E85 fuel

[suzuki27]

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.

[Lozza]

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.

[mx250]

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.

[Davey Crocket]

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!!!

[Lozza]

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.

[Mike52]

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

[oldfart]

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    

[Mike52]

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

[Davey Crocket]

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

[mx250]

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 

[GMC]

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.

[mx250]

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?. 

[mx250]

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.

[Nathan S]

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.

[Lozza]

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

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.