Ok, So i'm sure its been preached here but maybe not... I'm not new to forums i've used the search

I live in a big city so e85 is in abundance compared to somewhere where it is scarce. I have a new evo I have basic ams and ets boltons, ebc, gauges. I see people making huge horsepower over their regular 93 octane tunes. Seems like to me bigger injectors and fuel pump gives you more payout than upgrading the snail ... My questions to you guys running it and tuners are:

1.Does the car drive any differently between the two?
2.What are the adverse affects if any?
3.My tahoe uses flex fuel it gets HORRIBLE gas mileage how is the evo?
4.What happens if I'm out of gas and 87-91octane is only available, Drivability concerns etc?

I only hear/see good things about running e85 but there has to be another side to this book.

I guess its still pretty new in the race world and some tuners don't really want to get into it but if bigger injectors and fuel pump=60+hp over regular premium octane why don't everyone run it???? I mean its way cheaper than trying to upgrade a snail imo so please someone knowledgable

 

1. once the fuel pressure and injectors are dialed in correctly, everyday drive-ability feels terrific on e85. it's very smooth and there is a noticable mid range power difference.

2. adverse effects: mpg decrease. i get about 230 miles per tank on 93 (~19mpg) city. I get 175 miles per tank on e85 (~15 mpg) city. you have to fill up more often and depending on your situation, you have to plan a stop to an e85 station.

other adverse effects: ethanol content seems to move around a bit. not so much where i live but i know further north your blends tend to go down to 70% ethanol in the winter. personally i think you need to test your fuel with some regularity. i use a quick fuel test tube kit to check each batch. i find that north texas kroger stations have been north of 85% ethanol year round. this is good but also has it's quirks.

on the same note, you may have a harder time starting your car on e85 in the winter. this can be resolved by adjusting the cold start tables.

last negative i can think of. e85 is typically poor in fuel additives or that 15% of gasoline used to blend is poor quality gasoline. prolonged e85 use tends to gum up the fuel system. simple fix is switching back to a good quality premium gasoline for a tank or two periodically or using a good fuel system cleaner is something you should consider to keep from clogging injectors.

3. expect a 25-30% decrease in your mpg from gasoline. note, e85 tends to cost about 25% less than premium so it is a wash in price/mile.

4. you need to have the ability to switch tunes if you switch fuels. your injector scalings are drastically different so switching fuels requires switching tunes.

really, the best method is having tephra mod on your rom with dual map switching. this allows you to hold the cruise control button for 3 seconds and swith to your alternate map.

other methods, use a cobb access port and switch tunes at the station.

or carry your charged up laptop around all the time. (that would get annoying and you would hate to get caught out)

 

thanks man that sounds like good info. All of things I can deal with because there are about 12 e85 stations in my city and one thats <5miles from my house.. i'm just not so sure my tuner will know about the cruise control mod that sounds pretty badass... And my car being in ohio I will have to keep an eye on the degraded 85 AND the SUPER cold weather but I plan on garaging it though so they may not be an issue.. Again man thanks for the heads up I've seen general things about e-85 but nothing from an acutal evo owner

 

+1 pretty much sums it up right here. I personally use 91 (its the best we have here in AZ) on the street and E85 when I take it to the track. like he said E85 will build up over time, so I save it for track days. The benefits to E85 are great, I mean whats wrong with more power and torque. But the disadvantages are not to be ignored. In addition to what momostallion said are you're gonna have to upgrade your injectors no matter what. For starters you're gonna need a 255lph fuel pump. Depending on your power levels you might even need a fuel pump bigger than that or a double pumper.

All in all E85 is awesome and really transforms the car into something else. But it does have some disadvantages to it. Best of luck to you man

 

well I dont have the gas station problem and I'm also not really gonna drive it in the winter I have another car PLUS I store it in a garage...In the op I said i'd upgrade the inj and fuel pump from jump no issue... I just dont want something to happen where I'd blow my engine just from running 85 w/ bolt-ons.. Point being is it SAFE to try to get 390 like you have as a dd?

 

oh one other thing since you mentioned you might store it. e85 is hygroscopic so dont store it long term as it will drink up water.

 

So in the winter I should run it out and put in the reg octane map you were talking about. Because I am a govt contractor i'm NEVER home so prob wont be a good idea unless i'm LIVING back home.. This is the feedback I was looking for thanks btw

 

for sure. anytime it's going to sit for a month or so just put premium gasoline and swap back to the gas tune.

if it's going to sit longer than 90 days then you need to even look at adding some stabil or decent additive that will keep gasoline from breaking down.

 

I must have missed that part, no worries. and make sure your tuner limits the torque.

 

ok sounds good, this is my first time owning an evo or an awd car.. I've been living on this forum soaking up others mistakes, I know the gsr trannys arent the strongest but looks like 400hp and under 400 tq is pretty reliable on stock bottom/top end

 

No problem man, the best thing you can do is inquire and ask questions. the 5 speed is a pretty strong tranny for what it's worth. but it's how you drive that makes the difference. if you're constantly banging gears and shifting hard then yeah it's not gonna last. even with the power and torque levels on my car I shift very smooth and easy. I haven't had any issues with my tranny. Only thing I did was replace my clutch. an the 4G63 is a stout motor, your stock bottom end and internals will hold up just fine with 400whp. some guys on here are running 500whp on stock blocks. But once again it's all in the tune. best of luck dude

 

you mean 4b11t, not 4g63

but pretty much what he said. the transmission itself is fine. the clutch will hold too but launches and hard shifts will allow more opportunities to slip/burn the disc. be smooth and smart about it and you can keep stock clutch for a while.

you will need the rest of the bolts on but 400 whp is doable with stock turbo e85 setup on a dynojet. you would be hard pressed to do it on a mustang dyno.

in terms of safe, your tuner is everything. sure, the motor *can* be good to 400+ ft. lbs of torque if the tune is good but just as easily, aggressive timing and detonation at 350 ft. lbs can be catastrophic. cylinder pressure is a *****, better to accept the power it makes rather than to put it on the edge and throw a rod out the side of the block.

 

Hahahahahahaha I completely forgot I was on a evo x thread my bad. umm to the OP I would stay around 400whp just to be safe. The 4B11 isn't as strong as the 4G63 was. I've heard of a few guys running 450-500whp on their stock block evo x's. pretty ballsy if you ask me. Anyways best of luck

 

1.Does the car drive any differently between the two?

Yes, ton more midrange and top end power

2.What are the adverse affects if any?

More frequent stops to the gas station. Injectors may gunk up over time.. definitely look into installing an inline fuel filter.

3.My tahoe uses flex fuel it gets HORRIBLE gas mileage how is the evo?

On average, I'd say 15-20% worse mileage given the same driving habits. I've found that I've become much more heavy footed after converting to E85 because of the fun powerband it provides. It certainly gives more smiles per gallon than 93.

4.What happens if I'm out of gas and 87-91octane is only available, Drivability concerns etc?

Both OpenECU and Cobb now provide switchable maps via cruise control. After you switch over to a different fuel type (make sure you run as low as possible first), don't go boosting like crazy on the first tank of gas.

 

good stuff and thanks eva thats also very very informative.. If my tuner is good w/ 85 I think i'm gonna try it out! crap part is I wont be home until the 28th my tune is scheduled for the 30th