68SSJARHEAD

Hey guys Im copying and pasting my mod list for the question I wanna ask jus cuz I am a little lazy about typing it all agian...I may have missed out on a few things still....with my setup would I benefit more running e85 or 110 Sunoco Race Gas.....in about three months i plan on slapping a 150hp shot wet kit on the car....


355ci (430hp @crank)
Borg Warner T5 (remanufactured)
Aftermarket front and rear sway bars
Aftermarket lower control arms w/ all new polyurethrane bushings
New shocks front and rear
Holley 750 DP w/ electric choke
Full MSD Ignintion and distributor and wires
Weiand water pump
Edelbrock Air Gap Intake
Hooker Headers(2 3/4) and full 3.5in exhaust
3 core Fluidyne radiator w/ electric fan
all emissions removed and a/c
Flowmasters 40 series
17in American Torq Thrusts (powder coated)
Kumho Supra Ectsa Tires
Drilled/slotted rotors and aftermarket discs up front w/ new brake booster
Aftermarket Polyurethrane race motor mounts
10 bolt rear end.....(low mileage imma drive it till it breaks...hopefully it holds)
3.73 gears Posi Trac

The engine is a New crate motor my dad purchased and he passed away 3 weeks later of cancer. I cant find the build sheet only certain receipts and the obvious parts I have listed that have been put on the car. The heads are a set of ported and polished new style Vortecs with a Comp Cam Magnum 280.....bat outta hell from 2-6k rpm. Its a shame I cant find any of the paperwork and documents....but dont worry I will be taking it to the track soon.

Hopefully im not forgetting anything....the car is a blast to drive...less than a 1000 miles....had the first oil change at 500 miles, and then I switched to fully synthetic Castrol GTX 10-40....and I added ZZDDP to protect the flat tappet cam...Thanks for any help guys

1 FMF

iTrader: (1)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_gallon_equivalent
e85 = 85% ethanol = 9:1 air/fuel ratio = 32 hp/hr per gallon, it has 72% the energy of a gallon of regular gas having an a/f ratio of 14:1 and providing 45 hr/hr per gallon.
however you want to look at it, for a given volume of fuel e85 has less energy content and also lower a/f ratio. so unless you have very high compression to make use of the high octane content of e85 it's not worth it, use gasoline without ethanol.
for 110 race gas it would depend on the formulation and a/f ratio... if they are using ethanol or something as the octane improver then no. but if the 110 race gas also has an a/f ratio near 14:1 then that'll give you the most power.

for nitrous that may be a different story, i'm not an expert on nitrous but i thought itincreases cylinder pressure and temperature and you normally reduce ignition timing because of that. in this case even though e85 has less energy content the cooling effect of ethanol along with higher octane might make up for it... like how methanol has a very low energy content about half of gasoline but it makes the most power in forced induction because you simply force much much... much much more of it.

and with 110 race gas i believe it will be easier on everything where as the 85% ethanol is corrosive and can cause problems with various materials.

68SSJARHEAD

THank you.....I think im jus gonna go with the 110 race gas. Im also not sure if my Holley Carb is set up to run on E85....I saw an ad somewhere where a company was saying they can convert the Holley carbs to run on E85 if you send them in to them.....I know for a fact the 110 wont damage the engine....so I guess better to be safe than sorry...

2001WS6-DJP

i know alot of circle track guys are running E85 and they seam to like it because it does just as good and is 7$ cheeper per gallon. the rule of thumb i have heard is it take 30% more fuel and makes 30% more power over gasoline. you would have to have a carb built for it and drain the bowls if you plan on letting it sit because it will turn to sugar clogging up the carb. they use diffrent carb gaskets on a E85 carb and they have to be cleaned more often but people seam to like it. i have also heard that on a high performance motor you need to order your E85 from vp or sunoco because E85 from a pump dosent always have the right mixture. i thing E85 would be something to look into. it could save you a fortune if you run the car a lot.

pancherj

Are you sure it needs anything other than premium pump gas?

68SSJARHEAD

It runs jus fine on 93 octane.....but for the track I was told it can benefit from a race fuel mixture....its a 10:5:1 compression ratio engine....which def is not high but its not low either.....

pancherj

With aluminum heads, that compression is fine for pump 93. With the Vortec's, I would be nervous but I have no experience with them. They have a pretty compact combustion chamber, so they may be okay with 93. If it only needs pump gas and you put in high octane race gas, it might actually make less power.

Ed Wright

iTrader: (1)

You don't need race gas for 10.5-1. Your deal is too mild to need it.
Won't run one bit faster.

Have those circle track guys look inside their float bowels. That E85 **** is corrosive. Ask a race carb builder what they think about it. On my facebook page is some pictures you should see before you buy that crap.
Probably change your mind.
You usually get what you pay for.

pancherj

Ed is correct. Even the normal 10% stuff in pump gas does a number on the needle and seat. It also evaporates real fast! If you only drive on weekends, you will find that the float bowls are completely empty. It pays to have an electric fuel pump. Otherwise, you have to crank and crank to refill them.

68SSJARHEAD

Thanks for the input guys......will def keep that in mind.....

D79

I'll throw in my 2 cents as well.

I have a built 355 in my car. Forged internals, solid roller cam, single plane intake, quick fuel carb, full msd ignition, timing at 35 degrees, and 64cc aluminum heads which makes compression right at 10.5:1. Makes 490 hp or so at the crank.

I run 93 pump gas in it. It's my weekend warrior so when I have it out I'm not afraid of the throttle. I have never once heard it knock or ping.
I will be putting some nitrous to it eventually and I'm still going to run 93 octane. Just back the timing off a little and get some cooler plugs.

You should be fine with 93

cuisinartvette

WIth the ohers if it isnt broke dont fix it
If you want to add a gal or two to a tank to make yourself feel beter (some just like the smell) wont hurt anything but if it runs great now look for power elsewhere. Vortecs dont need a bunch of timing anyway

Im using 11.5:1 383 with 91 pump on crap Ca water they call gas.
Not sure whats in it but it will eat the blue holley gaskets up and turn them to mush if you arent driving it much. Ugh. can run 34 deg with no issues (do have a ton of overlap though)....if I want to turn the wick up then Ill put 36 or so deg and add some VP otherwise dont need it. Sounds like Dad had it running good as is

nastylx

If I did anything different to the setup it would just be a 1gal standalone tank of 110 for the n2o kit