Is E85 for me?

[427malibu]

I have a project I am working on. Have seen a few cars around here running E85 at the track and thinking about it myself. I have asked a few questions but answers have not helped me. I think I may have found the right place to help me so here we go.

I have a 95% strip car that I plan on bracket racing NA and doing some 10.0 index racing on using the spray. Here is a link to the project. www.wyattco.com/79_malibu_project.htm I am currently running 91 octane pump gas with no issues. I have read and seen for myself that E85 cars seem to be more consistant at the track. I am wondering what can I expect if anything to gain in hp/tq /et etc by switching over. Is there a baseline for gain over pump gas>? I know that higher CR/SC/Turbo engines seem to benifit very well but how about a 10.1 pump gas deal? I know tune is critical and wideband/exhaust temp sensor are in my toolbox and have pretty good skills. I think all I really need to switch over is to pick up or modify a carb and fatten up the fuel side of my nitrous and pour in some corn juice. Which brings me to another question. Is there any good data out there on Nitrous and E85. I am curious about timing/ignition etc.

Help?

[crpautoandfab]

I'm sure Heath and give you some direction, I think he has gone to the PRI show down in Florida.

Andy

[Heath Daniel]

Welcome to the board 427malibu. Your project looks GREAT except for the last pic of the broken lifter, ouch. I love the work you have done at the rear end. That anti-roll bar is killer. To answer your question I think your car would be a great car to run on E85. You will certainly see more power over 91 octane pump gas especially with the n2o. It looks like you have done some homework and have noticed the consistency of the E85 cars too. Like on my site most guys are picking up about a tenth and 2 to 3 mph in the 1/8th and that's switching from 110 race gas to E85. You have even more to gain I would say. It's good you got the wide band, that's going to come in handy when you convert and should get you tuned in real quick. I'm going to refer you to a some folks that are super knowledgeable about running nitrous with E85. The first are the people at o2 Technologies here's a link www.o2-technology.com/index.aspx
The other is Nitrous Express which we just met at the PRI show in Orlando. Here's a link to them
www.nitrousexpress.com/
These guys seemed to have a really good handle on spraying with E85. Thanks for posting and let me know if I can do anything help you out with converting your carb. Your fuel system already looks like it's good to go.

[427malibu]

Thanks for your reply. I looked over my budget of the next season and decided the Nitrous is not going to be in it. Was going to try to compete in the 10.0 index stuff but I am going to switch to a little different setup and run a 468 11-1 on e85 and run bracket. Gonna stick that 427 in my 67 Chevelle and terrorize the the local Honda's LOL. So... I have more questions and hope you can help. When selecting a carb do you go with the same cfm or up/down? Is a carb conversion something I can do>? Timing? I run locked out. Will timing need advanced/retarded. I remember reading something years ago about tuning with meth exhaust temps to dialing in the big power? same deal? Tune for MPH? Since you burn 20-30% more volume of fuel I assume you produce that much more exhaust. Do you need to compensate also via your exhaust system? Sorry if these are basic questions but they crossed my mind.

I am sure there are more.
Thanks in advance.

James

[Heath Daniel]

No sweat James, thanks for asking. All of your questions are good ones. I'll start from the top. The carb size stays the same as to what would be optimum on gas, it's the internal modifications that we do to it to maintain a proper air/fuel ratio for E85. The conversion is certainly something you can do or of course we have a service setup to do it for you if you prefer. I have walked people through conversions over the phone that have never even changed jets before. Than of course there are those that don't know one end of a screw driver from the other, and that's quite okay but that is when they should just go ahead and send it to us. You leave your timing the same as on gas to start out with then just adjust for best mph from there. It's okay that you run it locked out, it will work (we like the mechanical advance) but that is just something that you will have to adjust for your specific application as needed. We do monitor egts but don't put to much stock in them because they are effected by so many things. We just use it as a point of reference to when our car is running good compared to when it may not be running like we want it to. Then just tune main jets for best mph and water temp. (refer to the "basic" tuning tips on the web site. Most hi-performance exhaust systems are more than adequate to handle anything "extra" that may be coming out but is our experience that E85 burns so clean (efficient) when tuned properly that you actually have less coming out of the exhaust in the way of unburnt gasses then you do on gasoline. Keep 'em coming James.

[427malibu]

Sounds like a good deal. I have an 4150HP 1000CFM that I want to convert over to E85. I think I can do it myself. I have a pretty good handle on carbs and rebuilt/tuned a few in my days. Where can I find a kit? I drive this car sometimes on the street. Does the kit still allow me to tune for WOT and cruise. Somehow in my head I was thinking I had read/heard problems with metering/idle circuits running 2 fat when tuned for WOT. My next thought is getting E85 that is really E85 in Kansas in the middle of winter. Might have to buy barrel from to get an honest 85 mix. Is there any concern about tuning/setup in the winter that will change come spring/summer? Do you think it is a good idea to run an EGT gauge or datalog it? Do you know of any OEM EGT 5 volt sensors that are reasonable in cost? What do you recomend on plugs>? Brand/Hot-cold? Tell me more about the advance. I have played a bunch with advance and on my setups I have never seen a gain. I am from the school that timing all in by 3k? I run a ign start retard to make starts easy. My guess is maybe for idle low cruise? Or all you spreading the advance curve over a a longer duration ? 4k-4500? Maybe doing a 2-3 degree reatard at top of rpm in last gear? Read about it but never had seen it. I have seen on the dyno a mid rpm tune may take a little off the top and vice-versa. Thoughts?

I might sneek a little 75-100hp plate kit in for $hits and giggles. I am shooting for 10.60-10.70's on motor and a little nitrous will let me run class street 10.0 event if want comes around.

Thanks again.

James

[Heath Daniel]

James, my man, you have come to the right place. I take it you checked out my web site and see that I sell kits for $225 for you to convert what you have to run on E85. I also have a link on there in a couple of places for you to buy a really good and cost effective egt meter if you like. The part throttle thing is an easy fix by running a power valves. That is what they were designed for and we still run them in all of our stuff. The key is to get the right one for your application. The plugs we like in our iron headed small block Chevy are Autolite AR-133 but that's with the blower. We have found that the Autolite AR-135 works well for our naturally aspirated customers. Nitrous and E85 are like peanut butter and jelly, they are GREAT together if you have it tuned right. There's more info. on the site regarding that as well. The blend change is nothing to get worked up about like a lot of people do. We are now selling a simple tester that take 2 minutes and it tells you what the actual percentage of ethanol is in the batch you just bought or are about to buy. If it's lower than what you are set up for then a simple jet change is all that is needed. We run our stuff on the fat side anyway so the chances of blowing a motor from a 10 or even 15% change in ethanol content are slim to none. If you are serious about converting then give me a call 704-246-6500 and we'll go over your particulars to get your D.I.Y. kit right to start with.

[cpiracing]

I run a 9.1 max compression 355 sbc with a 2 barrel carb and exhaust manifolds and 76cc chambered heads.. i was thining about running on e 85 the guy that bults them claims they pick up 7 horse power but iwas wondering how if they have 105 some octane they say high octane with 9.1 compression motors doesnt help at all i think i am going to run it in my race car what do you guys all think? it burns cooler ...