It is performance-optimized for use in Flex Fuel vehicles. In 1999 Brazil mandated that by 2003 all new cars sold in the country had to be FlexFuel vehicles (FFVs)—vehicles certified to run on gasoline containing up to 85 percent ethanol (ethyl alcohol), marketed as … E85 is an ethanol-based, clean-burning alternative to petroleum gasoline. Andre is passionate about the tuning industry as well as spreading his knowledge and has been training others for the last 7 years. Although a much lower percentage of vehicles in the United State's are flexible fuel vehicles, and therefore able to burn E85 ethanol, it is quickly gainer favor.What is E 85 Ethanol?When 15 percent of leaded gasoline is combined with eighty five percent of ethanol, the result is the low-cost E85 ethanol fuel. But it does demand some respect to ensure good performance and reliability. Although E85 is currently only available at approximately 600 pumps in the United States, that number is expected to grow significantly in the next few years. | Special Precautions. E85 continues to increase in popularity on the merits of sustainability and reduced emissions when compared to pump gasoline. E85′s octane rating is 100-105, considerably higher than premium gasoline (91 octane). The starch in these crops can easily be converted into sugar. Ethanol is an alcohol -based fuel made by fermenting and distilling starch crops, corn mostly. Too much boost or too much ignition advance can lead to detonation on pump fuels and hence the fuel’s octane rating often limits the power we can make. The advantages E85 offers play out perfectly for any engine that is very sensitive to knock or detonation on pump gas, which is why E85 lends itself so well to boosted engines. It’s almost impossible to completely drain a factory fuel tank, and this may leave as much as 5 or more litres of fuel in the tank when you swap from E85 to pump fuel. What is E85? When E85 is … Please enter your details below to sign into your account, Please enter your details below to register for an account, This email is already in use. As we just saw, even just supporting the same amount of power you were making on pump gasoline will need around 35 per cent more. Much of the biomass used to make ethanol is grown in politically important states. Some producers also use cane sugar or agricultural waste products to … E85 Ethanol E85 ethanol in fuel is a relatively new mixture of gasoline to petroleum that has started to make its way to a few gas stations across the country. Still, we had made it all the way on one tank of E85. It’s quite possible to see your engine power literally double in some cases when switching from pump gas to E85. E85 is comprised of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline and is derived from fermented starch and sugars. We would find out on the return trip. After all, it costs close to thirty five percent less than gasoline and is quickly becoming a preferred choice for motorists at the pump stations. E85 is designed for use in flexible fuel vehicles, or vehicles with an engine designed to run on any blend of ethanol up to 85%. Ethanol based fuels are common place in the automotive world and since ethanol is a renewable resource and a cleaner burning alternative to gasoline, ethanol, or mores specifically ethanol blends, have become a popular choice in many countries. One of those viable fuel sources is E85 ethanol. E85, a fuel that contains 51%–83% ethanol, depending on location and season, is mainly sold in the Midwest and can only be used in a flexible-fuel vehicle. He owned and ran an internationally renowned performance dyno tuning workshop in Wellington, New Zealand and has made his mark developing and tuning a number of high powered import drag cars, many of which set World Records. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Although the price of the Ethanol E85 may be foremost on consumer's minds, it also gets the nod from earth activists because it is an environmentally friendly product. The next method, which is referred as bio-ethanol, involves extraction from trees and grasses. Summer blends tend to have more ethanol while winter blends have less. With this system you can run a car on pump gasoline, E85 or any mixture of the two and the ECU takes care of the necessary changes. Ethanol is added to normal pump gas to help the engines burn cleaner but is only at about a 10-15% ethanol to gas ratio. Some people are not aware that many other cars manufactured today are Ethanol E85 compatible. Particularly in colder regions, the gasoline percentage is increased to help increase the fuel’s volatility which aids cold weather starting. How quickly E85 will absorb moisture depends on the humidity, but if you aren’t using the car regularly it’s always best to drain the E85 and run some gasoline through the system. By Andre Simon. The first source of production involves the fermenting and distilling of starch-like feedstock. So E10 would contain 10-percent ethanol, E30 is 30-percent ethanol by volume and so on. High-octane E85 is the fuel for you E85 is a fuel that is made of 85 % ethanol, and 15% gasoline. Start instantly, for FREE. For those without regular access to E85 this gives the freedom to swap between fuels without visiting a tuner or breaking out the laptop each time. E85 can be made from a variety of materials, including The starch in these crops can easily be converted into sugar. 4 E85 can be used in FFVs, which are specially designed to run on gasoline, E85, or any mixture of the two. It is an alcohol-based fuel that can be produced from employing the use of two methods. E85 is intended only for engines specially designed to accept high-ethanol content fuel blends, such as the Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFV) made by some car companies. But, if you don't own a vehicle by one of the above-mentioned manufacturers, you need not fear. More than 97 percent of U.S. gasoline contains ethanol, typically in a mixture called E10, made up of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline, to oxygenate the fuel and reduce air pollution. ... We made 500 hp at the rear wheels using 100 octane race gas in this application but it would likely make even … Got the need for speed? Normal gasoline has a stoichiometric air fuel ratio of 14.7:1, while E85 is 9.8:1. The best idea is to use an ethanol content sensor so your tune can adjust automatically. In high-power applications multiple pumps and dual sets of injectors may be required. This is also the method that large-scale manufacturers use when producing high-fructose corn sweetener.Ethanol E85 is an innovative and renewable resource with many positive characteristics, making it one of the leading topics of discussion for those looking to help the earth and looking to keep a few extra bucks in their wallet. E85 ethanol is already widely used in Brazil with about 90 percent of Brazil's vehicles able to use E85 ethanol. Brazil is the world's second largest producer of ethanol fuel.Brazil and the United States have led the industrial production of ethanol fuel for several years, together accounting for 85 percent of the world's production in 2017. Ethanol has a higher octane number than gasoline, providing premium blending properties, according to the U.S. Department of Energy . Though not designed for E85 use, we made them work with a simple jetting change. Just tipping E85 into the tank and retuning the ECU to deliver the correct volume of fuel isn’t going to really harness the power potential of E85. E85 is an abbreviation typically referring to an ethanol fuel blend of 85% ethanol fuel and 15% gasoline or other hydrocarbon by volume. The real merit of the fuel is in two of its properties: its octane rating and its cooling ability. Fuel ethanol feedstocks include grains and crops with high starch and sugar content such as corn, sorghum, barley, sugar cane, and sugar beets. E85 Ethanol Flex Fuel Explained National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition This cycle illustrates how plants, often corn, are turned into ethanol. In Brazil, sugar cane is the leading ingredient in ethanol. The maker has to first extract sugar from biological feedstock in order to begin the process. Sugar fed into microbes quickly produces ethanol and carbon dioxide, which is purified to get the ethanol to the right consistency.There is another method of manufacturing Ethanol E85 oil or grain alcohol, as it is also known, and this is through a wet-milling process. Increase the octane rating though and we can often make more power. How is Ethanol Made? They include corn, barley, and wheat. These days, there is quite a bit of talk about this fuel, and why shouldn't there be? The ethanol used in engines is a biofuel made mostly from corn that is fermented like regular drinking alcohol that is then is treated with chemicals to make it poisonous and very much not like drinking alcohol. It’s also worth mentioning that since you’re burning more E85, your fuel economy will take a hit. This moisture can cause corrosion of your fuel pump and injectors leading to some serious issues down the track. E85 is a usable fuel that is made from a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% unleaded gasoline. Flex Fuel is common on many newer vehicles and this system uses an ethanol content sensor to tell the ECU the percentage of ethanol in the fuel. The best ethanol can produce as much as 90 percent fewer lifecycle emissions compared to gasoline, but the worst ethanol can produce significantly more lifecycle emissions than gasoline. The octane rating of E85 is in the region of 105, but when combined with its cooling properties, the actual knock resistance of E85 is much higher than the octane rating would suggest. A: Anytime you see gasoline with an E prefix, that indicates the fuel contains a given percentage of ethanol. On E85 however, we now mix one part fuel to 9.8 parts air. A colder intake charge is denser and improves power, but also has the effect of making the engine less prone to detonation. Our MoTeC M150 ECU pictured can monitor the ethanol content and then automatically account for the changing fuel properties including stoichiometric ratio and fuel density thanks to an ethanol content sensor. Some care is required though if you’re considering tuning your car for E85. The production of ethanol from starch or sugar-based crops is among man’s earliest ventures into value-added agriculture-based processing. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ruled in October 2010 that cars and light trucks of model year 2007 and newer can use E15 (gasoline with 15% ethanol). Want to learn more about EFI tuning? | Upgrade Requirements | Tuning on E85 | Only for boosted engines? Ethanol is a renewable biofuel because it is made from biomass. 5/17 The carbs were controlled by a dual-quad linkage, while … FFVs also have the ability to run on mid-level blends, fuel that is blended with ethanol less than 85%, such as E20, E30 and E40. E85 (or flex fuel) is a term that refers to high-level ethanol-gasoline blends containing 51% to 83% ethanol, depending on geography and season (see Fuel Propertiesand E85 Flex Fuel Specification). ‘Stoichiometric’ is a chemical term that refers to the required ratio of fuel and air for complete combustion. E85 is a fuel blend. Flex Fuel functions are also available in many aftermarket ECUs and this can allow you to take advantage of the same technology for your own car. If you want to take advantage of the fuel you’re going to need to add some ignition advance, increase the boost pressure, or both. This way you can monitor the quality of your fuel and prevent potential damage. With gasoline prices rising higher and higher, with no relief in sight, consumers are becoming more aware of and more interested in alternative fuel sources. So how about if you’re naturally aspirated and you aren’t really being effected by knock on pump gas? Sign in here, Endorsed by leading performance manufactures. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ll probably know that E85 is a fuel containing 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent gasoline. If you are consciously trying to use less gasoline because you are aware of toxins it releases into our air think about this: if you convert to a flexible fuel vehicle and you burn E85 in that vehicle you will automatically be using 85 percent less gasoline that you previously had because 85 percent of your fuel is now ethanol and only 15 percent is gasoline.Ethanol E85 will run well in flexible fuel vehicles like those manufactured by Daimler Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Isuzu and Nissan to name a few. In particular, larger injectors and a larger fuel pump are usually a necessity. We did some testing on our turbocharged Toyota 86 and optimising the tune in the MoTeC M150 ECU netted an increase in power from the 198kW (265hp) the car made on pump gas to 267kW (358hp) at the rear wheels. Sugar for this fuel can also be extracted from cellulose, which is a sugar based ingredient found in trees and grasses. Performance. Ethanol can also be made from grasses, … Again, if you failed chemistry this means that on pump gas we need 14.7 parts air to mix with one part fuel. In short, your car needs to be tuned to run correctly on E85. While it’s great to have a car that starts when there’s snow on the ground, if your engine is tuned for 85 per cent ethanol and all of a sudden you have a tank with 51 per cent ethanol, your tune will be off the mark with potentially dangerous results. | Can you fill up at the pump? many sources of starch, including corn, wheat, grain sorghum, barley, and potatoes, and from sugar crops such as sugar cane and sweet sorghum. To achieve this we need to inject around 35 per cent more fuel to mix with the same volume of air when we switch from gasoline to E85. | Care and maintenance | Flex Fuel? Ethanol E85 also lessens the need for imported crude oil because it is locally produced, and is also known for increasing the octane rating in fuel while decreasing the harmful emissions caused by gasoline. Andre is the technical founder of HPA and has around 17 years of experience in the tuning industry. FFVs are offered by several automakers. E85, also called flex fuel, is an ethanol-gasoline blend containing 51% to 83% ethanol, depending on geography and season. Had the tailwind made it possible? Failing that, an onboard ethanol content gauge and wideband air/fuel ratio meter are wise investments. The only thing stopping us going further was the stock internals and a little mechanical sympathy. Corn is the leading ingredient in Ethanol E85 gas in the United States. Ethanol can be made from any crop or plant that contains a large amount of sugar or components that can be converted into sugar, such as starch or cellulose. This makes E85 a fuel with 85-percent ethanol and 15-percent gasoline. It should be noted that all gasoline engines normally have no problems running the 10 percent mixture, although the E85 mixture has some modifications that must be made. As well as the ethanol content at the pump, variable ethanol content is a danger for those who regularly swap between pump fuel and E85. E85 also has a very high ‘latent heat of evaporation’. Class 1 or "pure" E85 contains 80 to 84 percent ethanol, while the remainder of the blend is commercial-grade (around 85 pump octane) gasoline.