;D
Burns to leave only water and carbon dioxide.
Hang on a sec.
carbon dioxide ???
Mike
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Cars would have been running on alcohol fuels decades ago, if the oil companies hadn't had their way.
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Most ethaol blends in fuels for normal cars seem just a rip off , i cannot coment on E85 though as i have not used it in race bikes. whats the attraction compared to methanol is E85 easier to get...
The ron of ethanol is 108 - 115 according to Graham bell two stroke tuning book compared to prem unleaded say 95, but do not be decieved the heat energy BTU/LB 12500 compared to 19000 in prem unleaded allmost half and the fuel to air ratio is almost half as well... Does anyone ever do antyhing to the other side of the equation ie NOS.... in dirt bike racing
Brett
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sorry Gents - I am a long way from regular news and often (at best) can only get snippets - but on a similar train of thought - hasn't there just been a new gas injection system trialled in Australia which gives LPG powered cars close to the same output as petrol - I think my beloved HSV are trying it out?
Correct Ross,*** service centre in Frankston have the contract to supply HSV with Liquid Injection Systems and power is pretty much on par or more than petrol.
*** shot themselves in the foot after supplying us with one their kits for testing for nothing.
Once the testing and calibration of the kits were done,Holden was donating the car for tafe LPG training courses.
*** are licensed to be the sole trainer/supplier for the liquid kits for 3 odd years.
After fitting the kit we had to modify one of the flexi hoses,they got wind of it and immediately wanted the kit removed or paid for.
The bean counters decided fair enough,take the kit back.
Tafe's missed out on donated vehicles for LPG training (2-300 cars a year go to SES)
Little did *** know that GM were ready to put in a large order with them and GM decided it was time to design their own system for a dedicated LPG vehicle due out in the future ;)
HSV were too far into it already and decided to stay with it,by all accounts it is a very good system.
A donut tank with a high pressure pump in the tank supplying high pressure liquid to tapped in metered solenoids on the inlet manifold with a return line to the tank.
Plug and play into original ECU although i have been hearing of hot start troubles (allegedly ;) )
And at approx 6 grand +,GM decided to design their own system.