Converting engine to Ethanol

[Ryland]

Originally Posted by oldschool

LMAO, ok I maybe stickin my neck out here; but how expensive is it?

wikipedia.org is quoted at $8 per gallon for Butanol as it sounds like it's made in a simaler but more complex and touchy proses then ethonal.

[Rower4VT]

Running E85 in a '94 Acura (see signature). All I did was install injectors with an 18% greater flow rate. Run 3000+ miles with no issues except harder starting when it's below 20 degrees outside. I'm currently beating the EPA rating gasoline rating for my vehicle. If you take into account that E85 is 15-20% cheaper it adds up pretty nicely.

I plan on advancing the cam and ignition a few degrees. Should give me even better mileage. The nice thing about E85 is that it's 105 octane, so detonation is much less of an issue.

[probuildjohnson]

okay heres the thing, yes u can just e50 in to the tank and go, but im thinking more along the lines of E100, the new flex fuel are made to run off of E85, but there not made to just run off E85, they are also made to run gas, and we all know u cant have the best of two worlds. they are made to be efficient on using gas, not E85, the reason why is because the harmonic balancer have to be ajusted 3-5% to run efficient. no one going to ajusted it each time they switch fuel types, that why the just make able to run E85, but what im trying to find out is how to make the fuel injecters spray long with have to buy a four or five hunderd dollar kit.

[Frank Lee]

[probuildjohnson]

What do u mean?

[Frank Lee]

I mean what the devil are you going on about?

[Rower4VT]

Originally Posted by probuildjohnson

...but what im trying to find out is how to make the fuel injecters spray long with have to buy a four or five hunderd dollar kit.

You're right, the kits are a rip-off for what they are. I simply found some injectors off eBay that had about a 20% +/- greater flow rate. For well less than $100 I got the injectors, new seals, and bypassed the injector resistor. The ECU automatically adjust for the larger injectors via the O2 sensor. So whether I'm running gas or E85 the engine is within stoiciometric limits. If you're thinking that "the a/f ratio is different for gas versus ethanol" then you're right, except the ECU adjust for lambda ~= 1 which is what gas and ethanol both like. Bottomline, throw in some larger injectors and you'll be all set (as long as the car has an O2 sensor...pretty much anything after 1988).

[oldschool]

I just listened to this link; not only is the gentleman promoting ethanol and ways to get it to work in any car , but he and an associate added 65% water with it.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/waterfu...igh-mpg-expert

[dremd]

I'd like to see a BTU/ gallo rating for E-85.
I don't believe that it is effective to make it out of corn (sorry Midwest).
I do Believe it is effective to make out of sugar cane.
I do believe it is (and will be come more so) effective o make out f switch grass.

In my state (big sugar cane growing) it was illegal to use Ethanol made from sugar cane in a on road motor vehicle until last year. However there are (were then) 2 plants making Ethanol out of sugar cane for use in Europe (as far as I know un-subsidized).

[bennelson]

Ryland is right about how it doesn't make sense to make ethanol from corn.

The way our agriculture works is that we basically convert oil to fertilizer to food to alcohol.

Either just use the oil for fuel, or use some other plant material that is easier to grow and doesn't drive up food prices. Ethanol is a renewable, clean burning fuel, but not by how we are making it right now.

We finally have an E85 pump near where I live. I would be interested in experimenting with it.

The gasoline in my 4-county area is all 10% ethanol. That is a huge deal in how much ethanol is needed because that's like 1 in every ten cars having a full tank of E100!

My old car (Chevy Spectrum) originally got 47 MPG. After the E10 fuel was introduced, it dropped to 30 mpg, and eventually went back up to 35 mpg. The ethanol was introduced to help control air pollution. Not sure how dropping fuel economy from 47 to 30 helps pollute less.

I am on the north-western edge of the county. If I go either north or west not too far, gas stations have signs that say "good ol' gas" on them.

The other day, I had go west into the boonies anyways, so I tanked up on 100% gasoline while I was there.

I will track my mileage and see what kind of difference in economy I get.