E85 gas. Who tried it?

[miataspeed2005]

So has anyone tryed the new e85 gas? It's 100-105 octane and it's supposed to be cheaper than gas, should be good to bump up the timing a few more degrees without knock, what's do you guys think? Go or no go?

[Stein]

This is new where you are? We have had E85 for about eight years.

Bear in mind, it will require 30% more fuel, so the savings will be moot.

It will be almost a given that you will end up replacing your fuel filter within a week. Not that it's a bad thing, but it will plug from all of the crap in your tank that will be passed when you run the E85.

Might want to research some threads.

[hustler]

[miataspeed2005]

Originally Posted by Stein

This is new where you are? We have had E85 for about eight years.

Bear in mind, it will require 30% more fuel, so the savings will be moot.

It will be almost a given that you will end up replacing your fuel filter within a week. Not that it's a bad thing, but it will plug from all of the crap in your tank that will be passed when you run the E85.

Might want to research some threads.

I don't really care about the gas savings. I just care about the 100-105 octane.

And hustler what spark table is that? Is it for e85? Or just how advanced you are running with regular gas?

[hustler]

Originally Posted by miataspeed2005

I don't really care about the gas savings. I just care about the 100-105 octane.

And hustler what spark table is that? Is it for e85? Or just how advanced you are running with regular gas?

That's how much of a man you'll never be. 93-octane, -2*

[saint_foo]

I've had some 2nd hand experience with E85 in the Subaru realm. I drove back a WRX that was tuned to 375whp to my mechanic. It sucks up gas noticeably worse than a regular 93 octane map. I think we got about 150-160 miles on a tank (while autoxing and highway driving one day).

So basically, you spend about $5 for the same mileage versus race gas that's $7.75 per gallon. I think my mechanic said you can run 3 degrees more advanced timing than the race fuel (VP 108?).

In any event, if you can run multiple maps (93 octane, E85, etc) and switch relatively easy, then running a tank of E85 might be worth getting a tune. The downsides are: where's the nearest location, keeping your eye on the fuel gauge, long-term damage to systems that weren't designed for E85.

[miataspeed2005]

Originally Posted by hustler

That's how much of a man you'll never be. 93-octane, -2*

I'm man enough for your mom to keep calling me back for more. I will always deny you as my child and ull remain a bastard the rest of your life.

Anyways back to topic! How bad could it be to run it in an engine that wasn't meant for e85? I mean how many parts do we have in our cats that wasn't meant to be on there but we still have them

[hustler]

Originally Posted by miataspeed2005

I'm man enough for your mom to keep calling me back for more. I will always deny you as my child and ull remain a bastard the rest of your life.

My mother is a tranny, you sick fuck!

[Mach929]

Originally Posted by miataspeed2005

I mean how many parts do we have in our cats

animal abuse?

the 240 guys run it no problem, i don't see how we'd be any different, though they seem to make way more power with more timing than we do.

[miataspeed2005]

Originally Posted by Mach929

animal abuse?

the 240 guys run it no problem, i don't see how we'd be any different, though they seem to make way more power with more timing than we do.

nothing new, seems like hondas, toyotas, nissans, subarus, vw and every other import cars make more power with less modifications.
There has to be someone running e85 on a miata tho. If not I guess I'll have to start a new trend

[SamS]

1BadMX5 did it. I think he parted out his car a while back though.
433.1 hp on E85 pump gas

[Mach929]

Originally Posted by miataspeed2005

nothing new, seems like hondas, toyotas, nissans, subarus, vw and every other import cars make more power with less modifications.
There has to be someone running e85 on a miata tho. If not I guess I'll have to start a new trend

that's not exactly what i meant, turbo ka motors specifically can make like 50whp with 2 degrees of timing where we might make 10. it's just an observation i've made.

[the_man]

Originally Posted by miataspeed2005

How bad could it be to run it in an engine that wasn't meant for e85? I mean how many parts do we have in our cats that wasn't meant to be on there but we still have them

Alcohol is more corrosive than gasoline. This means that, depending upon the individual car, various parts of the fuel system, whether the tank, lines, pump, injectors, etc. may be eaten away by the ethanol. Compatibility with various percentages alcohol vs. gasoline varies based on year/make/model. Obviously anything labeled "flex fuel" is OK to run E85, but it's theoretically possible that just by chance, components are or are not compatible on any car. Since I personally have no desire to run E85 at present, I have not taken the time to research the materials in the Miata's fuel system for ethanol compatibility. Wouldn't be that hard to do, though.

Originally Posted by hustler

My mother is a tranny, you sick fuck!

That's the best part about her.

Originally Posted by miataspeed2005

There has to be someone running e85 on a miata tho. If not I guess I'll have to start a new trend

It seems that it comes up every 2-3 months between this forum and .net. There's not that big of an audience looking to do it, so while a handful of E85 users have come out of the woodwork over the years, most people* will offer the generic advice I posted above and tell you to do your own research.

Good luck, though, and I'd be interested in whatever you find out.


*Well, a big chunk of the population will fall into some form of mindless bickering about whether E85 is environmentally friendly, whether it saves any fuel, whether it saves any money, etc. Few of the claims that are made in those discussions are factually based, and none of them are relevant to the discussion at hand about whether E85 is a potentially cost-effective high-octane and readily available fuel for the creation of higher-powered engines.

[Savington]

I think you glossed over the whole 30% more fuel requirement. This literally means you'll need to bump your injector size by 30%, probably get a new fuel pump, and retune the car to the E85 stoich of like 9:1 or something. It's not just something you drop in your fuel tank like cheap race gas - it's a different type of fuel, like diesel or kerosene, and you have to tune for it.

[miataspeed2005]

Well I dont think I would be running e85 as a daily fuel source since, A: it's not easly avaliable and B: like you said it wasn't meant for our cars, but if I could gain 20-30whp on e35 I wouldn't mind running it at the track or an autox event. That's why I was wondering if anyone tryed it. I think it would be interesting making a dyno run on 93 octane and than using some e85, dyno and compare.

[miataspeed2005]

Originally Posted by Savington

I think you glossed over the whole 30% more fuel requirement. This literally means you'll need to bump your injector size by 30%, probably get a new fuel pump, and retune the car to the E85 stoich of like 9:1 or something. It's not just something you drop in your fuel tank like cheap race gas - it's a different type of fuel, like diesel or kerosene, and you have to tune for it.

That's interesting, how do the flexfuel cars work then? Don't quote me on this one but can't they run gasoline and e85? If that was the case do you have to flip a switch to change fuels?

[jtothawhat]

Yes you'll have to tune for it, like anything else E85 burns a lot cooler and does burn more fuel (you'll have to add more fuel to compensate) but I think it's totally worth the pay off. The knock thresh hold is a lot more, and you can run a lot more timing. They've had great success with Evo's with E85 and I think I'm going to jump on the bandwagon. Pro for con only thing bad is it burns more fuel, but who cares it's 1.99 a gallon.

[hustler]

Its going to be funny when you tards switch to e85 and get another 2* of spark advance before you hit MBT. Its probably a good move for 99+ cars though.

btw, its effectively more expensive than 93-octane in TX.

[Savington]

Originally Posted by miataspeed2005

That's interesting, how do the flexfuel cars work then? Don't quote me on this one but can't they run gasoline and e85? If that was the case do you have to flip a switch to change fuels?

They have a sensor that measures ethanol content vs. gas content and adjusts the fuel mapping accordingly. MS2 can supposedly use this sensor.

[the_man]

Originally Posted by miataspeed2005

That's interesting, how do the flexfuel cars work then? Don't quote me on this one but can't they run gasoline and e85? If that was the case do you have to flip a switch to change fuels?

It's why they tend to do both poorly, at least more poorly than they would if they were purpose built for either fuel.