E85
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E85 Okay guys I'm switching my 2000 Ws6 over to e85 and I'm getting kinda confused on what I need to do? Been doing a lot of research and can't really find anything on it. I know some things I need to buy but don't know where to get them. Any help would be great. Thanks guys!
Ethanol is not as corrosive as is commonly believed. Methanol is, but not Ethanol. It doesn't have the BTU's that gasoline does, so you need to deliver about 25% more fuel. Other than that, pour it in and go.
Ethanol is a better solvent than gasoline, though. If you have the stock 17 year old fuel system, it's probably got some crud in it. Ethanol is a pretty good solvent, and will keep a fuel system pretty clean. It can break crud loose and it can clog up fuel injectors; kind of like atherosclerotic plaques causing a heart attack. A fuel filter close to the injectors wouldn't be a bad idea, and change it frequently for the first few thousand miles.
Ethanol is a better solvent than gasoline, though. If you have the stock 17 year old fuel system, it's probably got some crud in it. Ethanol is a pretty good solvent, and will keep a fuel system pretty clean. It can break crud loose and it can clog up fuel injectors; kind of like atherosclerotic plaques causing a heart attack. A fuel filter close to the injectors wouldn't be a bad idea, and change it frequently for the first few thousand miles.
Correct E85 is not corrosive itself as most testing results I have found show a pH of 7 or neutral. However, the fuel additives and different additive blends may result in some corrosive characteristics.
Many modern calculations have shown that fuel consumption between pump and E85 is 30+% when converting to E85. I believe a general rule of thumb is approx. 33% more fuel required for E85.
As noted E85 will "clean up/knock loose" any material build up in fuel components so make sure your fuel tank and components are flushed/cleaned before adding E85. I would also make sure the injectors and fuel pump are compatible which was posted by someone above. When I had my setup tuned for E85 I ran a Stainless Steel 10 Micron Fuel Filter then a secondary 100 Micron SS filter. Some people note that they have not had any issues with the paper type filters but I wanted to be sure as this was several years ago. I cleaned the filters every 6 months or so but again that might have been overkill.
I also used PTFE lines as PTFE is compatible with E85. PTFE lines are a pain to work with and more expensive then conventional fuel lines. Some people have used non-PTFE lines and been ok and others note that OEM fule lines have worked well.
Many modern calculations have shown that fuel consumption between pump and E85 is 30+% when converting to E85. I believe a general rule of thumb is approx. 33% more fuel required for E85.
As noted E85 will "clean up/knock loose" any material build up in fuel components so make sure your fuel tank and components are flushed/cleaned before adding E85. I would also make sure the injectors and fuel pump are compatible which was posted by someone above. When I had my setup tuned for E85 I ran a Stainless Steel 10 Micron Fuel Filter then a secondary 100 Micron SS filter. Some people note that they have not had any issues with the paper type filters but I wanted to be sure as this was several years ago. I cleaned the filters every 6 months or so but again that might have been overkill.
I also used PTFE lines as PTFE is compatible with E85. PTFE lines are a pain to work with and more expensive then conventional fuel lines. Some people have used non-PTFE lines and been ok and others note that OEM fule lines have worked well.
