E85 in 2001 Civic DX - It works! - Page 4 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

Frank Lee · 10-11-2016, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

Right, because running E85 on a car that's obviously not set up for it is a good idea. Give me a ****ing break.

I'll just go run E85 in my insight now because you all think that's a good idea!

Go for it!

I've been running it for YEARS. And I don't own any FFVs.

And... I am giving you a break by not going all Frank Lee on ya!

P.S. Both tanks in my '94 F150 are full of E85 as we speak. No explosions or nuclear fallout to report... yet.

Fingie · 10-12-2016, 01:27 PM

there gotta be a curve/fine line, of course. the ethanol has a high oxygen content, as it is hygroscopic.

sameb · 10-13-2016, 02:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

Then you are putting a band-aid on a bigger issue. I still wouldn't run straight E85 in a car that's not set up for it. You are asking for trouble. You are stressing the entire fuel system! It's like running boost and saying 'Yea, we don't need to add extra fuel, it's fine'.

I want to remind you that I am supplying extra fuel to the cylinders by putting in bigger injectors. Everything else is stock. It is putting more stress on the fuel pump, but it doesn't seem to be causing any problems.

cRiPpLe_rOoStEr · 10-13-2016, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

Right, because running E85 on a car that's obviously not set up for it is a good idea. Give me a ****ing break.

I've seen folks using Brazilian-standard E96h hydrated ethanol without any problem in many non-FFVs that were also not dedicated-ethanol, including motorcycles. If it didn't harm them, E85 would fare even better.

BigBadSubaru · 10-18-2016, 05:09 PM

I put E85 in my (stock) 1990 Legacy wagon, and it my wife's stock 92 corolla.. Corolla did NOT like it, ran ok but wouldn't idle right and would stall. Subaru I noticed no difference other than after a tank of E85 my wonky fuel gauge worked again. Both seemed to run better afterwards, the Corolla I had to run down to 1/2 a tank or so and fill with regular gas... But I did discover if I filled the tank 1/2 with E85 and the rest with unleaded, it ran like a top.

Enki · 10-18-2016, 07:25 PM

I feel like I can actually contribute to this thread in a meaningful manner, so I'll give it a shot.

There's a couple things to know about E85 as a fuel and as it relates to MPG:

Everyone already knows that increasing the thermal and flow efficiency of the engine will improve MPG; what most people don't realize is that Ethanol is a superior fuel for improving efficiency.

What I mean is this:
The two easiest ways to improve efficiency of a vehicle's engine is to improve airflow into and out of the cylinders; headwork, cams, larger intake and exhaust piping, etc. The other is to increase the compression ratio, leveraging more of the heat produced from burning the fuel into kinetic energy.

Ethanol has a much higher octane rating than pump gas, and will allow an engine to leverage a higher static and dynamic compression ratio, thus improving economy.

I'm currently in the process of rebuilding the engine in my car specifically to run on E85; this includes but isn't limited to cams, headwork and, of course, the highest compression ratio I can stuff in there via custom pistons and rods. With this engine, I expect to be able to easily exceed stated MPG of the stock car on full E85 fuel, while also making somewhere north of 400 horsepower to the wheels.

Questions? Comments? Let me know. I've done a TON of research on this as it pertains to direct injection and my specific car; might be helpful.

Side note:

Quote:

Originally Posted by roosterk0031

Old study and I've posted it before but maybe some haven't seen it.

http://www.speedperf6rmanc3.com/cont...evel_Study.pdf

Are you affiliated with SP63 or just using their site to pull the study from because it's convenient? Not slinging mud, just curious.

Also, keep in mind any "flex fuel" vehicle isn't optimized for either high blend ethanol fuels or straight pump gas, but are a compromise between the two.

As an example: on my almost entirely stock engine car (before I blew it up), I was getting better than stock MPG on a 50/50 mix of E85 and pump gas (about E45 or so), but that had everything to do with the tune and driving style. It was even better than most people were getting with non stock tunes/mods and straight pump gas, to the point that quite a few were astounded since they thought they got really good mileage themselves.

Enki · 10-18-2016, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roosterk0031

Not affiliated with anything, no idea what SP63 is, I lost an earlier link to the study and that link is in my favorites. Agree FFV aren't optimized for E85 by my experience is they still beat the energy curve. As that study shows and your experience some car's can utilize it better than others. I put 5 gallons in my XFE Sunday, still indicated almost 41 mpg.

OK I just figured out what SP63 is, it's and abreviation of the website address, still never been there other than finding the link.

Lot of blending with the Stratus in the past and it followed the energy curve pretty well.

I ask because they are an engine builder for the platform my car is based on. Go figure.

syncro_user · 11-13-2016, 03:56 AM

I'd like to chip in to say I'm in the process of switching to full e85. Gradually adjusting by adding a higher proportion of ethanol each fillup. Currently on 66% ethanol and no difference in running or starting, but I'm sure the block heaters we use here help. Btw here it's Re85, made from recycled kitchen waste so quite eco-friendly.

With regard to the open loop cold-start/WOT accel. conditions, i believe that at least on my car the ecu uses closed loop fuel trim values to extrapolate the open loop fuelling. This should make it at least roughly correct. I suppose a cheap strap-on EGT sensor could be handy to check all is well. I haven't yet fitted a wideband lambda gauge, but that might also be a good idea.