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E85 Thoughts

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Kyle_T

15+ Year Contributor
795
12
Oct 19, 2008
Muskego, Wisconsin
I've done plenty of research I'm just looking for some opinions on my specific setup.

Been really considering getting my car tuned on e85. My main concern is the driveability and the somewhat lack of e85 stations where I live. I have been also reading into the flex fuel setups.

Car will be tuned at Boostin Performance in Illinois.


Heres my setup:

1997 Eclipse GSX
90k miles

Stock bottom end, 7bolt 90k, new headgasket & and timing components(all oem)
ARP headstuds
Rebuilt head
fp2 cams
aem cam gears(cams have been degreed)
bc springs & retainers

Ported evo3 16g
External tial 38mm wastegate off o2 housing
FP exhaust manifold
Full 3" vband turbo back

Evo3 intake manifold
1g throttle body
Punishment FMIC kit
Tial 50mm bov

Walbro 255(rewired)
Aeromotive FPR
FIC 850(would sell and get 1000cc+)

ECMLink v3
Currently MAF but will be switching to SD when tuned
AEM wideband, boost, oil pressure gauges

Southbend kevlar clutch
Comp clutch lightweight flywheel
Brand new OEM shep stage 1 transmission

I'd be happy with anything around 300-350hp and hopefully really close tq numbers. Just debating if I will be able to take advantage of e85 and safely make more power with my setup. I'd like to keep this as reliable as possible.


TD05 16g and o2 housing setup:
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Car setup
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Most definitely worth it. The benefits greatly outweigh the cons.. more power, safer, awesome smell of ethanol. I say do it. I have been running e85 for about 3 years now, my first year I had a similar setup to your current setup and I loved it. Get a good tune and you should not have drivability issues at all. Clean car by the way.
 
I Run a BB 50 trim on a mitsu turbine housing at 30 psi on E85 flowing 46-47 lbs an hour self tuned on dsmlink v3, on PTE 1000CC injectors which are more like 930's. My fuel mods are just like yours. Injector duty cycles at that airflow are 95%. I feel you will be fine with your current setup to tune for E85, although like me larger injectors to bring down duty cycle would be the main thing to upgrade. 350+ whp should be super easy on E85 withg your setup, since you have cams too!
 
Very easily.

I've been daily driving my car on E85 since I switched it over in February. Only issue I've had is my injectors gunking off I imagine because I doubt it has ever been on E85 before I put it on it, and it has cleaned out the fuel system. The last time I pulled them they were still clean.

Anyway, my setup is similar.
Stock block, bc 272s, plain evo3 16g, 2g maf, 1150cc injectors (i had 950 on this same current setup and still had room to go but buddy gave me a deal I couldnt pass on the 1150s and I sold the 950s for what i paid for the 1150s), wally 255, oldschool HKS FPR, blah blah - stock trans/act 2600.

On 20psi on my 16g running peak timing at 19 degrees I ran 11.9@116mph. Now on 23psi my car has ran pretty consistent 11.6's. Best of 11.6@119 also mph best of 11.8@121mph. I still have some room to grow with my timing and I could do to pull some fuel out, I'm running 11.6-11.8 afr's to keep the tune conservative. Peak air flow I'm getting from my old trusty 16g is around 42-43lbs/hr.

On pump gas and the same boost, the car is probably a mid 12 second car at best.

I still average about 17mpg city and 24-25mpg highway with the car, and considering 91 here is 3.68/g and e85 is 2.49/g - it balances out.

I think your 850's will be JUST enough to get you to the ballpark. I was at about 77% duty cycle on my 950's on stock fuel pressure. An upgrade though would be a wise decision for some safe room now + having room to grow in the future.

I owe a lot to e85, my setup is stupid simple and runs great for what it is and has even been damn reliable like this, hasn't broke on me yet and I've put 10k miles on the car since January already daily driving it with quite a few 6 hour road trips (between my college and home).

My disgusting engine bay
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Last edited:
Are all you guys daily driving or do some of you not drive in the off season? How does E85 do when sitting for a period of time, like during winter months? I got a similar setup and am contemplating switching too.
 
Setup looks like you could gain a lot by using e85. In the words of the famous Kanye West, "that shit crack"! I love it and I'm not even b=near done tuning it. Night and day diff all around.

I have read that storing e85 in your car could lead to rusty components in the fuel system (think pumps and injectors especially =$$$). You should probably run a tank or 2 of 93 oct.

Also, some have observed a "gelling" of their oil when alcohol is not regularly evaporated out of the oil by reaching operating temp for a decent amount of time. Sorry for the hear-say, but this is from multiple observations from reputable people.
 
I say do it, since it's available easily. Here in Az there's hardly anywhere that sells Im crap outta luck. E85 is more corrosive then unleaded so you will want to have all your lines replaced with stuff that can hold up to it. STM has awesome tank to rail kits with Russell pro classic lines that work amazing. I run a AEM 320lph multi fuel pump it's certified for all fuels. Also look into a new filter, fuel lab has a nice one with a steel filter media that's washable. E85 can start to dissolve normal filters. The evaporation rate of ethanol is crazy too so I don't know how long u can store it for
 
Go out and start the car up every so often.... i will be running a similar set up on e85. However no cams till winter, and stock block 1g. Other than me not doing my head work, TD06 20g fully ported, 1600cc injectors, link, wally 255 rewired (might go 450) ect ect and a 1.5ft exhaust.
 
My car sat every winter the last 3 years at least 6 months a winter with e85 in the tank. Stock lines, fuel filter, rail etc. I did have an issue with some black stuff forming on my old pte 1000s but since changed to FIC 1250s and have had no issues. The 'running a tank of 93' I believe is a myth. As far as oil contamination i run rotella with it and i usually drain it every 2500 miles or so and i do WOT pulls often.
 
Are all you guys daily driving or do some of you not drive in the off season? How does E85 do when sitting for a period of time, like during winter months? I got a similar setup and am contemplating switching too.

If you will be letting the car sit in the off season, it's not recommended to leave the injectors in the car after just having only run E85. E85 tends to have alot of moisture associated with it, and the moisture can build up in the injector, and cause little spots of rust that could possibly cause issues with how the injector flows / operates.

FIC actually has a sheet they show how to properly prep injectors for the off season.

Other than making sure of that, E85 is great. Also not a bad idea to check/test the fuel you are putting in as some stations will be E70, while others might be E85. Alot of it also depends how agressive the tune is.

Our Tank to Rail kits are nice if you want to upgrade your lines and filter. Just make sure you get the Stainless filter element at least, as the stock paper element in the Fuel lab filter will clog after a short time with E85.

-Brian Gleason
www.stmtuned.com
 
Thanks for all the info!

Will I be ok with the original fuel lines? My pump is new, fuel filter has about 3,000 miles and I will have all new stainless lines from the filter to the rail.
 
I have two e85 stations on the same road no more than 3 miles of me. I've also thought about running e85. I think I have a decent setup and supporting mods minus the PTE 880cc injectors and stock fuel lines. But I don't drive my car enough to really think changing over to e85 will be worth wile.

Kyle if I were you I'd do it.
 
People say mixed things about the factory fuel lines - when it comes down to it I haven't seen anyone who actually had their fuel lines destroyed by e85.
My old 92 laser was on e85 in the 450-500whp ballpark for 3-4 years on stock lines without an issue, still were fine when I sold the car as well.
 
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