What’s the Best Oil for e85?

[TommyW]

Your fuel type has nothing to do with oil. Stick with a good synthetic 5-30 or 0-20

[KillerBMotorsport]

Originally Posted by TommyW

Your fuel type has nothing to do with oil. Stick with a good synthetic 5-30 or 0-20

Driven Racing Oils...

The growing use of Ethanol in modern pump fuel significantly increases the risk of carburetor and fuel system corrosion. Ethanol is added to fuel as an “oxygenate” for emissions purposes. But Ethanol is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs moisture, which causes corrosion in the fuel system and inside the engine. Plus, high levels of Ethanol dilution in the motor oil can lead to increased moisture in the crankcase, thereby causing rust and other corrosion problems.

Ethanol by itself is corrosive to components made of Aluminum and Zinc, while gasoline-oxygenate blends can corrode other materials such as Magnesium and Steel. Problems caused by Ethanol in gasoline and oil are then compounded by long periods of storage between uses.

Motul...

• Improved compatibility: Motul 300V now fulfills modern engine requirements: compatible with exhaust gas after-treatment systems such as particulate filters, compatible with biofuels (especially Ethanol) and protects against LSPI (on downsized engines).

Here's a vid (somewhat cheesy add) for an oil made to provide additional protection when using ethanol fuels...

Testing done by Engine Labs...

https://www.enginelabs.com/engine-te...ur-engine-oil/

A technical White Paper...

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/arti.../ra/c7ra00357a


That's a quick search, there's more.

Not trying to say E85 will make your oil the devil's spit, but KNOW what's going on with your oil and engine wear. Compare long term UOA trends with 93 vs long term use with E85, on YOUR car. If your particular engine, mods, environment, driving style, oil brand, etc... lets you go 6K miles between OICs with comparative results to 93 fuel, that's awesome, but just know. Those results may not be the same as the next guy. This is why saying "I do it and it works well, so anyone else can too", can be problematic. I prefer to err of the side of caution, spend a bit more on UOAs and oil changes vs replacing parts.

Our shop mules (Stock, and big power) and all have modified OCIs when running E85. We also NEVER park a car for more than a month with E85, they always get 93 before and long-term parking due to the hydrophilic properties and corrosion that accompanies it. The exception is a car with a fuel cell that has an added desiccant breather setup that pulls moisture out of the air, but even that gets checked monthly and changed as necessary.

[Dzmitry]

Originally Posted by KillerBMotorsport

We also NEVER park a car for more than a month with E85, they always get 93 before and long-term parking due to the hydrophilic properties and corrosion that accompanies it.

I believe that there is the biggest key. The number of people running flex fuel or E85 for years now has significantly increased in the last decade. There are many who have been on E85 for 5-7 years with no issues. This goes to show that the modern cars, fuel systems, engines, etc. can handle it quite well.

But as you say, it is best to be at least a little cautious. Potential moisture buildup is really the one major and only worry of E85. So the solution is quite simple... don't let your car sit around with it for long periods of times. Fire it up and take it out for a drive. I'm on flex so that makes it easier to switch around, but with any decent mix of E85 in my tank, I've never let the car sit for more than a week or two. Maybe I'm being extra and maybe I'm not. But there's nothing wrong with firing her up and taking her out for a spin as it only brings me more joy. Besides, it's cheap insurance and there's nothing difficult about doing this, so there's no reason to be lazy about it.

[Tokay444]

Originally Posted by TommyW

Your fuel type has nothing to do with oil. Stick with a good synthetic 5-30 or 0-20

Not true.

[TommyW]

Originally Posted by Tokay444

Not true.

ok so then what’s better than a good racing quality synthetic? Is there some e85 specific oil that must be used instead?

[Grady]

Ok let me tell you a secret that no one knows……………… New oil is the best.

[Tokay444]

Originally Posted by TommyW

ok so then what’s better than a good racing quality synthetic? Is there some e85 specific oil that must be used instead?

Some oils straight up aren’t friendly with alcohols.

[TommyW]

Originally Posted by Tokay444

Some oils straight up aren’t friendly with alcohols.

so which are better than the ones mentioned?

[Tokay444]

Originally Posted by TommyW

so which are better than the ones mentioned?

Ones that are designed and rated to work with alcohol are better than those that don’t play nice with alcohol.
You didn’t mention any oils. You mentioned 2 different weights.

[TommyW]

Originally Posted by Tokay444

Ones that are designed and rated to work with alcohol are better than those that don’t play nice with alcohol.
You didn’t mention any oils. You mentioned 2 different weights.

I mentioned good race quality synthetics. So what is compatible with e85 other than those?

[Tokay444]

Originally Posted by TommyW

I mentioned good race quality synthetics. So what is compatible with e85 other than those?

“Good quality racing oil” isn’t a type. Without knowing what oils you’re talking about, it’s impossible to know if they are compatible with e85 or other alcohols.

[TommyW]

Some recommended oil which is more diesel compatible however some of the guys running higher rpm like us have a problem with it foaming.

The consensus seems to be more frequent changes and even going up one notch in viscosity.

[Enigmeerkat]

Originally Posted by Sam86

Sorry for bump,
Every thread has different opinions, hard for someone with no knowledge to make a decision.

I’ve ran e85 only for the past 30k kms, I’ve just used the standard oil recommended for the stock car and changed the oil every 5k kms. I want to go with a more focused oil and have settled on 0w-20 as that seems to be the most common answer.

Just wondering if there is any noticeable difference between the Penrite Enviro+ 0w20 and the Valvoline synpower 0w-20.
Penrite seems to have better reviews but only comes in 5L whilst the Valvoline seems slightly better value as it comes in 6L.

I've been using the 0w-20 Penrite Enviro+ on E85 as well, about a year and a half now (15-20,000kms), going very well. Not exceptionally cheap by any means, but then that's not the point, is it?

[Sam86]

Originally Posted by Enigmeerkat

I've been using the 0w-20 Penrite Enviro+ on E85 as well, about a year and a half now (15-20,000kms), going very well. Not exceptionally cheap by any means, but then that's not the point, is it?

I’ll likely go with that next time, just wasn’t keen on spending $140 (they didn’t sell anything less than 5L) when I wasn’t sure of what to go with. Ended up going with the Valvoline 0w-20 synpower as it was on sale for $60 for the 6L.

Likely to be placebo but the acceleration felt better after the oil change compared to previous use of standard 5w-30. Had only been 4K kms since last oil change and the old oil came out still looking clean