e85 curiosity

[scenario]

I know this has been discussed before but I was wondering if anybody has experimented with the e85 conversion kits that are wired into your injectors. I have seen a few out there and it seems they add a secondary pulse on the injector pulse which in turn adds the extra fuel needed to run the vehicle properly.

The stock injectors are used as well as the stock fuel system. Something about running colder spark plugs seems to be the only modification that is needed.

Just wondering if anyone has heard of any of these kits?

http://www.whitelightning.net/ethanol_kit/install.html

or this one

http://www.ebay.com/itm/E85-Conversion-Kit-ethanol-by-Autoethanol-/161361763805?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2591e91ddd&vxp=mtr

[MikeFleming]

100 feet. Don't let that get any closer to your car.

Total waste of time/money. IMHO.

[DaveS]

Laredo is running E85 in his SVO, perhaps he'll chime in.
IIRC, he did not use a kit for his conversion.
Dave

[Laredo]

100 feet. Don't let that get any closer to your car.

Total waste of time/money. IMHO.

Agree X2!

[Laredo]

Have been running E85 for 3 years. Luv it (and so does mycar!) Here's what you need to get started:

Low impendence 52# or 55# injectors, adjustable FPR, wideband O2, and some dyno time. Drop fuel pressure a couple pounds below stock to start, and then use your wideband to fine tune adjust as needed. Go have fun....! I am up 30hp and gobs of torque with just minor tweaking to timing and boost, with no detonation. But don't go crazy on the boost with this basic setup with a stock fuel pump - it's very tempting. With the added required fuel (about 30%) you will run out of fuel capacity quickly. You should also throw in a higher volume fuel pump (255lph) if you want to more than a couple pounds of additional boost.

Keep in mind that without a means to adjust fuel mapping for various load/speeds, there will be a certain amount of compromise on fuel mixture. **Individual results will vary depending on other mods / engine condition, etc. This is where you'll need the wideband / laptop. This is a must have.

Ideally, to do this the right way and get the most potential from E85 you will need some kind of aftermarket ECM or ECM tuning chip to adjust both timing and fuel maps (PIMP, Moates, etc). The E-bay "kits" will not do this.

[Bob Holmes]

Laredo is giving you great advice.

E85 and turbos were made for each other.

[scenario]

Thats great advice.

@Laredo... Can you run gasoline with that setup if e85 not avail when you are say....on a trip or something like that?

[Laredo]

... Can you run gasoline with that setup if e85 not avail when you are say....on a trip or something like that?

No, with the basic setup it's not a "flex" fuel vehicle (you cannot go back and forth between fuels). You are getting an extra 30% fuel with added size of the larger injectors. It would run super rich on gasoline. I don't worry about it much because 1) I don't take my SVO on trips longer than a couple hundred miles, 2) in Minnesota there is an E85 pump in almost every city.

But...you COULD make it truly "flex" with an adaptable ECM and one of these:
http://www.zeitronix.com/Products/ECA/ECA2.shtml

The added bonus of measuring alcohol content is not only the flexibility to run gas if you need to, but also to give you more accurate fuel mapping compensating for variations in E85 mixture. I discovered back in my days doing E85 durability tests for GM truck that it can vary by +/- 10% right out of the pump, and still does today.