Cumbias

I recently heard that GM's 5.3 Liter engine for 2006 is E85 Ethanol compatible and that pre-2006 engines can be converted to run on E85.
Has anyone heard this too? Does ayone know if the LSx motors can be converted to run on E85 and still offer the same performance?
This certainly would make our cars be used as DD for years to come.

2002_Z28_Six_Speed

iTrader: (19)

You would need a retune and possibily bigger injectors depending on your mods. If you are pushing your fuel pump as is than say hello to a new one when Ethanol comes.

I think we will all be safe from Ethanol for a little longer. I don't think we have E85 here.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

I wouldn't worry about that. Just because E85 might be avaliable to the public doesn't mean that regular gasoline will go away anytime soon. Any sort of conversion kits will cost money, and many people with older cars will resist that expense up front and rather continue to pay the extra money for standard gas.

I think gas will be around for a long time to come. Changes like this don't happen over night. Look at A/C systems, they quit using R12 as the factory fill in what, 1993 or so? Yet still, R12 is avaliable (granted very expensive, and you have to be authorized to buy it) and some with older cars still choose to recharge with that rather than spend the money to convert to R134a.

Cumbias

I know gas will still be available for a long time. But if the conversion is possible would it affect our cars performance wise.

bigburb

iTrader: (3)

in order to see any real gain with E85, you'd have to rebuild your motor to run on just E85. that would include replacing all hoses and seals which can deteriorate from ethonal, bigger injectors, more compression, computer reprogramming and maybe a different cam. any truck that gm built past 02 can run on it if i think, i know the owners manual for my dad's 02 avalanche says it can.

FL01SS

There's ALL SORTS of stuff about this all over the web. Here's a bit from some EPA FFV site-

After-market conversion kits, for converting standard engines to operate on E85, are generally not legal in U.S. states subject to emissions controls, unless the converted vehicle is independently EPA certified. U.S. Federal law prohibits the manufacture of many such conversion kits for sale in the U.S. unless they are EPA certified. The origin of this ban dates to when conversion kits for using compressed natural gas were originally sold. The ban was enacted to prevent the sale of such conversion kits due to safety concerns.

The primary method used to convert non-fuel-injected cars is two-fold. First, any non-compatible rubber parts and gaskets and terne gas tanks and terne fuel lines are replaced. Then, it remains necessary to increase the fuel rate of flow by roughly 25% - 30%. This can be accomplished in one of several different ways, depending on the specific details of the fueling system. In the early 80's auto makers were required to make vehicles ethanol compatible, so most newer vehicles will handle E85 with no problem. If a car is converted though, the ethanol will clean out the gunk left over from the gasoline and plug the fuel filter. The fuel filter needs to be replaced after about 600 miles.

Running a non-FFV with a high of a percentage of ethanol will cause the air fuel mixture to be leaner than normal in carbureted or open loop fuel injection engines, and cause closed loop fuel injection systems to adjust for the increase in oxygen content of the fuel mixture.

E85 can cause damage, since prolonged exposure to high concentrations of ethanol may corrode metal and rubber parts in older engines (pre-1988) designed primarily for gasoline. The hydroxyl group on the ethanol molecule is an extremely weak acid, but it can enhance corrosion for some natural materials. For post-1988 fuel-injected engines, all the components are already designed to accommodate E10 (10% ethanol) blends through the elimination of exposed magnesium and aluminum metals and natural rubber and cork gasketed parts. Hence, there is a greater degree of flexibility in just how much more ethanol may be added without causing ethanol-induced damage, varying by automobile manufacturer. Anhydrous ethanol in the absence of direct exposure to alkali metals and bases is non-corrosive; it is only when water is mixed with the ethanol that the mixture becomes corrosive to some metals. Hence, there is no appreciable difference in the corrosive properties between E10 and a 50:50 blend of E10 gasoline and E85 (47.5% ethanol), provided there is no water present, and the engine was designed to accommodate E10. Nonetheless, operation with more than 10% ethanol has never been recommended by car manufacturers in non-FFVs.

In addition to corrosion, there is also a risk of increased engine wear for non-FFV engines that are not specifically designed for operation on high levels (i.e., for greater than 10%) of ethanol. The risk primarily comes in the rare event that the E85 fuel ever becomes contaminated with water.