[MustangChris810]

I am curious about E85. Seems like there was a thread around here about a fella running it and getting some impressive power gains from the higher octane level. I know the manual says not to run it, but I was wondering if this is because the car is not tuned for it, or because it may damage something.

Thoughts?

 

[manolith]

I am curious about E85. Seems like there was a thread around here about a fella running it and getting some impressive power gains from the higher octane level. I know the manual says not to run it, but I was wondering if this is because the car is not tuned for it, or because it may damage something.

Thoughts?

you would need to get a tune and run agressive timing to see power gains. I have been wanting to do it for a while just to see

 

[2Manystangs]

I run it in my car and love it...now I am tuned for it and have an upgraded fuel system so that helps, forced induction really benefits from it since the intake charge is so cold
It shouldn't damage anything since the car is made to run E10, there was a thread about a guy who just pumped it into his stock 07 GT and said it had no problems and ran great...
Try it with a couple gallons and see what happens, if it sucks top it off with regular gas and move on, know the MPG will really suck since the BTU value is about 30% lower than gasoline

 

[MustangChris810]

I run it in my car and love it...now I am tuned for it and have an upgraded fuel system so that helps, forced induction really benefits from it since the intake charge is so cold
It shouldn't damage anything since the car is made to run E10, there was a thread about a guy who just pumped it into his stock 07 GT and said it had no problems and ran great...
Try it with a couple gallons and see what happens, if it sucks top it off with regular gas and move on, know the MPG will really suck since the BTU value is about 30% lower than gasoline

Thanks guys. I know i would need a tune. I wonder if americanmuscle would be able to write me a mail order tune. As far as the MPG goes, screw it. E85's about 30% less money than premium so it would all even out. I was just thinking that running E85 might net me some impressive gains in HP and TQ.

You talk about the intake charge being cooler. Does this translate in to lower IAT's? And if so, is that something the computer will pick up on?

 

[2Manystangs]

I'm not sure how the computer would react to it...from what I've seen some just put it in and voila no problems...since the intake charge is cooler/denser, the motor makes more hp, like driving on a winter day...
Since the octane is higher, yeah you can add alot of timing...AM might be able to do a tune, I had mine custom done with a chip and switch so I can run gas or E85

 

[MustangChris810]

Thanks. I'm going to pop in to the AM portion of the website and ask them about it their. I guess my main concern is not the tune as much as it is the E85 messing with the seals and fuel lines and things like that. I don't want to mess anything up over time. Seems like the E85 might dry things out over time??? Kind of wonder why Ford did not build the funtionality of running E85 in to the Mustang.

 

[manolith]

Thanks. I'm going to pop in to the AM portion of the website and ask them about it their. I guess my main concern is not the tune as much as it is the E85 messing with the seals and fuel lines and things like that. I don't want to mess anything up over time. Seems like the E85 might dry things out over time??? Kind of wonder why Ford did not build the funtionality of running E85 in to the Mustang.

i dont know if american muscle have e85 tunes but i know that vmp and lethal performance have them.

 

[Bud]

E85 Results inside 2011 5.0

E85 was fun in my WRX, but cold weather starting problems sucked! Not sure we'd see the same problem with the higher compression in our motors. FI would take fuel system upgrades though, needing 30% more fuel throughput sucks.

 

[MustangChris810]

E85 Results inside 2011 5.0

E85 was fun in my WRX, but cold weather starting problems sucked! Not sure we'd see the same problem with the higher compression in our motors. FI would take fuel system upgrades though, needing 30% more fuel throughput sucks.

Thanks for the link.

What kind of cold weather start issues did/do you have?

 

[mrsandman]

The sticker on the fuel door...the one that has a red line across the word "E85"....is a hint from Ford to not use E85

 

[manolith]

The sticker on the fuel door...the one that has a red line across the word "E85"....is a hint from Ford to not use E85

well who listens to ford anyways?:laugh:

 

[2011GrabberGT]

Ethanol has far less volatility, which means it will have a tendency to puddle or percolate instead of atomizing properly in a cold engine with cold fuel. That can cause cold starting and drivability issues.

 

[Bud]

Ethanol has far less volatility, which means it will have a tendency to puddle or percolate instead of atomizing properly in a cold engine with cold fuel. That can cause cold starting and drivability issues.

That would be it, about 45 degrees and colder it wouldn't start, but that was in a car with 8.9 to 1 compression, guessing the higher compression of our motors would help that. E85 would be nice on a PD blower car that is heatsoak prone though.

 

[MustangChris810]

Yeah I know about the warnings not to run E85. I just wonder why. Is it just because the car doesn't have the software to be able to compensate for the different fuel or is it because the fuel system cannot handle the E85 for one reason or another. As far as the cold start issues and things like that, how would this engine be any different than any other engine running E85 as long as it's tuned properly? Not starting a pissing contest, I'm really asking.

 

[erod550]

The sticker on the fuel door...the one that has a red line across the word "E85"....is a hint from Ford to not use E85

I was waiting for someone to act like a smartass and bring this up. This is only because you can't just put E85 in the tank and drive it. It's not tuned for it from the factory. It's not a FlexFuel vehicle. But with proper tuning, there's no reason you can't run E85 in these cars.

 

[2011GrabberGT]

The biggest reason would be that the fuel system needs to flow about 30% for all conditions. Most vehicles require bigger pumps, injectors, and even lines. It isn't as big of a concern for most modern cars, but some components do not react well with the more corrosive ethanol. Special hoses, seals, lines, injectors, pumps, and even senders are needed. Some cars are more compatible, older ones tend not to be.

Higher compression than in gas form is desirable to take advantage of the fuels octane and to offset the lower energy content. The majority of starting and drivability issues is totally dependent on the tune, but even OEM's have struggled with this one at times. Given access to enough parameters, it should not be an issue.

The stock tuning will not be optimized at all to run it. Timing, injection quantity, and even target A/F ratios will be completely different for any given condition. The fuel system seems ok, at least for more minor modifications. FI would need some changes.

 

[MustangChris810]

Good info guys. I sure wish AMChrisrose would chime in! I'd like to know what he thinks about this.... Maybe some other reputable tuners have some thoughts and experience with E85 in a five-oh.

Some good info from wikipedia. Not sure how accurate it is...

E85 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia