Switching from 93 to e85

[1stDSM]

Looking for some insight before I make a decision on the switch. I'd like to hear some personal experiences with switching from 93 to e85 as far as any downsides and complications. I have a 97 gst, 99 split thrust with manley pistons, eagle rods, crower valvetrain and 272 cams, main and head studs, billet 20g 61/56 built by Justin, walbro 255 and FIC 1200 high z injectors running on ecmlink v3

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[llxkevinxll]

Looking for some insight before I make a decision on the switch. I'd like to hear some personal experiences with switching from 93 to e85 as far as any downsides and complications. I have a 97 gst, 99 split thrust with manley pistons, eagle rods, crower valvetrain and 272 cams, main and head studs, billet 20g 61/56 built by Justin, walbro 255 and FIC 1200 high z injectors running on ecmlink v3

General rule is to get a stainless steel element fuel filter, but I have seen plenty of posts saying they have had no issues on a factory or paper element filter. Something to consider.

It is typically a good idea to run the car to near empty towards the fall and fill it with 93 for winter storage, if you store the car. Even if you run the car all year, it is normally a good idea to run a tank of 93 through on occasion.

You didn't mention a flex sensor. I would highly recommend using a flex sensor for any E85 conversion. The install of one for ECMLink is trivial.

Take a look at this thread, specifically post #6, and consider your goals with that 20G with your Walbro 255.

https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/e85-injector-max-lb-min-calculations.253452/

All that being said, E85 is worth the effort. The peak power achievable is much higher than 93, with more safety margin. Even basic cruising scenarios the car feels a ton more responsive on E85, at least from my experience. There is also a station near me that has E85 for $2.30/gal every time I stop there, either a pricing mistake or that is what E85 is going for these days. So it is typically cost neutral to run the car on E even with the reduced mileage.

 

[1stDSM]

General rule is to get a stainless steel element fuel filter, but I have seen plenty of posts saying they have had no issues on a factory or paper element filter. Something to consider.

It is typically a good idea to run the car to near empty towards the fall and fill it with 93 for winter storage, if you store the car. Even if you run the car all year, it is normally a good idea to run a tank of 93 through on occasion.

You didn't mention a flex sensor. I would highly recommend using a flex sensor for any E85 conversion. The install of one for ECMLink is trivial.

Take a look at this thread, specifically post #6, and consider your goals with that 20G with your Walbro 255.

https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/e85-injector-max-lb-min-calculations.253452/

All that being said, E85 is worth the effort. The peak power achievable is much higher than 93, with more safety margin. Even basic cruising scenarios the car feels a ton more responsive on E85, at least from my experience. There is also a station near me that has E85 for $2.30/gal every time I stop there, either a pricing mistake or that is what E85 is going for these days. So it is typically cost neutral to run the car on E even with the reduced mileage.

I do not have a content sensor, but plan to get one if I decide to switch over to ethanol. The car is pretty much daily driven and I would be more than happy with 400 at the tire. Justin told me that the turbo would be reliable at 47-52lb/min and I just turned the boost up to 24psi. I believe it's around $2.60/gal in my area

 

[llxkevinxll]

I do not have a content sensor, but plan to get one if I decide to switch over to ethanol. The car is pretty much daily driven and I would be more than happy with 400 at the tire. Justin told me that the turbo would be reliable at 47-52lb/min and I just turned the boost up to 24psi. I believe it's around $2.60/gal in my area

If that is the power goal, given the boost pressure you will need to make that happen on a 20G, you may want to consider a larger pump with a rewire. Even a rewired 255 is going to be on the edge at that power level.