Planning an E85 Conversion

[snowskater6996]

Im planning to switch to E85 I got the Carb, Fuel pump, and regulator figured out but anyone know of a -10 AN fuel hose that compatible with E85? Thank you

[LS1NOVA]

Im using Fragola 8000 on E85 as recommended by Race parts solutions and a few other people on LS1tech. I do not have any long term testing yet though.

http://www.fragolaperformancesystems.com/9pushliteracehose/pushliteracehose.html

[Josh69]

Summit and Jeg's usually list whether the hose is compatible with Alcohol. Regular hose will turn hard as a rock...been there done that. I used a couple of small sections of normal rubber hose at my gas tank to stainless hard line connection, and my hardline to my pump. I had to replace those when I noticed how hard they became when I pulled my motor this spring. I only used alky compatible AN on the high pressure side of my mechanical pump.

I just got away from E85 and sold the carb. HORRIBLE gas mileage, even with OD. Wasn't worth it since my car is a driver. Switched to aluminum heads and will convert to EFI once my wallet recovers. I have a 60mi commute, and I got tired of topping off the tank every day. I couldn't make it to work twice on a tank of gas. No joke.

You'll want to take that into serious consideration out in CA. I don't know how readily available it is out there, or what your compression ratio is to justify it. If you were boosted, definitely a good idea, or 12:1 at a minimum. Anything less, I wouldn't do it. I have E85 on every corner in MN and road trips were still nerve-racking.

[snowskater6996]

Right I thought long and hard about the drop in gas millage but my car isnt a daily driver anyways more of a weekend cruiser during none rainy days. I dont drive the car on any road trips and there is a gas station that sells E85 less then a mile from my house. The only thing now that really gets me thinking is that I heard about the fuel absorbing water.

[Josh69]

It does do that, it's hygroscopic. I don't think it's a real big deal as long as you don't store the fuel for long, especially if it's humid where you are. You won't be getting good enough mileage to worry about it!

Are you running high compression? If you're not over 12:1 or boosted, you are wasting your time and money. FWIW. It's only 50 cents cheaper a gallon here in MN where it's bountiful. I've read they are looking at dropping a large percentage of the subsidy, so I expect the price difference to shrink even further. There are quite a few plants around here that either closed, or never opened. Unless we get an E15 mandate, I don't know if it'll fare well for mainstream use. It's great for a niche application like yours, but only if you are optimized for it.

[Sti_Guy]

Yeah id stay away from E85 unless you are running boost, thats were the fuel shines the best. You can figure on needing about 30% system capacity also. I mean its cheaper but you will burn 3x as much but its the closest thing to race gas you can get other then race gas. Also make sure your Aeromotive filters are compatible with E85 the glued ones are not you have to step up to the stainless ones.

[snowskater6996]

Right now im not sure on the compression ratio but around her just 91 octane is about 1.30 to 2.00 more the E85, 100 octane is around 6.00 a gallon. The car like to ping after driving it for a long time, I have been messing around with fuel mixtures and timing but it just wont go away and people told me to try a higher octane then 91.

[Josh69]

Yeah, I've heard the 91 in CA is pretty piss poor. In that case, I guess it may be worthwhile. That's a pretty big price diff. Around here, saving .50 wasn't justifiable. I have pinging issues I'm sorting out now as well, mostly due to timing and using a sh!tty aftermarket HEI that brings the timing in way too fast, and has too much mechanical advance for the heads I'm using with a useable intial advance...still working that out.

One very nice advantage to the E85 is that it burns really cool. You won't have any heating issues whatsoever. I was running a stock radiator with no shroud and a crappy flex fan. Now that I'm on gas, I had to buy an aluminum radiator with dual SPAL fans and shroud, etc. and I'm still around 205*. I never got over 180F before.

I'm at 10.5:1 with aluminum heads. Pontiac's run hot, so I guess I'm fighting an uphill battle now.

[Mover]

I converted over to E85 last winter with no regrets. I used all stock components and went with high volume mechanical fuel pump. I’ve had no issues with this set up and didn’t see a need to spend a lot of money on lines, pumps and whatever else you’re buying. I’ve had my car on the dyno as well as on the track and if performed better than expected. I would agree that the compression needs to be around 12:1 to be affective. My car is currently running 10.5:1 compression but my winter plans are to increase compression to 12:1 among some other things. :unibrow: