E85 Conversion
 

So I have a half tank of fuel left and I seem to see a fair bit of stations around me with the "may contain 10% ethanol" disclaimer and Im thinking its throwing my fuel trims out of whack, the picture is yesterday after warming up and driving for about 25 min.

I have a catless EL header, catless overpipe/frontpipe/exhaust

I'm thinking about converting permanently to E85, but I'm wondering if there's any drawbacks, especially since its not a daily driver for me?

I'm a big fan of the FlexFuel. E85 is fairly available where I live, but I've gone to stations and they've been out, or on a road trip and can't find an option. It's nice to know I can run a tank of 91 if I need to and the system will adapt.

10% ethanol isn't enough to do that to fuel trims. Check your intake and exhaust for leaks

Drawbacks?

1. E85 from the pump can vary anywhere between 51% to 83% ethanol. Worst case, a fixed content tune can run quite rich and have some knock risk if the E% is low and the engine is expecting higher E%/Octane
2. You state you don't drive the car much. Ethanol tends to absorb water over time, which is bad for fuel that sits in tank for long periods of time

So you have the flexfuel sensor installed then?

i'd be using the OFTv2 to flash the e85 tune and back (if needed).

RE: exhaust leaks... Is the best/full-proof method for doing this just placing your bare hands over each flange/joint and feeling for any blow outs and a visual or any obvious holes?

Yes, I have the sensor installed and a tune that goes with it.

24 percent LTFT is definitely odd. Something is going on with your tune or hardware. Would definitely fix that before moving to E85. I found the easiest way to check for exhaust leaks was to pull the gaskets and see where the soot is collecting or feel around the flanges.

These days I’ve only been using my e85 frs on weekends. Because OFT’s e85 tune will take a few cranks to start in colder weather, you should make sure your battery is strong. Also top off your tank before parking it for long periods of time (to minimize the air in the tank from which it can draw moisture).

Someone had previously asked in another thread about the ethanol content of the gas im currently running. I go to sheetz which is heavily frequented so they should be cycling through their supply regularly but on the pump it does say may contain 10% ethanol... i have a feeling the fuel im buying is having an impact on my LTFTs....

Most fuel contains around 10% ethanol.

^^^ This. I have seen around 6-10% ethanol from pump gas. It shouldn't be an issue at all, as most aftermarket and all factory tunes/components are designed around this fact.


Run flex fuel and not a static tune. E85 can vary a lot depending on the station/source and time of year and geography, and like others have said, you may need to add pump gas to a tank if you find yourself away from an E85 station.

I would never run e85 without a flex fuel kit installed. just the peace of mind is worth every last penny, not to mention you will get the most of the ethanol with a custom tune for it.

Do you have an intake installed?

Agree with others. Get your fuel trims in line first. And I would rather ditch oft for ecutek and a flex fuel setup. Well worth it IMO.

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I have one (Skunk2 powerbox) but i havent installed it yet. its got some kind of aftermarket filter, but i need to snag a K&N or something and see if it makes a difference in the LTFTs first maybe..?