THE only reason E85 is "cheaper", is because us taxpayers are subsidizing it.

E85 and all variations of E10 and E15 are crappy examples of enviromentalist tampering. Not only are we using food for fuel, we are wasting good water for the production of said garbage, extra transportation of fuel produsts, poorer fuel mileage, and even more pollution, plus the one that the enviro's really hate to admit, the polluting of our water supplies. The only reason for "E-anything" is money laundrying between politicians and lobbyists at taxpayers expense.

 

Actually it is against federal law to run anything higher than E10 in an air cooled engine..................just sayin'

 

On a more serious note. From my last post. Yes E85 is stupid. I work in a dairy processing plant and it effects us. The dairy's can't really afford feed cuz the price of corn. Add the other factors of the economy and its disaster. Alot of dairys went under. The ones that did make it shipped a bunch of the cows to get slaughter for beef. We got impacted then too now cows to milk no milk for us to run. We started to let people go. Lucky I made the cut. Long story short get rid of E85

 

The Vette is direct injected no fuel is ever in the intake. You are correct that using E85 in a N.A. motor is a different application. That is why I suggested a marked increase in compression for the Harley, rather than boost for forced induction.

I have found that I use about 15% more fuel, but 100 octane E85 was $3.40 a gallon last time I bought it. 100 octane gasoline was $16.00 a gallon. Easy to burn 20 gal. in a nite at the track (or just cruising) E85=$68 100 octane gas=$320. I'll take that kind of hit at the pump any day.

After using the stuff for three years I've also found that it has caused zero problems with any of the components in the car.

You do have to build compression (N.A.) or boost (F.I.) to take advantage of E85 just pouring the stuff in a motor set up for 91octane is a waist.

On street tires the Vette turns easy mid 10's, at the track I peddle the car cause I don't want to have to put a cage in it.

 

Thanks thickraybans for a comprehensive response. The only reason I asked the question was because I come from a racing back ground with a Buick t type that made 850 hp on pump gas and alcohol injection. I know people that run e85 in their daily drives that are 500+hp cars. Working with a tuner I could tune it in about 5 hours. I think people spend that kind of time with just a programer. So to each their own it was a question.

 

Note to those who posted the marvels of 105 octane E85. Octane is not power. It is a measure of a fuels resistance to ignition only. The power in fuel is BTU's.

Gasoline has more BTU's per gallon than alcohol therefore more power. It takes more alcohol to run an engine that is why E85 vehicles have much larger injectors and also why E85 yeilds a lower mpg than gas.

Congress just voted to end the subsidies for alcohol. Look for E10 and E85 to disappear because it's costs at the pump will exceed regular gas.

Even Al Gore admitted that gasohol was a mistake.

For turbo/supercharged motors the method of choice is a 50/50 mixture of water and methanol in a fine mist. With pump gas that yields a octane of 116. Typically one gallon of mixture will last for about 25 gallons of gas.

 

Al Gore was a mistake, so was his boss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

BTU is actually a measure of energy or heat. Power comes from the ability to increase compression when using a fuel that resists ignition. Yes, it takes more E10 or E85 and MPG suffers due to the lower BTU per gallon, but there is more power to be made via increased compression.

Now that's a good reason to dislike ethanol...

 

The only one to benefit from ethanol is the damn crooked a$$ politician lobbying corn farmer. He made his dime at taxpayers expense.

Oh and AL Gore is an idiot.

 

Double post