i have a 03 evo 8 and my mods are in my sig...

i'm tuned for 91 octane @ 22psi and i have 2 things i really want but dont know which i should go for first...

first choice is...

Switch from 91 to the old ol' E85

or

second choice is...

Kelford 272s and springs and retainers

but if i decide to go with the cams i'm also going to get gates timing belt and balancer belt with all the tensioners and etc, fluidampr, and arp head studs...and maybe cam gears but i'm undecided might wait til later for those

 

since both require tuning...save and get them done together

 

The E85 is a lot cheaper route, then the cams. I did this move on a stock Turbo, stock Cams, with just an IC Kit, Intake, TBE, FP and RC 1000's. I gained over 50awhp and 38awtq, with just the RC's and a tune. It was the same tunner that did the 91oct two month prior. Even with out touching the timing or boost, it jumped over 20hp on the first pull.
Now this was when there was a difference of $1.25, between 91oct and E85. Now there the same price.

 

Depends on the availability of E-85 but I'd probably recommend the cams. The evo 8 really comes to life with them and a good tune. And a walbro fuel pump since I didn't see it in your sig.

 

yeah a coulpe months ago e85 and 91 there was quite a big difference but now its about a 50 cent difference....E85 would still be the better fuel tho

 

theres one E85 station where i live and 3 stations where i work which is 25 miles away from my home and there are 5 e85 stations in the town i plan on moving to....

 

+1

Injex and pump will run under $500. It's Xmas, your Evo needs gifts, use a credit card or something
But in any case you need cams for sure, so that high E85 boost makes you power and doesn't just try to blow into the closed doors of your stock cammed valves

 

Get both. You'll be happier in the end.

 

People have to keep in mind that the Evo is not set up for E85, yeah tuners will yell at me, and yes YOU CAN tune the car for E85, but for long term use? Don't think so, your stock fuel lines will dry out and crack using E85. E85 is great, but not for a daily driven car. If you want bang for your buck? Get a decent Meth kit, and tune it. Want more? Then add the cams.

 

I got 272 cams and upgraded valvesprings and retainers, and the jump in hp was nice. Then I switched to E85, and after I tuned it, the difference was awesome!

Do you already have an upgraded pump? if so, your looking at new injectors, and you should be good to go with a new tune for just the E-85 switch.

So I would agree that the best thing to do is to get new injectors, and the rest at one time. E85 is 104-108 octane, so you can make gobs more power!

Just be careful with winter coming up, cause they down-grade E-85. Not sure how much, but a tuner shop tested it, and it came out like 78-80% Ethenal, So if you tune it to the ragged edge, you could end up with knock.

I don't think I will ever go back to pump, even though it is a little harder to find E-85 around where I live......

John

 

Where are you getting your E85 information. There have been guys here running the fuel without fuel system issue on their car. I think you're dealing with older information, as people originally were concerned with the fuel line issue but in application that point seems to be moot.

Now asking someone to add a meth kit, which is adding another variable to the equation that can potentially go bad, is not the best route IMHO.

 

The Problem with E85 like we all know its 85% alcohol, you need to have approved lines for them to take that fuel. If it was not a big deal the Flex Fuel Cars would not have different fuel lines than their standard gas equivelants. A friend of mine that works at Chevy showed me the difference in the rubber on two Chevy Cars. One Flex Fuel, one not......totally different. Yes, it will work, the standard lines...but for how long? I don't want to be on a trip to the track when a fuel line decides to crack. No thank you. As for Meth? It has been proven for years not just on Evo's but many cars for many years. It runs its own supply line, and has its own fail safes. If done correctly you cannot beat the benefit of Meth vs. Cost ratio. I know people running E85 too, they know the risks, I just think if someone is considereing it, they should know the Pro's and the Possible Con's before making a decision.

 

I don't know how long people have been using E85 but it seems like its been getting more and more popular, and i don't see that changing. E85 is the best bang for your buck. Your only paying for one fuel, not two, and e85 right now in my town is 1.61$ and 91 is 2.10$ and i know you get worse gas mileage on E85 but i have done the calculations E85 is still cheaper here is my post of the calculations https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...8&postcount=49 prices have changed tho

you'll notice a cracked fuel line way before some off the failures that could happen with a meth kit. if your WOT and a line clogs with meth your gonna detonate for sure and you'll be lucky if you don't damage your motor....you could have just a simple failsafe like fluid level of the meth tank but that just isn't enough there are alot more things that could go wrong and those fail safes are going to run your bill way higher than you would of if you would of simply switched to E85

all you need to run is E85 are bigger injectors and fuel pump....and if you want a safe meth kit you need the kit an extra tank, another fuel, a few failsafes....sounds like a pain in the a$$ and extra money i don't wanna spend....i think i rather just fill up one fuel tank and thats it

i haven't read any threads to this date of anyones fuel lines drying out and cracking so that doesn't seem to be a problem but it wouldn't be that hard to replace a fuel line....as far as risks on E85 the only one i see is being tuned for an 85% mix and you put in a 70% mix and you will pry knock but if you tune for a 70% mix you will never have anything to worry about heres a thread on the mix's by month in every state https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...85+class+state so if you really wanted to you could have a tune for every class and never have to worry about anything

as far as fuel lines drying out this is quoted off of this site http://www.change2e85.com/servlet/Page?template=Myths

Myth 5. Ethanol will ruin gaskets, seals, rings and more.

"The rubber neoprene used in the last 20 + years is resistant to the drying effect that ethanol may have"

Myth 6. E85 will eat my rubber fuel lines.

"This is another myth from the old days. Rubber technology has significantly advanced so the concerns of a 20 year old car or newer having issues like this are extremely rare. Plus the 15% gas will help keep lines lubricated."

I think that pretty much sums it up

 

Just buy my HKS 280's I have for sale in the FS section. Fine on stock springs/retainers, and massive power gains for an 8.

To the guys recommending he switch to E85 on stock cams, seems like most of you have IX's. The stock 8 cams suck compared to the 9 cams, the stock turbo is smaller, etc etc etc.

IMHO, HKS 280's or bust, I LOVED them.

Here's my before/after:

 

Your Right changing out the fuel lines would not be hard, just people don't realize they may need to. Second, In some parts you can get E85 for $1.61? where I am you can't get it at all. Closest place I can get E85 is 200 miles away. Meth kits through different vendors have up to 7 fail safes. If one fails, you have another, bottom line is, you get a clog at WOT the engine cuts boost by 50% on average to save your butt. I do not run meth, but am considering it. The extra tank is no big deal, will run it where my Windshield washer resivour is, the juice is cheap if you shop around and use a 50/50 mix. For me, where I live meth is the way to go, or run straight race gas which where I live is about $6.00 a gal for 110 unleaded. There are different ways for sure. If you actually drive your car daily like I do, take it on road trips and all, you will find out real quick especially in CA there are not many places that carry E85, so what do you do then? you walk home. That is why I still have my car tuned on 91. It may be **** Gas, but I can buy it anywhere. As for Meth, I would run two maps. One for 91, run a switch off my ECU with a seperate memory for the Meth map. Keep a Gallon Jug in the trunk and I am good to go. I don't want to run meth? flip the switch, run 91, no worries. For me, my personal goal is 400whp, 400wtq. On Meth or Race, I could do it now. But again a pain in the *** for both in some way or another, so I am opting for the FP Red, and some serious tuning by James Reese. Yeah, I will throw in a I/C, an Invidia 02 housing and a Milspec TB to do it. But then again, I will only need 91 to do it. If I get crazy and run meth and the FP Red? Geeze, hold on man!! haha