e85 or stay with pump gas

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My engine is really not gonna be a huge power house but I would like to get what I can from it (550ish) but what I've seen the factory port design heads are ending up around 530 ish
Hopefully it will run 6.70's 1/8 mile
And I will compete in the 7.0 index class
At our local track
I've been building the car for about 2 years now and really don't need to complicate things right now
But I'm liking the cooling advantage
And flyfish you say you went 2 Tenths faster over pump gas ??
Hate to spend more money on a expensive carb that I've already bought
Also a little concerned about starting a fresh mill on something that I know nothing about
Anyway just some of the thoughts in my head
 
With a fresh motor and not knowing e85 real well, I would just start with what you've got and run on gas. If you feel like you want to try it out down the road it is a pretty simple conversion....I think I did mine for under $550 total, that was the carb conversion kit, steel mesh fuel filter, 1/2 fuel line, and the wideband for tuning.
 
Detonation happens when the air temp is higher than the fuel can control.
Methanal cools the intake charge as it enter.
Example, say you're eng like to detonate(with gasoline) when the air temp gets above 95 degrees. If you put a water injection system on, it will not detonate as the air temp has been cooled from the water turning into vapor.
Methanal cools better than water AND has a much higher octane level.

Methanol has a much larger tuning window because of all that.

Downside.......
methanol you can't see the flame.
Carb fires you can't see......It just won't start until you smother it with a rage or something.
In a crash you don't know if it took fire.
and that's why i like the e85. But as i have said. It's not available in my area, so not a good plan for me.
 
We been using it for while now...5 yrs or more....all 3 cars use the e85....Got two stations within a couple of miles that sell it. i have checked it with the tester....85% ethanol...I use a 140 gph fuel pump with -8 line. The carbs are QFT 950
 
flyfish said:
I like it for my car. Converting it is not too bad, depending on what you have to begin with.
  • You need a fuel pump that can handle ~30% more fuel (I used a Holley black pump)
  • Get rid of any paper fuel filter (I switched to a 40 micron steel mesh)
  • Possibly larger fuel line depending on your setup (mine is 1/2 inch from cell to carb)
  • Convert the carb or buy an e85 carb (I got a kit from Rob Mix (ebay) and converted it myself).
That is all you "need", but I also would suggest getting a wideband and installing it in the exhaust to help you tune it (I got one through Summit for ~ $150 for the gauge and O2 sensor). e85 burns so clean that it is very difficult to read the plugs.

Reasons for doing it.
  1. My car runs much cooler, so it is easier to hot lap at the track.
  2. Car is more consistent at the track.
  3. If I recall correctly, it was a little more than 2 tenths quicker when I switched.
  4. Much cheaper than race gas.
Reasons for not:
  1. Harder to cold start if the temp is <45°F (I don't care because my car only goes out on nice days).
  2. Takes a little more maintenance (draining the fuel system in the winter for example).
  3. If you don't drive the car at least once a month it may get fussy (mine likes to have the little bullet shaped thingy under the squirters get stuck if it sits too long, but no biggie).
  4. If you drive far away from home it might be harder to find e85...but around my house it is plentiful.
Click to expand...
Agree 100% same results 2-3 tenths quicker great for round robin racing. Spring/fall you almost can leave your car running all day while racing, will need warm up time lol
 
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