nogomofo1970

So i'm jumping on the Turbo lsx bandwagon but i've got to figure out what fuel i'm going to run!
E-85 is my first choice and I have a station a couple miles from my house but the trouble is It's the only one for hundreds of miles as far as I know. I'd like to be able to road trip the Nova from Oregon City,OR to Seattle , Wa or Vegas but the lack of stations has me second guessing using E-85
So now i'm thinking pump gas and Meth injection but i'm afraid of a pump or injector failure .
Id rather not run a dual tank setup ( pump gas/ Race gas ) for low boost - High boost because of the added complexity and the loss of the cooling effect of the other two options.

My engine planned setup: Studded Lq4 ,s476 ,turbo 400, 3400-3500lb 1970 Nova
17-18lbs max boost...maybe

bigmandengo

iTrader: (21)

Sounds like you should run a flex fuel setup with an ethanol content sensor. Run e85 when you can get it and be able to pump in 93 when you have no e85 available. Ecm makes the adjustments on the fly.

bigmandengo

iTrader: (21)

What ecm are you using?

nogomofo1970

Not sure yet . Most likely whatever ecm is in a 05 to 08 silverado lq4 .
I'm doing most of my build planning right now.

nogomofo1970

That flex fuel sensor sounds like a great option . Im sure using a pcm from a later flex fuel vehicle would make it a simpler conversion right?

bigmandengo

iTrader: (21)

Right. Any p59 (03-06) ecm will drive flex fuel.

It's surprising more people don't use the flex capabilities of the stock ecm.

RonSSNova

iTrader: (3)

Hey Robert,
My limited experience (one car) with the red/green P59 PCM showed that when converting to a 2bar OS you get a really limited VE table. I'm not sure what a 3 bar would look like.
I could try I guess as I have it licensed. And it's free.

There is a P01 OS that does flex fuel as well. Not sure what is available for custom OS for that one.

I can ask my buddy.

You will need to connect the flex fuel sensor in the feed or return line so it samples the fuel. They aren't designed to flow a lot of fuel like is needed for a turbo car, so you would need to rig it in a parallel path.

Or, just have Jays Garage follow you with a tanker truck.....

Ron

bigmandengo

iTrader: (21)

Good info Ron.

I am using a 3 bar OS P59 controlling cable throttle and flex fuel. Yes, the VE table is condensed opposed to the p01 3 bar table but I have had no ill effects. It works great.

The sensor also works great and does not hinder the performance of my fuel system. My flex sensor is the newer continental sensor, which is 3/8 straight through tubing and im running it on the return line back to the tank. No fuel pressure issues. Being on the return side, the only potential pressure issue with a line restriction would be high pressure in low fuel consumption scenarios (idle). I'm right at my base pressure minus vacuum at idle.

bigmandengo

iTrader: (21)

Found a good read on flex sensor flow.

http://foreinnovations.blogspot.com/...el-sensor.html

RonSSNova

iTrader: (3)

Hey, thank you.
I didn't know such a unit existed.
I've been toying with the idea myself. But was thinking of the Zietronix sensor and just mixing the fuel in the tank and changing tunes. I personally have no desire to run pump fuel as my car is way more of a drive to the track race car than a street cruiser.

On that car I was tuning with the P59 controller in a 2 bar tune, I wasn't seeing any issues either. But never got to finish it.....my friend/customer sort of disappeared. Too bad too, I wanted to get it on the dyno.

Ron

nogomofo1970

Definitely good info. I had no idea that the factory computers varied that much table to table. The fuel monitors seem cool so at least you know what octane is actually in the tank.

bigmandengo

iTrader: (21)

That's a way to go too. The nice thing about flex fuel is, is you don't have to sweat whether the ethanol content is 60% or 90% or any other ratio. Your Stoich ratio is adjusted automatically.

RonSSNova

iTrader: (3)

Yep. It's pretty cool. I understand how it works.