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E85 The GOOD and the BAD

71K views 178 replies 38 participants last post by  rift33 
#1 ·
Anyone have good or bad experience with e85 being used on their cat??

Can anything be added to the tank if it's going to sit for long periods of time??

I hear it's great race fuel, how does it perform on a long haul trip??

Any and all information will be appreciated!!
 
#3 ·
I have been running it for 6 months and just over 3,500 miles. I love it. I pay $1.54 gal but I do go to the gas station more often.

I have been running it for 6 months and just over 3,500 miles. I love it. I pay $1.54 gal but I do go to the gas station more often.
I've heard "no experience", that if it sits for long periods of time that is not good!! Is there a way to combat this problem and how long is to long to let it sit in the tank??
 
#4 ·
it doesn't take but a few minutes to run the tank dry, so no reason to let it sit. It likes water, so it will suck in moisture from any/all available air. I assume that if you keep the tank topped off, it will have less surface area to absorb the moisture, and you should be OK from that perspective.
No reason that if you were "storing" it you couldn't run the E85 out and store it with ethanol free fuel.

What mods are required to run E85?
 
#7 ·
it doesn't take but a few minutes to run the tank dry, so no reason to let it sit. It likes water, so it will suck in moisture from any/all available air. I assume that if you keep the tank topped off, it will have less surface area to absorb the moisture, and you should be OK from that perspective.
No reason that if you were "storing" it you couldn't run the E85 out and store it with ethanol free fuel.

What mods are required to run E85?
I'm still learning

Injectors
Boost a Pump
E85 Tune
Cat and or mid muffler delete


Plus what ever u need to achieve your desired horsepower!!
 
#5 ·
cole3986 also runs E-85 and can give some good info for daily driving and racing.

When you take your Hell Cat to the Drag Strip would it not be best to run your tank to near empty and then put fresh E-85 in for race day?


~ Linda
 
#12 ·
I had my trans am on E85... mid 9 sec car. Constantly putting fuel in it. Pump gas and alky for me when it's time.
 
#17 ·
I have been curious about E85 so I think this is a good thread. I have read where there is care needed for caution. I also have read where the internal; parts are safe these days.
But I have heard from a Hell Cat friend he has problems with his spark plugs Fouling, and it's a PITA to change out the Hell Cat plugs.

Has anyone else had that problem and what did you do to solve it?

~ Linda
 
#28 ·
One a performance tune, you have to keep in mind that the added fuel usage is from actually making more power. You need to burn fuel to make power.
That being said, I saw some mpg drop during cruise on the highway. Wasn't much. From 28 to 24 or so. (I drive either fast or slow)
In town from16-17 to 12-13

I could get a 15-20 full throttle bursts out of a 93 tank, but only 7-8 bursts out of E85. Of course, on 93, I was at 640whp, and on E85 I was at ~900.
Guess we will see what's up in a couple weeks when I get my car back.

E85 is hydroscopic. It absorbs water like a sponge. It will go bad sitting there. If you plan to put your car away for a while, don't store it on E85.
 
#29 ·
Another thread on E85. Ok, the good, it makes a lot of power, more than race gas (both unleaded and leaded). The bad, let me see, hmmm, bad tunes and people using BAP instead of a dedicated fuel system. I love it, but I blew up my ring and pinion switching from Q16 to E85 and freaked out the TCM with a 200 shot running on E85. There have been many cats blowing up motors on E85, many more than race gas, IMO
 
#36 ·
Having no personal experience with anything higher than 93... I agree with HCEnvy. I've read LOTS on the subject and E85 is probably the best fuel you can get from the pump at the gas station, but dedicated race fuels still have the crown for outright performance. If your car runs better on E85 than it does on one of the many higher octane fuels available, it's probably in the tune, not the fuel.

I'd like to learn more on the subject though.
 
#37 ·
We ran Q16/C16 all season last year except for the last race at Atco. Dyno around 900 rwhp with race gas on boost only (maybe a little more). No breakdowns all season on race gas. Changed to a Fore system and E85 right before Atco, and broke a half shaft on Friday (test and tune), on Saturday, ripped the center section housing out of it with a dead hook, which also took out a halfshaft, bent the driveshaft and damaged the heat shield. Ran 9.77 on boost only launching on 2nd gear. Both of our cats make more power on E85 as evidenced by trap speed. NYCSRT ran 9.64 and had problems with wheel hop both days.

I stopped doing dynos, as I found it much more useful to test and tune at the track. The evidence that E85 makes more power in a hellcat is all over the place if you look for it. There is a hellcat that traps 179 mph in the half mile (Georgia) on E85. Not one hellcat on race gas has trapped out the 160's same event (there a few racers here that have run the event).

We are using Injected Engineering for tuning.

I do believe Tim has posted a comparison between race gas and E85 with hellcats on face book which demonstrates the power advantage of E85. The problem with using the stock fuel system and a BAP is that it is real easy to run out of fuel. To maximize the full potential and to make sure there is sufficient fuel, an aftermarket fuel system with much bigger pumps, IMO.
 
#38 ·
E85 has a lot of great properties that help it make as much if not more power than race gas alternatives.

Versus 91/93 pump gas it has:
  • Higher Octane (100-105ish)
  • Vastly better combustion cooling properties
  • Inherently oxygenated
The 1st two points allow a tuner to run more aggressive timing and fuel, just like race gas would. The 3rd point is an added bonus plus it's super cheap compared to everything else out there.

The bad points are:
  • Ethanol is hygroscopic (absorbs moisture over time)
  • Availability
  • Lower fuel economy by 15-30%
  • Cold starts in cold weather may be difficult
There's plenty of consistent E85 here in Texas so the only concern that I might have to worry about is water in the fuel system. My Hellcat isn't my daily but I do go through at least 1 tank a month and I haven't had any problems. I did experience difficulty starting the car in less than 40 degree weather but had my tune adjusted and I haven't had any problems since.
 
#40 ·
Only 2 issues I have had, have been cold starts in the winter. It takes 2-3 starts to run on its own. I bought an ethanol gauge to monitor the level in my fuel. I drove Waco to Austin on a 1/2 tank but wanted to make sure not to run low on the way home. I put Sunoco E85 in and it was 4% less Ethanol, from 82% down to 78%. My car didn't like that too much. It missed alittle during high RPMs. I drove easy until I got back to my station HEB always has the highest ethanol around and cheaper. HEB $1.52 gal 80-83%, Sunoco 77-80% ethanol. The Holly test tube is way off.
 
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