Vishnu Flex-Fuel Evolution

The Vishnu Flex-Fuel Evolution began life as a premium-unleaded-burning high performance Lancer Evolution MR sedan. Shiv Pathak of Vishnu Performance Systems sought to explore the power-making potential of E85 fuel, and what could be done, with minimal hardware modifications, to increase the output of the Lancer Evolution’s turbocharged 4G63 engine. Ethanol fuel contains less potential energy than an equivalent quantity of gasoline, but with a turbocharged vehicle like Lancer Evolution, this did not need to be a disadvantage.

Vishnu tuning modified the fuel system with a higher volume fuel pump and larger injectors to deliver the additional quantity of ethanol fuel that this engine requires. Because of the chemical differences between the two fuels, the turbocharged, four-cylinder engine requires about 30% more ethanol fuel at a given power level than it does on gasoline. A considerable amount of detailed work went into reprogramming of the engine’s ECU, revising the fuel and spark timing maps to operate efficiently with E85 fuel. A toggle switch allows the vehicle to select between either ethanol or gasoline. Dynamometer testing indicates that output on E85 (100 octane) is 420 horsepower and output on premium unleaded (91 octane) is 390 horsepower.

The detonation resistance of E85 ethanol fuel allows the engine to utilize more aggressive spark and fuel curves to create additional power with lower cylinder temperatures. As the Vishnu Flex-Fuel Evolution continues its development, higher power levels will certainly be achieved as the ethanol fuel is ideal for very high boost levels.


Modifications:

Vishnu XEDE auxiliary engine control computer
Vishnu reprogrammed ECU
4 x 680 cc/min fuel injectors
255 lph fuel pump
Girodisc lightweight 2 piece brake rotors
Perrin Exhaust system
Exterior graphics/vinyl by RJ’s Paint Shop