E85 Fuel conversion anyone done it yet ?

[whrdnsx]

Yes, very important. You can only feed the amount needed if you allow for the displacement of volume. I current run a 1/2" breather, while OK, I can still hear fluctuations in the system. I will be changing it to AN 12 soon keeping my roller over valve and filter.

We are making custom AN 8 rails now. I am already running AN 12 (correction from above) from the tank to AN 10 into the filters and to soon to be AN 8 feeding the injectors back into a Y and to the regulator. My plan is to control the pressure from the back end. Which I already do just haven't put each bank on it's own circuit yet.

Twin 44's are a good choice. But in tank will become a pain in the ass.
Trust me, mount them outside the tank. Eliminate the 1/8" lines for the Emissions and Canister as they will screw with you....and just do a straight breather.
Otherwise you WILL experience cavitation in the pump(s).

I run a single MagnaFuel 600 pro single pump with great support and they have become a sponsor as well. My early days of not understanding has now become a situation of learning, MagnaFuel knows their shit.

RC is a sponsor, they are 1000cc and their support is incredible.

My idle is perfect. Power on and off.
This has a lot to do with my tuning by Mitch Peterson.
Incredible tuner for both on and off track.

I was only considering mounting the twin 044's in tank just to simplify things.
otherwise i'll need a surge tank & pre pump. as my Nsx is a street/track i was trying to keep things looking Oem.
What Reg are you running? I have a sard reg but recently heard one fail after an E85 conversion not sure if it was coincedence or not.

 

[Adandos]

Anyone interested in E85 should checkout our E85 sizing calculator

E85 (besides having a higher octane number) has a much higher auto ignition temperature than gasoline... it makes running high boost setups with no or poor inter-cooling possible since you won't have preignition worries.

On a car like the NSX where engine space is a premium and rear mounted coolers aren't quite as effective as front mounts...etc this becomes a good way to simplify building a boosted setup...

As of a few days ago all our free trial accounts give you 3 logins where you have 100% access to all the features of the calculator including full fuel system sizing. Take advantage of it

 

[Coz]

My thoughts are in tank actually make servicing things more complicated, especially if your at the track. Which is why I decided to go with one fuel pump and mount it outside the tank. I have considered going to dual Bosch 044's, mounted again outside the tank, but found it won't be necessary once I vented the tank correctly with a minimum vent line of 1/2" . Next time I have the tank out, I am going to go to even a bigger vent line, AN 12.

I recently added a surge vent tank since.

I am running an Aeromotive 1 to 1 regulator, which hasn't failed, but will be changing over to a Magnafuel regulator when I make the fuel rail change over since they are a sponsor and I already use their fuel pumps.

I was only considering mounting the twin 044's in tank just to simplify things.
otherwise i'll need a surge tank & pre pump. as my Nsx is a street/track i was trying to keep things looking Oem.
What Reg are you running? I have a sard reg but recently heard one fail after an E85 conversion not sure if it was coincedence or not.

 

[Coz]

Vent Tank to the left. Crankcase Breather is on the right.

 

[Matt_337]

Is anyone concerned with the effects of using E85 in our cars?

I was over on another forum and they were debating long term uses of it in this thread.

http://www.nagtroc.org/forums/index.php?/topic/60754-is-e85-right-for-you/

I copied and pasted the original poster's comments below. I do agree on the point where not all E85 is the same so that may be something to be concerned with when tuning.


Is E85 Right for you?

Author: Chris Black - Head Tuner At AMS Performance


E85 in place of traditional race fuel can offer both advantages and disadvantages when using it for your forced induction vehicle. The biggest advantage is it’s a cheap and readily available source for much higher octane than premium fuel at the pump. While that sounds great there are a number of things to consider before pumping your tank full of the magic corn juice.

How much Ethanol are you getting?

In Illinois we only have an 85% blend of ethanol at most and for only 2 months of the year. Other states ethanol content schedules vary, but ALL of them do have some variation over the course of the different seasons.

Since the content of the fuel is changing, technically your tune should be changing too, to match the requirements of the current fuel that is in your tank… but it can’t. E70 in place of E85 for example will run richer than intended and also have less knock resistance, which is not a good thing for those cars which are tuned for high power. An ethanol content meter should really be installed for the driver to monitor the fuel and make sure it stays within a safe range of ethanol content specified by your Tuner.

Added fuel system requirements

E85 is corrosive and your cars fuel system may not be equipped to run it. Not all fuel pumps or injectors were meant to be able to run such a high ethanol content. Ethanol has much less lubrication in it, which will wear on your fuel system parts faster and may possibly cause a failure if used with parts that are not compatible.
Ethanol also has a much lower boiling point than traditional gasoline, which can cause issues with aeration of the fuel, especially when used in track oriented vehicles. Ethanol ‘cleans out’ your fuel system, so when adding the fuel to an older system the fuel filter will need to be changed at least once, and possibly more times as the entire fuel system will be shedding any contaminants that it has picked up over the years.

Ethanol may not be the best choice for Race Cars

With the inconsistency of the ethanol content of the fuel and its chemical properties, it is advisable for any vehicle which is a dedicated race car to be using a standard race fuel that will work consistently at all times. Ethanol can be extra corrosive if it’s let sitting in a car that is not started up and driven often. In addition Ethanol is ‘hygroscopic’ meaning it will absorb water over time which can reduce the potency of the fuel and cause further damage to the fuel system. Ethanol can be used for racing applications but careful consideration and monitoring needs to take place when doing so.


Conclusion

For a street vehicle with a conscientious user, E85 is an option that will require some care in maintaining during the use of the vehicle. As long as your car is equipped with the proper gauges to read ethanol content and air/fuel ratio and you have a good understanding of what to look for E85 may be a fuel worth looking in to.

 

[deedubb]

FWIW, I converted my Cadillac CTS-V to E85 after I supercharged it and ran it daily at 6xx HP on stock fuel lines and stock fuel pump. I did add an extra in-line fuel pump to help with the load. I did this for 2 years and had no corrosion or degradation to anything that I could see. Despite the loads of incorrect information out there on the internet, it is not a bad option. I'm not sure what the differences are in between my old 1991 NSX and my 2005 CTS-V were as far as fuel lines and seals. If they are of similar materials, there should be no problems at all. Everyone is an expert out there with lots of hearsay and has an opinion regarding E85 conversions so I recommend you do your own research if you are considering a swap.

 

[adrenaline_nsx]

from what i read on wikipedia E85 is not any more corrosive than regular gas..seems like there will always be mixed reviews. http://evoempire.org/community/index.php?/topic/11571-fuel-system-after-3-years-on-e85/

 

[BATMANs]

I found this article:

http://www.superchargerperformance....power-calculator-for-your-e85-fuel-conversion

 

[BATMANs]

i did my conversion and it appears that i need to have a cold tune done since it is a PITA to start up the car during the winter months.

anyone else run into this issue?

 

[Mac Attack]

i did my conversion and it appears that i need to have a cold tune done since it is a PITA to start up the car during the winter months.

anyone else run into this issue?

We have this problem with our cars down in Brazil, and it is the reason why I use meth injection on the NSX and not E85.

 

[BATMANs]

We have this problem with our cars down in Brazil, and it is the reason why I use meth injection on the NSX and not E85.

On that note has anyone ran Meth injection while running e85?

 

[peiserg]

I have been running exclusively e85 on my ford gt for 6 years. My Cadillac ctsv, turbo nsx, turbo s2k. No cold start issues period. You need a good tuner is all. All I use is e85.

 

[Mac Attack]

I have been running exclusively e85 on my ford gt for 6 years. My Cadillac ctsv, turbo nsx, turbo s2k. No cold start issues period. You need a good tuner is all. All I use is e85.

What's the coldest you've tried to start your E85 cars on pure E85?

My 2016 flex fuel Audi in Brazil has problems starting in the mornings when it gets down to 35F. Ethanol's flash point is around 55F whereas gasoline is around -45F.

A lot of cars down there have separate small tanks you can fill with gas to help you cold start your car... and these are OEMs like GM, VW, Ford, etc.
http://www.ngkntk.com.br/automotivo/en/winter-hampers-the-starting-of-flex-fuel-vehicles-supplied-with-ethanol/

I'm not after top power, so meth injection is enough for my 550WHP NSX. I also drive it occasionally in 25F temperatures.

 

[BATMANs]

What's the coldest you've tried to start your E85 cars on pure E85?

My 2016 flex fuel Audi in Brazil has problems starting in the mornings when it gets down to 35F. Ethanol's flash point is around 55F whereas gasoline is around -45F.

A lot of cars down there have separate small tanks you can fill with gas to help you cold start your car... and these are OEMs like GM, VW, Ford, etc.
http://www.ngkntk.com.br/automotivo/en/winter-hampers-the-starting-of-flex-fuel-vehicles-supplied-with-ethanol/

I'm not after top power, so meth injection is enough for my 550WHP NSX. I also drive it occasionally in 25F temperatures.

Sounds like my issue.

During the cold winter months when it was be around freezing temps the car just wont start.

 

[Mac Attack]

Sounds like my issue.

During the cold winter months when it was be around freezing temps the car just wont start.

So, it's most likely not a tuning issue. Try to run a bit more gasoline mixture when it's cold I guess.

 

[BATMANs]

So, it's most likely not a tuning issue. Try to run a bit more gasoline mixture when it's cold I guess.

I talked to my tuner and he thinks he can do a "cold tune" but will need the car overnight (in the garage) so that he can tune it on a cold engine.

he did recommend the coldest winter, but I think that time has lapsed.