E85 vs. Methanol

[1gDSM4g63]

Right now I have HX-40 turbo with full spool at 4500 rpm. I've done everything I can thing of to the engine and now it's whether if I should running on E85 or methanol. What's the better choice?

 

[MadScientist92]

It depends on how many road trips you do with your car. It also depends on how much control you want over it. E85 is constant never changing non controllable octane. It is also not available everywhere in the country so if you plan on doing long road trips then E85 is a no go. However if you're just driving around your town and your state which does have E85 then that's fine. Now as far as methanol injection goes the initial kit is expensive. However you can change nozzle size injection points and how often you use it. But you have to make sure it's always at the proper level. Also though washer fluid (which is 49.5% meth, 49.5% water, and 1% blue coloring) is available everywhere. Just some ideas and thoughts for you to ponder over. Personnally I would prefer Methanol injection because I do long road trips. Also we don't have E85 here in Cali. However where you are you could do both.

 

[1gDSM4g63]

I don't go on road trips. I was heading toward methanol but I saw that E85 was selling at a local station at a much cheaper price than gas and that what brought this situation up. My main focus is on what can squeeze out more power. I know running on methanol can increase my boost a lot. However my turbo is a bit laggy getting full spool at 4500 rpm. I don't what running straight E85 can do pre-turbo spool. And I could considering do both now that you bring that up.

And I wouldn't say E85 setup is cheap than methanol. If I go in the E85 direction I'd have to upgrade fuel pump and fuel injectors.

 

[RC_slow_dsm]

I've been runing e85 for over a year and I'm very satisfied with it. Its cheap (2.39 /gallon here) and I increased 36whp on a dynojet dyno after an SAFC street tune. The only downsides to e85 that I've found so far would be you go through gas a LOT faster. I could put 5 gallons in my car and it would be nearly gone after a night of highway pulls. It means more frequent trips to the gas station but if your not planning a long trip out of town than theres no problem.

The only things I would recommend if you're thinking about switching to e85 is get a good fuel filter, and some way to read knock. Be prepared to have your car smell like a french fry factory

 

[Hiitman]

I'm making the switch from methanol to E85. I think E85 will net more power gains per volume then will methanol (and I run VP M1). Also, methanol is kind of a pain to tune. Since it's controlled off the map sensor (Devilsown) it takes a split second for it to read boost and start injecting. Automatics may be easier since your never out of boost in between gears. E85 is more reliable too. Your only counting on one injection and fuel system to keep your motor running and safe. Here's a link to my last log with methanol. You can see where the knock comes in 3rd and slowly drops off as the methanol starts taking effect.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/log-file-advice/287054-latest-log.html

 

[Avionixx]

Running meth injection is definitely cheaper though. There's no doubt you can make a buttload more power with E85, but your fuel system would have to be upgraded dramatically. But if you're just starting out with mods, going for E85 from the very beginning would be a good idea. I'm probably going to stick with meth injection for now, since I don't want to wait for our first local E85 station to open up in September.

 

[turboglenn]

Are you talking meth injection or running with methanol as a primary fuel? E85 is great and the bit of gas blended in aids in cool/cold starts and adds a bit more energy by volume.

methanol when pure can be a pain to start. You will get even worse mileage on methanol as a primary fuel, but it gets so cold during atomization/vaporization that you don't even need an intercooler, and some of the guys that run it in their race cars don't have an intercooler, just to aid in spool and not have pressure drop i would guess. I tested pump gas with meth injection and no interooler and got some what pleasant results on the street as well.

But i kinda break it down like this. E85 is great in town and you don't loose too much MPG in city driving. On the highway i lost over 10 MPG getting 18 MPG at 75mph on the highway. SO i change my map to run pump gas on long trips to get my 30 mpg i like to see.

Pure methanol as a primary fuel i would be great for around town stuff too, and when bought by the drum it's as cheap (in my case cheaper ) than E85.. For single gallons i pay 3.69 per on methanol (M1) and if i buy it by the 55 gallon drum i get it for 2.64 a gallon ( we ran it in our 64 chevy drag car) Meth injection is also really good and a lot more "friendly" when it comes time to find a station since you will still be using pump gas as your primary fuel. I was able to hold of detonation on 92 pump + an M12 nozzle up to 25 psi, but it still wasn't as good as the lovely E85.... TO me the exhaust from E85 smells like an alcoholics bedroom. My fater was an alky and when my exhaust burns rich during warmup it smells like his "drinking room" full of old beer cans and liquer bottles

For both methanol and E85 you need more fuel delivered meaning bigger injectors, and pumps and in some cases new lines as well (you need even more methanol than E85 so keeop that in mind). ONe thing to really keep an eye on is when the firwst couple of tanks of E85 are run through your car, your fuel filter will be so clogged you can barely blow through it from the E85 cleaning all the petrolium deposits and other gunk from your tank and lines.. My filter was brand new when i went E85, and withing 5-7 tanks it's was so clogged that i could barely blow through it at all... I've never had one that clogged before, even the originial OEM wasn't that bad after 25 - 30K miles. I bought a fuel lab filter with stainless steel element so i can clean it and it won't be affected by the alcohol (plus it looks cool )

So are you talking meth injection over pump gas or just straight methanol as a primary fuel????? HOpefully i laid enough out there to help either way.