Old Tele man, wat? You need more fuel flow for E85, NA or SC. If you ran it one tank that's not much of a test. It takes several fillups before the ethanol gets to a higher % and then it takes time for the ECU to adjust parameters for each %. Running NA with low compression is not "Ideal" for alcohol but it will still run better on alcohol than gasoline if its running a good Air/Fuel Mixture. The cooling effect is there turbo/supercharger or not. And every successful E85 conversion should net more power and especially more torque. If not something went wrong.
As for your butt dyno test, are you positive it didn't shift into OD before you hit the hill? 40-45 is a common spot for an auto to slip into OD and if it wasn't shifting up on gasoline that may explain the difference. Just trying to eliminate some variables
.
pgfpro, yeah, 9:1 is too low. 25mpg E85 is still better than Gasoline energy wise. Ethanol runs better than Gasoline at any compression ratio, getting the same mileage takes a much higher static compression. But I imagine you enjoy the boost more :P. Does it save you money to run pump gas for daily? Here E85 is priced against Premium but it's only 20 cents cheaper than regular.
My goal is to build a really small engine like a 1.0l Suzuki G10 or Insight 1.0l into a Focus. Rebuilt bottom end with 12.5:1 Compression pistons, and turbocharged with 10-15lbs of boost. Most of Ford's I-4 are Mazda sourced and Ironclad. A G10 complete engine weighs 130lbs compared to the 2.3L in my Ranger at 340lbs! I'd sooner swap in a LS than use a Ford motor
. Better Gas mileage in an LS than some of Ford's older Iron Blocks I-4s
. Besides being broke and too poor to actually do anything yet, I'm stuck thinking if I get a G13B DOHC I could get over 160HP(SOHC, 200HP DOHC) instead of 120HP with a G10. I've been researching alternative fuels since before I knew the difference between a Focus and a Taurus. I figure with Compression, Turbo, an otherwise dinky motor I can make a RWD Focus really fly. If I use a T-56 from a Corvette it could be fun and fuel efficient. The Irony is Ford is using twin Garrett15's which are exactly the turbo for a small boost G10
.
I'm not an authority on Ethanol but I've spent considerable time looking at the options. It's not that a Mr.Fusion isn't better it's just not an option. It's not that hydrogen isn't cleaner it's that fuel storage is expensive or leaky, it's not very efficient too. CNG requires a NG line and Propane is not a renewable fuel source. Electric is expensive for the range you get and motors are equally expensive for anything with more than 30hp, and heavy.
Ethanol is efficient, it can be affordable, it is more toxic than pure gasoline when mixed with gasoline, it allows for smaller engines for a given HP, and it's renewable. The way I see it, things couldn't be worse for Ethanol. Projects are in the works for better sources of Ethanol. The biggest threat to better Ethanol is lack of interest. Alcohol is a "better" fuel than Gasoline. In exchange for some MPG(But not less efficient) you get a better economy, cleaner fuel(in absence of Gasoline), more power, lighter engines, and eventually a cheaper renewable fuel. I'm weird in that I'd pay more for a renewable cleaner fuel but getting acceptable performance is still a consideration
.