E85 Tune & Precautions

[Phantobe]

Still fairly new to these parts of the forums but I've been reading & learning a lot so hopefully this question doesn't sound too stupid, its more so in the realms of WHAT IF. I've been considering filling up my next tank on E85, here in socal there is a decent amount of E85 stations.

I was more or less curious about some worse case scenario type of stuff. Say you're tuned to E85 go on a road trip realize there are no E85 stations around (poor planning lol), & say for whatever reason your OFT broke along the way so you can't flash over. What are your options? Just fuel up on highest octane avail & deal with all the knock? Find your nearest tuner? I realize how powerful the OFT is & I believe when you purchase one, you're really paying for the software, constant updates, customer support etc. However I think the hardware is lacking & I'm not sure how much I trust it.

I think my biggest fear would be as described above being flashed to an E85 tune, wanting to switch over to 91/93 for whatever reason & the hardware fails to do so. Are there any good options in this scenario lol.

[Chimera]

Some one on here said they ran a half tank of 93 on a e85 tune in that exact situation. Said take it easy on the throttle. Tbh I keep my oft in its box unless I am flashing or logging and it's in perfect shape. Might of been nice for it to have a nicer box so it doesn't look like I Carry my mail everywhere, but it works ;-)

[zkv476]

The OFT hardware is pretty reliable, unless you physically damage it. But in that worst case scenario, you would not really want to run straight 93 on the E85 tune. First you'll be running ignition timing advanced more than 93 could handle, and also you'd be running ~30% rich which would make for some rough running. While the likelyhood of that happening is pretty slim, if you really wanted to be safe I suppose you could keep a tactrix cable on standby and know how to use it haha. That or don't go on a road trip tuned for E85, the fuel economy would suck with little benefit for highway cruising

[Phantobe]

Originally Posted by zkv476

The OFT hardware is pretty reliable, unless you physically damage it. But in that worst case scenario, you would not really want to run straight 93 on the E85 tune. First you'll be running ignition timing advanced more than 93 could handle, and also you'd be running ~30% rich which would make for some rough running. While the likelyhood of that happening is pretty slim, if you really wanted to be safe I suppose you could keep a tactrix cable on standby and know how to use it haha. That or don't go on a road trip tuned for E85, the fuel economy would suck with little benefit for highway cruising

I understand that its not the most realistic scenario haha... I've been reading too many SquadRogue threads lol.

I'm more or less looking for a backup plan, realistically I'd like a piece of hardware I can have on standby that contains my stock tune that I can flash to if I ever need to (haven't read about the tactrix thing yet :P)

[DAEMANO]

Originally Posted by Phantobe

I understand that its not the most realistic scenario haha... I've been reading too many SquadRogue threads lol.

I'm more or less looking for a backup plan, realistically I'd like a piece of hardware I can have on standby that contains my stock tune that I can flash to if I ever need to (haven't read about the tactrix thing yet :P)

That's the OpenFlashTablet. It holds your stock tune (locked up so you can't delete it easily) and 5 other tunes of your choosing (Pump Gas, E85, and more) that can be flashed in less than 5 minutes at any time.

[Phantobe]

Originally Posted by DAEMANO

That's the OpenFlashTablet. It holds your stock tune (locked up so you can't delete it easily) and 5 other tunes of your choosing (Pump Gas, E85, and more) that can be flashed in less than 5 minutes at any time.

Can't tell if sarcastic or didn't read thread.

I realize this, unless you're implying I should own two.

[steve99]

Modern electronics are pretty reliable, unless you stand on oft or something.

only failures i have seen are cracked screens due impact or left on sub zero temps then heated.

Tactrix is an option as a backup i have one but you need laptop and software on laptop to flash.

Suggest carry jerry can of e85 in boot\trunk

i keep 2 or three full at home as thge e85 station is not close.

only other option is full flex fuel setup and ecutek.

The fuel trims would adjust given time but the agressive timing used for e85 would be a problem.

it may be possible to move a larger portion of the timing to the Advance-max-a table from the base timing b table. this would keep the timing the same overall but allow the IAM much more scope to reduce timing in event of knock detection. You would not want to drive a long time on wrong fuel even with those mods but it may save you.

[Phantobe]

Originally Posted by steve99

Modern electronics are pretty reliable, unless you stand on oft or something.

only failures i have seen are cracked screens due impact or left on sub zero temps then heated.

Tactrix is an option as a backup i have one but you need laptop and software on laptop to flash.

Suggest carry jerry can of e85 in boot\trunk

i keep 2 or three full at home as thge e85 station is not close.

only other option is full flex fuel setup and ecutek.

The fuel trims would adjust given time but the agressive timing used for e85 would be a problem.

it may be possible to move a larger portion of the timing to the Advance-max-a table from the base timing b table. this would keep the timing the same overall but allow the IAM much more scope to reduce timing in event of knock detection. You would not want to drive a long time on wrong fuel even with those mods but it may save you.

Considering the OFT hasn't been out for a while yet, I don't think you can estimate its longevity. Some modern electronics do in fact suck, I'm not saying the OFT will, just something to keep in the back of your head.

It would be awesome if the hardware was sold separately from the software but considering the amount of pirates out there I'm sure that was ruled out in the earlier development stages.

It seems like the best option is don't make stupid decisions & think ahead or fork over another $500 for another OFT.

@Shiv@Openflash have you considered something like an emergency flash to stock tune, in the event of hardware failure. I'd imagine something similar to OFT except it can only read & write, & hold your stock tune. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but its always good to have a backup plan.



On a more hilarious note: http://www.leapfrog.com/en-us/store/.../_/A-prod31400 similar hardware to OFT :p

[themajesticone]

Originally Posted by Phantobe

Still fairly new to these parts of the forums but I've been reading & learning a lot so hopefully this question doesn't sound too stupid, its more so in the realms of WHAT IF. I've been considering filling up my next tank on E85, here in socal there is a decent amount of E85 stations.

I was more or less curious about some worse case scenario type of stuff. Say you're tuned to E85 go on a road trip realize there are no E85 stations around (poor planning lol), & say for whatever reason your OFT broke along the way so you can't flash over. What are your options? Just fuel up on highest octane avail & deal with all the knock? Find your nearest tuner? I realize how powerful the OFT is & I believe when you purchase one, you're really paying for the software, constant updates, customer support etc. However I think the hardware is lacking & I'm not sure how much I trust it.

I think my biggest fear would be as described above being flashed to an E85 tune, wanting to switch over to 91/93 for whatever reason & the hardware fails to do so. Are there any good options in this scenario lol.

Go Ecutek. Best solution to dominate that scenario if ever you had to experience it.

[steve99]

Originally Posted by Phantobe

Considering the OFT hasn't been out for a while yet, I don't think you can estimate its longevity.

the OFT is infact a Alientech powergate 3 they have been around for quite a while on other platforms and shiv has been using them on bmw for some years.

[Silver Ignition]

Why not just flash back to a Stage 1 93 tune before leaving?

More range per tank, better MPG...isn't that what you want when road tripping?

[Phantobe]

Originally Posted by Silver Ignition

Why not just flash back to a Stage 1 93 tune before leaving?

More range per tank, better MPG...isn't that what you want when road tripping?

Lol it wasn't that well thought of a scenario.

Its more or less the principle of wanting to switch to 91/93 when the OFT fails and your flashed to E85, circumstances don't really matter. Hell maybe you have a dealer visit, or they shutdown some stations in your area. That part is more so irrelevant, but I think I pretty much got my answer.

[Circuit Motorsports]

Originally Posted by Phantobe

I think my biggest fear would be as described above being flashed to an E85 tune, wanting to switch over to 91/93 for whatever reason & the hardware fails to do so. Are there any good options in this scenario lol.

Hello. You have a couple of great options.

1) Get an EcuTek E85/Gas tune where the Gas tune and the E85 tune are included in one tune. This enables you to switch to an E85 tune and back to a gasoline (91/93) tune using your cruise control stalk. Takes about 2 seconds to switch tunes, No laptop, no tablet, no flashing required. The only thing you are relying on here is the ECU in the car. Currently, EcuTek is the only solution I am aware of that includes on-the-fly map switching.

With EcuTek, you can have up to 4 switchable maps. You could even have a dedicated 91 octane map, a dedicated 93 octane map, and a dedicated E85 map, and can switch freely between them all using the cruise control stalk. If you don't have cruise control, there are other options to switch maps as well.

2) Install a flex-fuel kit, get an EcuTek flex-fuel tune. With an EcuTek flex-fuel tune, one tune will handle any mix of E85 and Gas, any amount of ethanol in the system, from e0 to e100. It's a true flex-fuel setup that dynamically optimizes for optimum engine operation and best performance based on ethanol content without worrying about the mix of gas and E85 in the tank. No reflashing or changing maps required for different gas/e85 mixes. Again, EcuTek is the only solution available that I am aware of that can delivery a true flex-fuel solution. These EcuTek solutions have been available for the BRZ/FRS for nearly two years.

- Bob

[JesseE]

^^^ Agreed It's what I have I never worry.