[outobie]

Hi all this may be a dumb question but isn’t all gas E85 these days?

All the pumps say 15% ethanol regardless of the octane rating

What am I missing?

And why do I need a special tune for it?

Thanks

[Iroc_Z28]

E85 is 85% ethanol, 15% gasoline

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by Iroc_Z28

E85 is 85% ethanol, 15% gasoline

Most all pump gas has at least 10% Ethanol blended in for both emissions and as an octane booster. Some places might have 15% ethanol, but not around me.

E85 is the other way around: 85% Ethanol and 15% gasoline. As a result, it has an extremely high octane rating that, when taken advantage of with a tune, can provide some interesting power results. Most cars are not designed to work with E85, those that are will be labeled FlexFuel, and/or have a yellow filler cap. It will also be branded special at the pump.

[outobie]

Ah ok

I don’t think I’ve ever seen that at the local gas stations... where is it sold

I live in Annapolis MD ... is it sold around me?

[JeromeS13]

Originally Posted by outobie

Ah ok

I don’t think I’ve ever seen that at the local gas stations... where is it sold

I live in Annapolis MD ... is it sold around me?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=e85+annapolis%2C+md

[Lerch98]

ethanol has about 2/3 the energy that gasoline does. So to make the same power you need to burn a third more. As such the stocimetric (spelling) ratio for e85 is not 14 to 1, but something like 12(or 11) to one, a significantly richer mixture.
If you are getting 20 MPG on straight gas you will get 16 MPG on E85.

Gasoline is not sold by mega joules per kilogram, this is the factor that determines MPG and power (the energy in the fuel). Only the octane rating (ignition temp) is the spec advertised.

IMO; E85 is for suckers.

[MR 45TH]

Originally Posted by outobie

I live in Annapolis MD ... is it sold around me?

I’m in Prince Frederick MD. There aren’t many places around here that sell E-85 unfortunately.

[Martinjlm]

Before you start burning E85 you may want to make certain you have the correct fuel filter and fuel pump. There are kits available.

[OMEN]

i guess it depend on da area
in my place we have
- 98 octane
- 95 octane
- 91 octane the lowest

[KingLT1]

Originally Posted by Martinjlm

Before you start burning E85 you may want to make certain you have the correct fuel filter and fuel pump. There are kits available.

6gen Camaro is compatible for E85 without changing any fuel system components. All you need is to add the flex sensor, then turn it on in the ECM, and tune the flex fuel tables. Then you can mix E85 or premium gas and the ECM will adjust the tune accordingly for the E content in the fuel.

['01LS1]

Originally Posted by OMEN

i guess it depend on da area
in my place we have
- 98 octane
- 95 octane
- 91 octane the lowest

Going to guess you have the good straight gasoline without any ethanol.

However, E85 is 85% ethanol. Not the octane rating.

[Blast]

Originally Posted by OMEN

i guess it depend on da area
in my place we have
- 98 octane
- 95 octane
- 91 octane the lowest

Please note that there are also two ways to determine the octane value of fuel:

Research Octane Number (RON) - This is what's used in most of the world. The testing is done using a 600rpm variable compression engine.
Motor Octane Number (MON) - This isn't used anywhere, not directly anyway. The testing is done using a 900rpm variable compression engine.

Then there's what's used in the US (and a few other countries):
AKI (Anti-Knock Index) or (R*M)/2.

If you take a fuel, and test it using RON and get a rating of 95, and take the same fuel and get a rating of 87 using MON, then you take (95+87)/2 = 91.

So when you see 95 octane on your pump, you are most likely actually seeing 95 octane RON. The pump should say RON somewhere on it. Look at it when you fuel your car up next time!

Those in the US see the text "(R*M)/2", meaning they use AKI.

Even though RON and MON don't have any DIRECT correlation to each other, it's most often like this:

95 RON = 91 (R*M)/2.
98 RON = 93 (R*M)/2.

So if a car says it wants 98 octane, then it's always going to be RON, if it says 93, then it will likely be AKI, or (R*M)/2.

EDIT: When I say "always", I mean in a stock car. Of course you can have your tuner tune your car for a 98 AKI fuel, but there are no cars that today require that high octane rating out there using AKI, from the factory.

// Stefan

[Martinjlm]

Originally Posted by KingLT1

6gen Camaro is compatible for E85 without changing any fuel system components. All you need is to add the flex sensor, then turn it on in the ECM, and tune the flex fuel tables. Then you can mix E85 or premium gas and the ECM will adjust the tune accordingly for the E content in the fuel.

You are right. I meant to say fuel SENSOR but typed fuel FILTER. As far as the fuel pump is concerned, I spoke to the Chief Engineer for Small Block Engines a while ago about E85 in Camaros. After first stating that he doesn’t recommend it, he did confirm that the parts of the engine (valves, and valve seats as example) that need to be hardened are already hardened because trucks use E85 and are by far the most volume of Small Block engines. He also stated that the fuel pump should be changed because of the differences in fluid density between E10 and E85. He did not say you COULDN’T do it with the stock fuel pump, but that there would less likely be a problem if you did get the correct fuel pump.

[HorsePowerAddicts]

Originally Posted by outobie

Ah ok

I don’t think I’ve ever seen that at the local gas stations... where is it sold

I live in Annapolis MD ... is it sold around me?

There are 2. Check with the shell though.

If you need tuning for the flex fuel give us a shout!!

Citgo
2042 West St near old Solomons RD
Annapolis Md

Shell
811 Bestgate Rd Near Herndon Dr
Annapolis Md