Evolved Member
From the NASA CCR:
18.5 Permitted Fuel
Permitted fuel is any grade of commercially available unmodified gasoline, E85 Ethanol,
biodiesel, or diesel. The driver must notify the Race Director if using methanol or other
exotic fuel, when class rules permit. Vehicles that run on (all or in part) electricity,
propane, or hydrogen must be cleared through the National Office in writing.
From the TT Rules:
c. Engine
1) Fuel: Any grade of commercially available unmodified gasoline or diesel--all octane levels
of retail available race gas are permitted. No “home brewed” methanol/ethanol/alcohol
mixtures are permitted. Methanol injection systems are illegal. Fuel additives are prohibited.
Retail available E-85 is permitted.
"Retail available" does not mean it has to come from a pump. The Rockett Brand E85 would be considered "retail available". Taking plain gasoline (or E70) and mixing in E98 to get it up to E85 would fall under "home brewed" mixtures I believe. . .
With that said - in late August/early September in Ohio the E85 at the pumps is actually only about 75-80% ethanol. Therefore if you plan to run E85 at Nationals at MidOhio this year you either need to have your car tuned for the lower % or you need to buy your E85 ahead of time and bring it with you. . .
18.5 Permitted Fuel
Permitted fuel is any grade of commercially available unmodified gasoline, E85 Ethanol,
biodiesel, or diesel. The driver must notify the Race Director if using methanol or other
exotic fuel, when class rules permit. Vehicles that run on (all or in part) electricity,
propane, or hydrogen must be cleared through the National Office in writing.
From the TT Rules:
c. Engine
1) Fuel: Any grade of commercially available unmodified gasoline or diesel--all octane levels
of retail available race gas are permitted. No “home brewed” methanol/ethanol/alcohol
mixtures are permitted. Methanol injection systems are illegal. Fuel additives are prohibited.
Retail available E-85 is permitted.
"Retail available" does not mean it has to come from a pump. The Rockett Brand E85 would be considered "retail available". Taking plain gasoline (or E70) and mixing in E98 to get it up to E85 would fall under "home brewed" mixtures I believe. . .
With that said - in late August/early September in Ohio the E85 at the pumps is actually only about 75-80% ethanol. Therefore if you plan to run E85 at Nationals at MidOhio this year you either need to have your car tuned for the lower % or you need to buy your E85 ahead of time and bring it with you. . .
Quote:
. plus the octane rating of the ethanol is higher then 100oct race gas, and power wise is comparable to Q16 which is 16$/gallon
E85 is on par with 93 oct as far as cost to run. race gas is many times more expensive. at the track we can get 100 or 110. both showed 9 dollars/gallon at the pump. i know the 110 was more then 9 dollars/gallon i just think that is as high as the pump would read. the 20-30% more ethanol consumed due to its differing stoichiometric ratio does not equal a 200-300% jump in price like race gas would.
with that said, if you don't have E85 by you, its not really an option
Agree with you 110% on all of that technically. And technically that works super well on these cars in TTR-F especially when you have to worry about silly points and weight for those items. The stuff is a no brainer.Originally Posted by KevinD
it does absorb water, but if you store it in a sealed container, your not going to have that problem. less BTU/gallon is true, but race gas doesn't come close in latent heat of vaporization... so while you have to run a 30lb intercooler to reduce IAT, the ethanol does it for us chemically . plus the octane rating of the ethanol is higher then 100oct race gas, and power wise is comparable to Q16 which is 16$/gallonE85 is on par with 93 oct as far as cost to run. race gas is many times more expensive. at the track we can get 100 or 110. both showed 9 dollars/gallon at the pump. i know the 110 was more then 9 dollars/gallon i just think that is as high as the pump would read. the 20-30% more ethanol consumed due to its differing stoichiometric ratio does not equal a 200-300% jump in price like race gas would.
with that said, if you don't have E85 by you, its not really an option
But on a stock 14.5 gallon tank, it is NOT going to last more then 20-25 minutes even with a 12.x AFR at 10/10ths. In the latest case I actually lost 2nd place in BOTH races due to this simple fact, and DQ'd from one because of my "refueling method" in the hot pits. Harsh lesson to learn. So for those of you that do TT or sprints less then 20 minutes, go for the Ethanol. But if you race in any of the PT/ST classes in an Evo with the average 30-45 minute race, or have issues with getting stable e85 - don't gamble and go with the expensive stuff. Put on the expensive intercooler, get evertything sorted correctly so you don't have to worry if you'll starve. It's not going to blow up or not make power on even 98 octane. To finish first, first you have to finish.