Omaha02Z06

If you deal with C5’s might want to post over in that section also as there was recently a E85 thread. One of the common concerns was easily switching between a pump gas map and the E85 map. Coming from the Subaru community it’s nice to see Vette tuners catering to E85.

billiam01

What's so great about E85? It offers less energy per gallon than conventional gasoline hence the lower mpg. We have to burn more of it to get the same benefit. I understand the non-oil base energy politics but other than that.......

Six-Gun-Todd

Several reasons actually.....

Octane range of 94-96 (R+M)/2

Ethanol is a cooler and cleaner burning fuel than gasoline....which in port fuel injected engines leads to a "slight" inlet air cooling effect.

9sec383

After reading all 3 pages ive gathered E85 isnt for everyone...its more for Zo6s with mods and high compression where 93 octane will not suffice...if we have money to buy $50,000+ Z06s we shouldnt be worried about miles per gallon or fuel economy....thats what the ford focus is for....Z06s are for ***** across the face power enthusiasts and not for the weak hearted...

Six-Gun-Todd

Thought the Camaro was the universally accepted rainbow warrior car

9sec383

yea that came out way wrong...lol i meant ***** across your/ their face...my bad

MX621

maybe one day ill be cool like you......myself and everyone in this forum really look up to you now. i thought this thread was about E-85, but apparently not.

flyinmedic

I understand that if you are running boost that you will need to upgrade the fuel system as well as the injectors. Is this true? My LS7 (stock block) big cam, D1SC @ 9psi, meth, 80lb injectors, etc... is doing 770rwhp/667rwtq. What could I expect to see if I switched and what would I need to upgrade?

0Myhardtop

Hello Hans,

Older cars [many '90 models and older] have to change a few fueling components for it to run E85.

Most of our guys swap to 60lbs units; a little big but it lends itself great for future mods.

The cold starting is attributed to the summer blend. When temps fall (winter), gas stations make the switch to E70 (winter blend). I've seen some guys add a 70/30 mix (E85 vs. 93oct) for extreme cold weather without any starting issues.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,
Carlos

0Myhardtop

Heck man, all you need is E85 and tuning.

Most bosted guys pick up between 45 and 60rwhp with E85 and tuning; a bump in boost will net more if the set up can handle it.

Thanks,
Carlos

GARY2004Z06

At what temperature does E85 begin to exhibit difficulties with starting. (I'm assuming most guys won't be driving their Z's when its that cold.)

BLW BY

Finally someone understands. You probably don't own a repair shop but have an engineering background or just commonsense.

Lots of people run more HP than stock but I don't see any 100,000 mile warranty's being handed out; most have you sign a release. LOL

Any rubber coming contact with this fuel better be up to the task, for example, the gas cap seal.

Which weighs more:
A pound of Mercury?
OR
A pound of Water?

An oz. of gas has more BTU's or energy than an oz. of E85, so you have to run more than an oz. of E85 to get the same energy output as gas. That means it takes more fuel to make the same power output. This is a disadvantage. Fuel consumption will double.

The Advantages are that E85 carries it's own O2 molecule. Now you can run 2 - 2 1/2 oz. of E85 and achieve the same AFR as the 1 oz. of gas.
More fuel means more BTU's, more octane, lower combustion temps. This also allows for more compression, more timing and simply put more power.

The wizards or engineers at GM got your back on this one.

Smaller displacement, direct injection and more power with a warranty.

I'll wait.

BLW BY

Don't get me started on NITRO.

BTW the E85 consist of 85% grain alcohol, the federal gov puts 15% gasoline to keep the wine-os from drinking it right out of the pump.

Mr.Big

Anyone that buys a Corvette, and preaches about the environment... well... lol... it's a hotrod!!!
E85 is superior than 93petrol in most applications, the facts are in the results. Thanks for sharing Carlos!

Six-Gun-Todd

I presume you are already running water methanol injection.....so you would see no benefit in running E85. Depending on your water to methanol ratio and amount of injection you are already realizing the chemical equivalent of 110-115 octane while running 93 octane fuel. You're already ahead of the E85 octane numbers.

Six-Gun-Todd

I try

Living in the Motorcity gives me certain advantages.....and "new technology" in the automotive sector hits us a bit earlier than everywhere else. E85 was a joke locally even before it hit the mainstream media.....just another means for automakers to ride the environmental bandwagon and subvert fleet mileage numbers. Don't get me wrong.....I've run my fair share of blown alcohol and nitro rails and know the advantages in a race only application but can't see E85 being a very good day to day choice. Personally I'm a huge supporter of water methanol injection.....the advantages of running regular fuel available everywhere and being able to chemically "dope" the fuel into much higher observed octane.

Now if I lived in the corn belt and E85 was plentiful everywhere and less expensive than locally I'd consider it an option.

PCMusicGuy

I remember you stating for a stock engine, E85 was not worth it. But if you up the compression to 13:1 it would be better. My question is if you bump compression, are stuck with no place to by E85 and have to use 93 octane, can you still drive the car like you could with E85? Does this depend on the compression? If so where is the point which you have to play it safe?

Six-Gun-Todd

Bingo.

That's why I like water meth injection.....I can find windshield wash anywhere.

jschindler

Just to add a little to this thread - because I actually am finding it a good thread to learn from. You folks do know why the auto makers are producing E85 vehicles, don't you? There is one main reason you see all those Suburbans, Tahoes, pickup trucks etc running around with "Flex Fuel" emblems on them.

Five Monday morning thumbs ups for the first person with the correct answer.

BLW BY

The weak link is the fuel's octane rating 91-93.
If you look at the high octane table, just when the motors reaching max torque, is when the VCM starts pulling timing.

Why are peoples adding air filters, bigger cams, heads, exhaust amongst other mods and don't account for the weak link. All these mods might even accentuate this issue.

BTW switching back and forth is not an issue due to the fact the E85 is 15% gasoline and the pump gas, in most of the country, is 10% ethanol.