GaryKephart
Well-Known Member
I figured I would post the results, for those thinking about running E-85 in their street cars.
Combo:
440 block, line honed, custom main cap straps, not a girdle, but cap straps, with ARP main studs, BHJ block Trued for 0-deck, bored Tq plate honed to 4.350
Factory steel crank, ground and polished,
4340 H-beams, ARP 2000 bolts, 750 grams, and no not 440 source, but, I am almost positive, they are the same rod
Diamond dome forged pistons, Mahle Plasma moly rings, file fit
Custom solid cam, not overly wild, but no pooch either
Smith Bros Pushrods
Crane Gold roller rockers
M-1 single plane, with a bit of port work, and runner extensions added
Custom 810cfm Holley carb, that we tuned for E-85
MSD Pro-Billet
Heads:
452 factory casting, 2.14/1.81 valves, SOME porting, bronze guides, good valve job, etc
They flowed a bit over 280 at .700.
in(452) in(OTB Eddy RPM)
.100 82 69
.200 150 135
.300 215 192
.400 248 241
.500 272 263
.600 281 277
.700 282 275
The exhaust flows in the 220 range
The intake comparison, is from an OTB Eddy, and my ported 452's. They aren't absolutely maxed out, but do have a lot of work done to them.
The engine had 12.5:1 compression, to take advantage of the E-85, otherwise, there is no point in running it. 2 inch headers. Long story short, it made 584hp, and 582 ft/lbs of tq. We ran out of carb, as it was a Pro-form 750 main body, and, it was holding it back up top. I GAURENTEE there is another 20hp easy in it with more carb for sure. It also LOVED a 2 inch spacer, adding 20hp, which, is saying the plenumn/intake isn't big enough. I knew it would want one from the get go, but, we tried it at the end, and, my prediction was right. It would have been fun to try a ported Victor on it. There probably is 10-15 in the intake also. All in all, I knew it would make at least 580hp. I was hoping for 600hp, but, the carb was the monkey wrench in that plan, but, the potential is there. It would easily go well over 600hp, with a bigger carb, and intake.
It was really sensetive to plug index though. The Domes on the diamond piston would close the gap off, if they weren't indexed right, which, can happen on a domed piston. I noticed that during assembly, and called Diamond, and asked them if I should maybe notch them by the plug, and, they said it would work, so I left it. It worked, but, it needs to be indexed right, otherwise, is closes the gap on the plug, and it puts that cylinder out. But, once it was indexed, its fine.
The main deal, was tuning it on E-85. All I can say, is, its a VERY viable fuel to run. As far as carb work, its not all that tricky, and, it acts more like gas, than methanol, but there is definately mods to be done. Anyhow, 584hp, and 582 ft/lbs of tq, for a factory iron head, fairly mild solid cammed street engine, is pretty brutal. There are a lot of 500 inchers that barely make that power. The engine was incredibly responsive too. Its going to be so snappy in the car, it will be a blast.
It's not a mega rpm deal, The engine made peak hp at 5500. It was still making basicaly the same power, about 580hp at 5900, and 572 at 6000. The carb was holding it back though, that and the intake, thats why it basicaly flat lined above 5500. It was pulling over 950cfm thru what is essentialy a 750 carb. We didn't have a vac gauge hooked into the intake, but my guess would be close to 2 inches of manifold vac at wide open, from past experience, which is a big restriction.
As far as carb work, I wouldn't suggest just going to town on your carb, without tuning it on the dyno. I did a few things prior to the dyno, mainly to the idle side, and, was perfect at idle. It wanted fuel for sure, as it uses about 30% more, with air fuel ratios about 10:1. You don't need a dedicated methanol carb though. I know what I would do now on the bigger carbs. Don't expect great gas mileage though. But, again, its a good way to go. I paid $2.56 a gallon, where, the 92 premium, was $3.10. Granted, you use about 30% more, but, thats at wide open throttle. With a well dialed carb, the loss in mileage, wouldn't be that bad. The cost is probably real close to the same, when its all said and done, but, the main thing, is it allows big compression to be used on the street, without spending $6+ a gallon on race fuel. Plus, generaly, the hassle of getting the race fuel. Being in the midwest, we are one of the countries main producers of the stuff, so its easy to get here.
Combo:
440 block, line honed, custom main cap straps, not a girdle, but cap straps, with ARP main studs, BHJ block Trued for 0-deck, bored Tq plate honed to 4.350
Factory steel crank, ground and polished,
4340 H-beams, ARP 2000 bolts, 750 grams, and no not 440 source, but, I am almost positive, they are the same rod
Diamond dome forged pistons, Mahle Plasma moly rings, file fit
Custom solid cam, not overly wild, but no pooch either
Smith Bros Pushrods
Crane Gold roller rockers
M-1 single plane, with a bit of port work, and runner extensions added
Custom 810cfm Holley carb, that we tuned for E-85
MSD Pro-Billet
Heads:
452 factory casting, 2.14/1.81 valves, SOME porting, bronze guides, good valve job, etc
They flowed a bit over 280 at .700.
in(452) in(OTB Eddy RPM)
.100 82 69
.200 150 135
.300 215 192
.400 248 241
.500 272 263
.600 281 277
.700 282 275
The exhaust flows in the 220 range
The intake comparison, is from an OTB Eddy, and my ported 452's. They aren't absolutely maxed out, but do have a lot of work done to them.
The engine had 12.5:1 compression, to take advantage of the E-85, otherwise, there is no point in running it. 2 inch headers. Long story short, it made 584hp, and 582 ft/lbs of tq. We ran out of carb, as it was a Pro-form 750 main body, and, it was holding it back up top. I GAURENTEE there is another 20hp easy in it with more carb for sure. It also LOVED a 2 inch spacer, adding 20hp, which, is saying the plenumn/intake isn't big enough. I knew it would want one from the get go, but, we tried it at the end, and, my prediction was right. It would have been fun to try a ported Victor on it. There probably is 10-15 in the intake also. All in all, I knew it would make at least 580hp. I was hoping for 600hp, but, the carb was the monkey wrench in that plan, but, the potential is there. It would easily go well over 600hp, with a bigger carb, and intake.
It was really sensetive to plug index though. The Domes on the diamond piston would close the gap off, if they weren't indexed right, which, can happen on a domed piston. I noticed that during assembly, and called Diamond, and asked them if I should maybe notch them by the plug, and, they said it would work, so I left it. It worked, but, it needs to be indexed right, otherwise, is closes the gap on the plug, and it puts that cylinder out. But, once it was indexed, its fine.
The main deal, was tuning it on E-85. All I can say, is, its a VERY viable fuel to run. As far as carb work, its not all that tricky, and, it acts more like gas, than methanol, but there is definately mods to be done. Anyhow, 584hp, and 582 ft/lbs of tq, for a factory iron head, fairly mild solid cammed street engine, is pretty brutal. There are a lot of 500 inchers that barely make that power. The engine was incredibly responsive too. Its going to be so snappy in the car, it will be a blast.
It's not a mega rpm deal, The engine made peak hp at 5500. It was still making basicaly the same power, about 580hp at 5900, and 572 at 6000. The carb was holding it back though, that and the intake, thats why it basicaly flat lined above 5500. It was pulling over 950cfm thru what is essentialy a 750 carb. We didn't have a vac gauge hooked into the intake, but my guess would be close to 2 inches of manifold vac at wide open, from past experience, which is a big restriction.
As far as carb work, I wouldn't suggest just going to town on your carb, without tuning it on the dyno. I did a few things prior to the dyno, mainly to the idle side, and, was perfect at idle. It wanted fuel for sure, as it uses about 30% more, with air fuel ratios about 10:1. You don't need a dedicated methanol carb though. I know what I would do now on the bigger carbs. Don't expect great gas mileage though. But, again, its a good way to go. I paid $2.56 a gallon, where, the 92 premium, was $3.10. Granted, you use about 30% more, but, thats at wide open throttle. With a well dialed carb, the loss in mileage, wouldn't be that bad. The cost is probably real close to the same, when its all said and done, but, the main thing, is it allows big compression to be used on the street, without spending $6+ a gallon on race fuel. Plus, generaly, the hassle of getting the race fuel. Being in the midwest, we are one of the countries main producers of the stuff, so its easy to get here.
