Chance wrote:So like......first things first, get a dual oil cooler setup because rotary engines are oil cooled haha
whats really the benefit of running e85 versus say c16 or some other race fuel?
Haha, R1 dual coolers are in the works, or a giant single Mocal cooler.
Well that's just it- E85 is basically C16 but:
1) it street legal (technically C16 isn't legal for road use)
2)It's FAR cheaper, like $1.85/gal so it's even cheaper than premium 91 cat piss and C16 is what, $15/gal? Or close to that
3)While E85 isn't everywhere, it's still more readily available at local gas stations than C16.
4) Driving a car around on C16 isn't practical at all- you're looking at $150+ to fill up your tank and there are only a select few gas stations that sell it. Just not practical.
5) E85 also more cooling effect than C16 or any race gas- the high ethanol content significantly cools down your intake charge so much so engines that were once dependent on water/meth injection can forgo it, and even low-boost, highly efficient turbo cars can forgo an intercooler! It cools your IATs that much
E85 still has a lot of draw backs, mainly:
1) It's still not available everywhere, so it you plan road trips, long drives, etc it can be a pain. The good news is could drain your fuel tank and fill up with pump gas in a pitch (But make sure your fuel system is as dry as possible...you don't want to mix high quantities of E85 and pump gas) and then, this is the important part, load a new map on your EMS for pump gas, and you could drive along.
2) E85 is highly corrosive, so if you have an older car it can easily rust out your fuel tank, hard fuel lines, rails, sensors, etc. When switching to E85 it's best to redo your entire fuel system- new pump(s), braided fuel-rated AN hose, new FPR, new rails, and of course new injectors. In some cases you may even need an aluminum fuel cell if the stock tank can't handle the high ethanol content.
3) E85 has about 70% of the power of regular pump gas, so it requires a roughly 30-35% larger fuel system to make the same power on pump gas.
4) Due to needing a larger fuel system, fuel mileage is slightly poorer with E85 than regular pump fuel. I drive an FD that gets stupid low fuel mileage as it is, so it's not a big deal for me, and I don't drive the car that often. The good news is E85 is roughly 40% cheaper than pump gas so in the long run it's actually cheaper to run than pump gas after being offset by the lower per gallon price.
5) E85 also sucks on cold starts, anything below 32*F at least, some even have problems at >40*F. For me, it's not a big deal since I rarely (if ever) will drive the car in the winter. But if you are converting your DD or a car that will see cold action then it's something to consider. Some have figured out how to get E85 cars to start easier in cold temperatures but it's not an exact science...yet. In Brazil, where every car sold now is E85, they actually have a separate mini fuel tank that holds a few gallons of pump fuel for cold starts- the car automatically switches to pump gas in cold starts to aid in starting, then once the engine is warmed up the fuel system is switched over to E85.
