E-85 Gasoline Experience C3
Racer
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 336
Likes: 1
From: Asheville N.C.
Just pull up an ethenol web and you will learn even more. It is said that E10 will work with small moifications in cars 20 yrs or older, but it causes rubber breakdown, eat up fiberglass, draws moisture and cause water build up in your tank, self life is only approx. 3 months until the ethanol starts separating from the petro, cause problem hot starts, vaporising, faster evaporation, runs hotter and has a lower boiling point than gasoline. My opinion is if there are anymore extra E-values added, the old carb could be gone. Know wonder we're having all these extra carb and timing issues. Non-Ethanol is better for our cars. Just check out some of the Ethanol webs. Frankly I'm tired of having to do and re-do these things on my car but I will, what else can we do??????????ED
Last edited by ED79; Aug 9, 2009 at 11:50 AM.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 14,112
Likes: 28
From: Florida
Just pull up an ethenol web and you will learn even more. It is said that E10 will work with small moifications in cars 20 yrs or older, but it causes rubber breakdown, eat up fiberglass, draws moisture and cause water build up in your tank, self life is only approx. 3 months until the ethanol starts separating from the petro, cause problem hot starts, vaporising, faster evaporation, runs hotter and has a lower boiling point than gasoline. My opinion is if there are anymore extra E-values added, the old carb could be gone. Know wonder we're having all these extra carb and timing issues. Non-Ethanol is better for our cars. Just check out some of the Ethanol webs. Frankly I'm tired of having to do and re-do these things on my car but I will, what else can we do??????????ED
Supposedly, all rubber and carb kits and even cars manufactured in the last 20 years were made with E10 tolerant parts, so my experiences substantiate that. I have redone the carbs and rubber parts a couple years ago, just for age consideration, so there is no 30+ year rubber etc.
The only problem seemingly is in STIHL 2 stoke equipment that uses a new flip top gas cap with an oring. The oring swells over time to make it dificult to remove the cap, but that has taken almost a year to surface.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,132
Likes: 14
From: A town SC
basicly what my point is, if someone wants to run e 85 bad enough it CAN be done, in about any vehicle you want besides mike wards,his car wont run it period.and as for as my spelling,its bad and i have no typing skills either. Guess its because I spend more time working turning wrenches and doing what some people just type about.. mike you might want to get out of that kitchen and in to your shop, and sharpin up on your automotive skills since you dont even really know that a c3 came factory L98 or not... got better things to do than argue with you.. like actually geting my hands dirty,and im not talking about in my kitchen... done with this sub.
Race Director
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 10,674
Likes: 122
From: Millington Illinois
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
E85 is 100 to 105 octane. This is a great alternative to racing fuel. You just have to set the car up right. There are alcohol carbs available and most modern carb rebuild components are available ethanol compatable . It is damaging to rubber, aluminum and magnesium in direct contact with the fuel system. Drag racers have been running alcohol for years. If I was building an L88 style engine (stock C3) that required 100 octane I would seriously consider replacing the fuel lines with stainless steel, the flex lines with ethanol compatable lines. proper carb components, alcohol compatable fuel pump and jetting and dyno tuning for E85. It is also a good option for supercharged or turbocharged applications. It doesn't get as good of mileage as regular gasoline but if you are driving an L88 or ZL1 fuel mileage is not really a concern. The cost long term would be cheaper than having to run racing fuel @ $6.00 a gallon all the time.
Last edited by 63mako; Aug 9, 2009 at 05:00 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,936
Likes: 1
From: Winston-Salem NC
Facts about L98 engine-(didn't come in a C3)
Years: 1985-1992
The new 1985 L98 added tuned-port fuel injection "TPI", which produced 230 hp (172 kW) and 330 lb·ft (447 N·m). It was standard on all 1985-1991 Corvettes (rated at 230 hp (172 kW)-250 hp (186 kW) and 330 lb·ft (447 N·m)-350 lb·ft (475 N·m)). Optional on 87-92 Chevrolet Camaro & Pontiac Firebird models (rated at 225 hp (168 kW)-245 hp (183 kW) and 330 lb·ft (447 N·m)-345 lb·ft (468 N·m)) 1987 versions had 10 hp (7 kW) and 15 lb·ft (20 N·m) more thanks to 9.5:1 compression and a change to hydraulic roller camshaft. Compression was up again in 1991 to 10:1 but output stayed the same.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrol...l-Block_engine
The new 1985 L98 added tuned-port fuel injection "TPI", which produced 230 hp (172 kW) and 330 lb·ft (447 N·m). It was standard on all 1985-1991 Corvettes (rated at 230 hp (172 kW)-250 hp (186 kW) and 330 lb·ft (447 N·m)-350 lb·ft (475 N·m)). Optional on 87-92 Chevrolet Camaro & Pontiac Firebird models (rated at 225 hp (168 kW)-245 hp (183 kW) and 330 lb·ft (447 N·m)-345 lb·ft (468 N·m)) 1987 versions had 10 hp (7 kW) and 15 lb·ft (20 N·m) more thanks to 9.5:1 compression and a change to hydraulic roller camshaft. Compression was up again in 1991 to 10:1 but output stayed the same.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrol...l-Block_engine
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,132
Likes: 14
From: A town SC
E85 is 100 to 105 octane. This is a great alternative to racing fuel. You just have to set the car up right. There are alcohol carbs available and most modern carb rebuild components are available ethanol compatable . It is damaging to rubber, aluminum and magnesium in direct contact with the fuel system. Drag racers have been running alcohol for years. If I was building an L88 style engine (stock C3) that required 100 octane I would seriously consider replacing the fuel lines with stainless steel, the flex lines with ethanol compatable lines. proper carb components, alcohol compatable fuel pump and jetting and dyno tuning for E85. It is also a good option for supercharged or turbocharged applications. It doesn't get as good of mileage as regular gasoline but if you are driving an L88 or ZL1 fuel mileage is not really a concern. The cost long term would be cheaper than having to run racing fuel @ $6.00 a gallon all the time.
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,936
Likes: 1
From: Winston-Salem NC
BTW, using corn isstupid because it it effects the food supply. Anything that decomposes can be made into alcohol, including algae, which is being done at NC State Univ., and others. Also, I suggest using inmates to harvest kudzu on the side of our roads to clean that mess up, and use kudzu to make alcohol. Kudzu is another govt project gone haywaire.
"Kudzu was introduced from Japan into the United States in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, where it was promoted as a forage crop and an ornamental plant. From 1935 to the early 1950s the Soil Conservation Service encouraged farmers in the Southeastern United States to plant kudzu to reduce soil erosion as above, and the Civilian Conservation Corps planted it widely for many years.
It was subsequently discovered that the Southeastern US has near-perfect conditions for kudzu to grow out of control — hot, humid summers, frequent rainfall, temperate winters with few hard freezes (kudzu cannot tolerate low freezing temperatures that bring the frost line down through its entire root system, a rare occurrence in this region), and no natural predators. As such, the once-promoted plant was named a pest weed by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1953."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu
"Kudzu was introduced from Japan into the United States in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, where it was promoted as a forage crop and an ornamental plant. From 1935 to the early 1950s the Soil Conservation Service encouraged farmers in the Southeastern United States to plant kudzu to reduce soil erosion as above, and the Civilian Conservation Corps planted it widely for many years.
It was subsequently discovered that the Southeastern US has near-perfect conditions for kudzu to grow out of control — hot, humid summers, frequent rainfall, temperate winters with few hard freezes (kudzu cannot tolerate low freezing temperatures that bring the frost line down through its entire root system, a rare occurrence in this region), and no natural predators. As such, the once-promoted plant was named a pest weed by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1953."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu
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Drifting
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,936
Likes: 1
From: Winston-Salem NC
Racing fuel wouldn't be so expensive if the liberal green weenies would let us drill. In fact, they have driven the price of everything up! Wanna here how high diesel fuel is now? I drive a big truck, and people wonder why shipping is so high now?
BTW, why are so many costs up for the racing industry, ie; NASCAR,Indy?
BTW, why are so many costs up for the racing industry, ie; NASCAR,Indy?
Last edited by eagle275; Aug 9, 2009 at 05:25 PM. Reason: add
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 17,676
Likes: 201
From: Who says "Nothing is impossible" ? I've been doing nothing for years.
Ethanol has yet to be proven it can be profitable. It is more expensive to turn into usable fuel for cars. Farmers are switching over to corn because they see $$$$ and other crops become more expensive. And as of today and the foreseeable future the US government is covering the losses ( US taxpayer is subsidizing ethanol fuel ) 
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 15,892
Likes: 42
Years: 1985-1992
The new 1985 L98 added tuned-port fuel injection "TPI", which produced 230 hp (172 kW) and 330 lb·ft (447 N·m). It was standard on all 1985-1991 Corvettes (rated at 230 hp (172 kW)-250 hp (186 kW) and 330 lb·ft (447 N·m)-350 lb·ft (475 N·m)). ...............
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrol...l-Block_engine
The new 1985 L98 added tuned-port fuel injection "TPI", which produced 230 hp (172 kW) and 330 lb·ft (447 N·m). It was standard on all 1985-1991 Corvettes (rated at 230 hp (172 kW)-250 hp (186 kW) and 330 lb·ft (447 N·m)-350 lb·ft (475 N·m)). ...............
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrol...l-Block_engine
I bow in humbleness. Back to the kitchen for me.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,132
Likes: 14
From: A town SC
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 3,053
Likes: 4
St. Jude Donor '03,'11
Let's don't EVEN get started on the commie practices going on North of the Border.
When you going to take that car to a track?
Last edited by turtlevette; Aug 9, 2009 at 09:20 PM.
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 4,077
Likes: 27
From: Northeast South Dakota
I have a C3 (1981)that runs on E85 just fine, and makes a noticeable HP jump on E85 over premium when tested on a Dynojet Dyno. I also have a C5 that I can run either E85 or premium on. I did run an old Chevy pickup on E85 for awhile. It took a little carb jetting and timing changes. I only did it for 6 or 8 months. Not long enough to tell if it hurts rubber or not. I think the fuel heating mod would be a good one if you really wanted to run E85 on an old, carbureted engine. Cold starts are a little rough without the fuel heating modification.
Oh yeah, that's right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess now that I think about it my C3 isn't entirely stock anymore.
The C5 is bone stock except for the tune that makes it run on E85 or premium.
-Justin
Oh yeah, that's right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess now that I think about it my C3 isn't entirely stock anymore.
The C5 is bone stock except for the tune that makes it run on E85 or premium.
-Justin
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 3,053
Likes: 4
St. Jude Donor '03,'11
I would bet one could run E85 on the highway under light throttle with no changes whatsoever.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 20,860
Likes: 959
From: I tend to be leery of any guy who doesn't own a chainsaw or a handgun.