When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Anyone have experience with this Proflex Commander e85 kit? It looks like it runs somehow inbetween the injectors and the stock PCM to allow the use of flexfuel, and it adjust depending on the e85 sensor. Its a bit steep, but a complete plug and play is pretty interesting, especially on our aging platforms. Im really interested for this for my turbo build, and i already have the fuel system setup to at least handle 800hp on 93 with 80lbs injectors and the racetronic 680 dual kit with methinal injection, and close to 500 on e85. This kit seems pretty well put together. Trying to see if anyones tried it. It is a bit steep at $800-1000, and at that price, your starting to get into dedicated aftermarket ecu, but i wonder if this has its place in working on stock pcm and hptuners. Only issue i see is the 98 pcm and trying to configure OS if it can. Im already running a 2bar OS in speed density with my 98 pcm.
According to the website..."The patented ProFlex™ Commander adaptive flex fuel system for 1998-02 GM F-body V8 cars allows you to start making more power and running cooler with E85. True plug and play flex-fuel for your Camaro, Firebird or Trans Am in about an hour with no tuning required.
ProFlex Commander Features:
Complete system - everything you need to run E85
100% Dyno tested for safety, durability and power gains
Easy DIY installation - Under an hour with common tools
Patented BlendSense™ technology adjusts in real time with 30 millisecond refresh rate
True flex fuel - switch from gas to ethanol and back anytime
Improved injector management for more power on gas or E85
7-10% More wheel HP and torque on E85 (dyno proven)
No tuning required - Compatible with stock or performance gas tunes; instantly adapts to new tunes
Cleaner emissions and cooler cylinder, oil and coolant temps
Race grade fuel at the pump - high octane, low cost
Compatible with power adders and bolt-ons
ProFlex Connect app provides accurate, real-time ethanol content on your iPhone or Android device via BT Wireless communication
Cold Start Plus™ - improves fuel atomization for easier starting in cold weather
This System Fits: 1998-02 LS1 V8 Camaro, Firebird or TransAm
Choose Commander Pro (option below)
Choose the ProFlex Commander Pro for your vehicle if you have aftermarket forced induction or aftermarket 600cc/60lb/hr or larger injectors. If you plan to make these upgrades later order the PRO. It will work fine with your existing set-up and will automatically adapt when you install your upgrades.
The Commander PRO was specifically designed for improved injector function in forced induction and large injector environments
If this can deliver at the very least a flexfuel option that continuously intercepts and adjusts the tune acording to the percentage of e85 thats being monitored, pretty much piggy backing the pcm, this might be a decent alternative to gutting the whole harness and losing stock gauges like holly or having to repin the harness due to switching pcm's. For thoss of us with 98 pcms this appears to be a pain, and a complete attermarket ecu setup seems like its an all or nothing decsion.
what also makes me interested is that it litterally plugs between the stock harness and injectors with an additional computer, so it seems like it would a decent option. Im also curious if this could work along side a 2 step in the harness as well.
I run one on my 392. Its not an LS car but I can give some insight into the ProFlex system.
First off, no you dont lose any tuning ability, Holly EFI systems are not affected, its a plug and play thing, and its a standalone unit seperate from the rest of the car. It piggybacks on the stock harness, going between the injector harness. There is 1 ground and then a control unit and sensor that goes on a fuel line, which gets power from the injectors. It reads ethanol content and then modulates extra fuel to the injectors based on the reading. You can unplug the control unit as long as theres no more than 10% ethanol present (pump gas) and the car will run just fine. Its only needed for ethanol above 10%. So E20, E50, E85, E95, etc. You can even run straight alcohol if needed but thats not advised without stuff like PPM added to fuel for lubrication issues. Straight ethanol doesnt have the "cushion" that the little bit of gas provides, and its hard on the oil and fuel system.
You need to be sure your pumps, lines, and injectors are approved to run high ethanol fuels. Rubber breaks down so you need silicone seals, and teflon liners to protect parts that have to be rubber (like bridge hoses in a 3rd gen thats had fuel pump work and chopped the metal fuel lines to save time).
As for tuning, you tune on 93 octane, or pump gas grade of your choice. Do not tune on E85, youll get locked out of regular gas. Tune on gas, then fill up with E85, E85R, E95, whatever you want, and the Proflex does the conversion for you. Power gains are about 7-10% for 85% ethanol. You use 30% more fuel flow to run it so make sure injectors can keep up. Most cars from 2008 and forward will be fine. For stock LS1, I don't know. Just check before you run it.
No you cant run toluene addatives for track nights, It throws off the mix. PPM should be ok as long as you dont dump a ton in there.
Engine and oil temps will run 5-20 degrees cooler because the alcohol helps or cool stuff down. But that's for 85% or higher. If you have 60%, like a crappy pump E85 batch (it happens), dont expect lower temps.
Can you feel it? If you run 500hp already, then yes top end it noticable but not crazy. Stock 325hp, you won't notice much. Remember 7-10% gain. So thats 32hp vs 50hp on a good tank of E85. Its less likely to knock as well, even when hot, so one benefit it the engine wont pull timing from knock, or ar least not as much.
Can you run forced induction? Yes, just tune it on 93 and let the sensor do the work for E85, it can handle it. BUT... Youll need the Pro version of the Proflex because it runs software thats set up for boosted applications.
Install time, on mine, 20 mins. Wire looming and zip ties took 30-40 mins. So about an hour to make it all look pretty. Your milage may vary. It depends on the car and how much room you have. Also how your fuel line is set up. Mine was super easy. But remember this is a 392 (a challenger), so I cant speak on install time for the LS Fbodies. Just looking at the bay though, probably close to the same.
OH and cost - if you run anything below 93 octane, it costs more to run. Its cheaper per gallon, but uses 30% more fuel, so get a calculator out if youre below 93. In most places, of you already run 93, it pretty much equals out. In tourist season in FL, its about 5% more expensive than gas for me. In off seasons when prices drop, its significantly cheaper. Prices here range from 1.70 to 2.55 per gallon. And this also depends on the batch as well, not just demand. Some batches cost more to make so they cost more at the pump till that tank is emptied. And pump E85 ranges from like 54-83%. On pumps the ethanol its almost never 85%. So keep that in mind. You wont always get good E85 at the pump and you wont know till you fill up and see the number the phone app tells you. They also use lower grade fuel as a base. For true E85 with race grade base, you need stuff like Sunoco E85-R, which is 15$ a gallon for a 5 gallon pail. Your other option is pump gas E85 and then pour in E95 from VP or Sunoco till its true E85, but it wont be race grade. Thats just an octane issue though. Power gain remains the same because the oxidizer is the ethanol content. Just may run a few PSI less boost for non-race grade to avoid knock if you push that far up into the PSI range.
Why is it the same price as Holley Terminator? Insane price for just doing flex fuel
I have been trying to find if someone has just piggy backed a Holley but still able to keep everything else "stock" but that way I could run a Holley for tuning and flex fuel capability.
Website has a lot of interesting details. 30 whp &,30 wtq claimed on LS1 Corvette. 13whp & 20 wtq on LS2 Corvette. A nice bolt on if reliable and it delivers 30 whp, even at nine Franklin's.
Last edited by 99 Black Bird T/A; 02-11-2022 at 11:02 AM.
I plan on getting one. I also wanted to get a 0411 PCM with dual memory chips and a switch so I can have a higher timing version of my tune when running E60+. The dual Chip PCM’s seem to be long long gone. Now I’m thinking of just having a second PCM for the same reason. There is only one E85 station in my area and it’s not open on the weekends. I’ll share my results if/when I do this.
I have been trying to find if someone has just piggy backed a Holley but still able to keep everything else "stock" but that way I could run a Holley for tuning and flex fuel capability.
Quite a few performance shops figured out the insane wiring to make this happen. As you might expect, they don't share too many details publicly in order to protect their invested time and experience (you would too if your paycheck depended on it).
Long story short, certain sensors can be shared between stock PCM and standalone while other cannot be shared. Then its a matter of fully understanding what each wire does for each computer then merging harnesses to keep them both working. After spending several hours reading diagrams I determined this is best left to someone with real electrical know-how.
I have been trying to find if someone has just piggy backed a Holley but still able to keep everything else "stock" but that way I could run a Holley for tuning and flex fuel capability.
I have been trying to find if someone has just piggy backed a Holley but still able to keep everything else "stock" but that way I could run a Holley for tuning and flex fuel capability.
Any updates on this? I just came across it online and was about to start a thread in here when I saw this one. This looks like a great option for guys like me especially with a 98. I really want to run E85. But I was told by my tuner its not an option on my year because you can't run a flex-fuel sensor. I'm really tempted to buy it. The money isn't an issue I just want to make sure it actually works. I've got a Racetonix 255 but its like over 10yrs old. Not sure if it would be ok for E85. Probably not. Would need a newer one most likely. I'm NA but a lot of people in other set ups are NA and running E85. I'd take an extra 30hp any day of the week.
Any updates on this? I just came across it online and was about to start a thread in here when I saw this one. This looks like a great option for guys like me especially with a 98. I really want to run E85. But I was told by my tuner its not an option on my year because you can't run a flex-fuel sensor. I'm really tempted to buy it. The money isn't an issue I just want to make sure it actually works. I've got a Racetonix 255 but its like over 10yrs old. Not sure if it would be ok for E85. Probably not. Would need a newer one most likely. I'm NA but a lot of people in other set ups are NA and running E85. I'd take an extra 30hp any day of the week.
My experience so far has not been very good. Car ran fine but I was concerned about it running lean so brought it to dyno to measure AFR before beating on it. I did two pulls. First was e13 or so and the AFR was 11.7. The second was e63 and AFR was 13.1. It gained minimal power while going crazy lean. I haven’t given up completely. I will bring it to my tuner to see if he can get it to work.
12-07-2020, 09:09 PM
PROFLEX COMMANDER e85 98-02 fbody conversion kit experiences 
