Originally Posted by rubbersidedown

We've had 14:1 w/ nitrous- it works well. (9.86 @ ?134?- don't recall for sure- If I remember right he did 635 HP and 700 tq to the tire, I can look again in the morning) 355 cu in w/ 250 shot in a '81 malibu. We've had multiple LS1s with spray in the 12:1 range, and I have been on the engine dyno w/ a 38ish LS1 13:1. I won't get into tuning specifics but we've been there, done that for all of last summer. It works great for forced induction, too. I can post up more info in the morning. Stew on these for a while.

www.runE85.com/cornvette (corn powered C5s)

internal engine pics of a 427 on corn this summer and also a 5.7l on corn for 110k miles (for those worried about other problems)

http://www.rune85.com/internal%20engine.htm

Originally Posted by rubbersidedown

We've had 14:1 w/ nitrous- it works well. (9.86 @ ?134?- don't recall for sure- If I remember right he did 635 HP and 700 tq to the tire, I can look again in the morning) 355 cu in w/ 250 shot in a '81 malibu. We've had multiple LS1s with spray in the 12:1 range, and I have been on the engine dyno w/ a 38ish LS1 13:1. I won't get into tuning specifics but we've been there, done that for all of last summer. It works great for forced induction, too. I can post up more info in the morning. Stew on these for a while.

www.runE85.com/cornvette (corn powered C5s)

internal engine pics of a 427 on corn this summer and also a 5.7l on corn for 110k miles (for those worried about other problems)

http://www.rune85.com/internal%20engine.htm

Originally Posted by No Juice

check out the numbers in my sig on E85. I'd say they are better than the average bolt on LS1. You should gain some on a stock LS1, I certainly did.

Originally Posted by Pecos Pete

Maybe I can help. I have been playing with this myself. Since much of this is not legal for an on-road vehicle, and have some first hand "opinions" to offer. This is likely why their has not been a detailed tech build-up in any major magazine yet.

I believe to get the most out of an E85 fueled only (not flex fuel) LSx motor, one must increase the cylinder pressure so as to utilize more of the power out of the fuel. This can be done by either 1) increasing the mechanical compression ratio in the motor, or by 2) switching to a cam shaft with a wider lobe separation (113* - 114*) and longer duration similar to a camshaft utilized for a supercharger or nitrous application, or ideally both 1) and 2). A 12.5:1 to 14:1 mechanical compression using a supercharger cam profile would be a good combination.

The octane rating of E85 is 105 (RON), and it burns cooler than gasoline. This combination of high octane and low temperature provide high performance vehicles with suprisingly good fuel efficiency. A gallon of E85 has an energy content of about 80,000 BTU, compared to gasoline’s 124,800 BTU, so in identical motors, about 1.56 gallons of E85 will take you as far as 1 gallon of gasoline. It's the higher octane of E85 and the cooler burning allows a much higher compression ratio, which translates into higher thermodynamic efficiency. You have to squeeze it to get the all the benifits.

The motor will need larger injectors to deliver the ~30% more fuel per injector pulse too. Because of this, an E85 only motor will benefit from a larger intake runner volume, both in the intake manifold and in the head. Heads with 215 - 225cc intake volume are prefered over the stock 200 cc or the typical 205cc "Hi performance head for stock bore" recommendations the magasines usually show. The reason for this is the additional fuel being delivered to the motor will displace air in the intake runner, so the motor will benefit from larger runner volume here. The motor will benefit from a larger intake valve to allow the larger volume to pass; 2.02" ~ 2.08" ~ or even 2.18" valves are better. The customary ratio of intake to exhaust valve size for a given gasoline engine is different for an alcohol motor. In simple terms, the alcohol burns cooler as it passes through the motor so you don't need as much surface area on the exhaust valve perimeter touching the head for valve cooling, and the higher cylinder pressure helps move the exhaust gasses out of the cylinder allowing for the use of a smaller exhaust valve; 1.55". Use the smallest exhaust valve diameter and the largest available intake valve diameter. The use of the smaller exhaust valve will give you extra "real estate" to allow for the oversized intake valve. Forget the sodium filled valves, you won't need them due to the cooler motor operation w/alcohol. Use the F.A.S.T. LSx intake manifold for it's larger runner volume.

This article has parts and technical information that is relevant.

http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/te...system_review/

Using the above information, a basically stock LS1 short block, heads with a larger intake runner and a smaller combustion chamber, larger intake runner manifold, supercharger camshaft, and long tube headers, one could conceivably build a 5.7 LS1 motor that will rear wheel dyno well over 500 HP and 500 ft/lbs, without nitrous bottles to fill, and without going over 6000 rpms to do it, get ~25 mpg's on the freeway, your under hood temperatures will be noticeably cooler, everything internal to your engine, fuel delivery system, and exhaust will run much cleaner.

I am in Minnesota. I have over 100, E85 stations within 100 miles of me. Their are several versions of motors like this running around my neighborhood.

EDIT: in 2006 E85 has been ranging between $1.55 and $1.75/gal in MN.

http://www.tpis.com/

http://www.rune85.com/cornvette

http://www.dynotuneusa.com/

http://www.johnhaleymotorsports.com/

KEY WORDS - E85 Ethanol E85 LS1 E85 LSx E85 cylinder pressure

Originally Posted by brandonppr

does anyone know if the 5.3 silverado flex fuel trucks had bigger injectors than the normal ones?

Originally Posted by FACE

I would like to know what I would need to physically change on my car(besides the injectors) to run E85.
Do I need to ground the fuel pump or replace it with a high flow unit that comes with a grounding strap? Do I need to replace the fuel rail? How about the hose that runs between the fuel tanks?
Thanks!

Originally Posted by rubbersidedown

It's the white one... I just jammed a pic on my web to get one on there. I know more about selling corn than the internet, I guess.



There are multiple reasons for the pipeline issue not happening, alot of it has to do with politics. You are correct, most of it is trucked right now, and I am not in total belief on the corrosion factors. The fuel is stored in MASSIVE tanks for periods of time at the ethanol plants, so I would guess if it was true they would have water problems in the storage tanks as well. I have not researched that fully so I will not declare I know the gospel on this matter.

Originally Posted by Mr Peepers

Seems you know a lot about corn.

I know I read in one post about how the oil companies are given tax breaks and such. As if the farmers aren't on the teet. Grow too much and the govt buys it. Don't grown enough and the govt gives you money. The bigger your farm the more you get. And I love how corn is now labeled FEED GRAINS. Corn growers get the biggest subsidies of all.

So E85 is just going to fatten their wallets some more. Guess that's why this guy came on here to show everyone the great allure of corn.

But I find this statement the funniest and most revealing about the BS of E85.....

"It's the higher octane of E85 and the cooler burning allows a much higher compression ratio, which translates into higher thermodynamic efficiency. You have to squeeze it to get the all the benifits."

Cooler burning LOL.

You NEED the higher compression ratio to MECHANICALLY make up for the LOWER thermal efficiency of E85. Lower BTUs means less power and mileage.......end of story.

And the whole thing about tuning for E85 to get better gas milage is a load of crap too. You can do the same with gasoline. Back in the day Car Craft had one of their challenges and one of the contestants was a Buick TR. You get scored on gas milage too in that challenge and the TR was "tuned" ie leaned out and got 40 MPG on the highway.