E85 for and against

[womblesti]

I'm about to convert my shitbox to this and have been told it can seriously fuck the pistons/rings if the car isn't started for a while as it is corrosive. My car is a track car so this is a concern. Anyone have any evidence to support this?

I do trust the guy telling me (works for Greg Murphy racing) but I've never heard it before.

[Glenno]

CSR stuff has a corrosion inhibitor in it, they are renaming it Sucrogen BioEthanol or somesuch now though becuase CSR are seperating thier building products division away from the sugar side of things. Supercars use the CSR stuff as the control fuel so not sure on the other brands.

[jmac]

What they used to do with methanol powered race cars you could do just the same (and fwiw I think it's possible that e85 might be an issue in that respect - rotting out fuel lines over time etc - it's probably not nearly as bad as methanol) - anyway the fix was pretty simple. At the end of the race meeting, they simply drained the remaining alcohol out of the tank, then refilled (or perhaps only half filled, but you get the point) with regular pump petrol. They'd then run teh engine and very quickly any trace amt of alcohol in the carb fuel bowl would be used, and they'd keep the revs up to say 2500-3000, then all of a sudden, it'd start running rough (as it's way too rich for petrol running) and once it's belching out black smoke from teh exhaust, you shut it down. Hey presto, fuel system 'pickled' with petrol, and you reverse the process just before taking the car to a race meet.

[BigMuz]

Yep. It's an extra step but it's not brain surgery.

[womblesti]

Thanks guys. I was going to do the jmac method, just that I hadn't read it anywhere specifically in relation to E85.

At 99.9cpl it's definitely a great option

[Dave]

i am going to just run it and see what fucks up, to work out if I need to pickle the system

[2510s]

Thanks guys. I was going to do the jmac method, just that I hadn't read it anywhere specifically in relation to E85.

At 99.9cpl it's definitely a great option

Seriously, I wouldn't use 'pump' E85 in a race car, the CSR stuff in a drum is very cheap compared to race fuel and it's insurance against irregurlarities you might find in the pump stuff....

[F|sh]

the pump e85 is usaually fresher and better then the CSR stuff. SO i have been told.

[nitrane]

Cant wait for this stuff to be available at the pump in Perth, it'd suit the big compression and iron heads in my boat, along with some timing.

[2rismo]

the pump e85 is usaually fresher and better then the CSR stuff. SO i have been told.

I can't see how a sealed, batched drum of fuel is better in any way than stuff in an underground tank.

[F|sh]

As i have been to understand the pump E85 is usually delivered on the day. the drum stuff could be stored for god knows how long and taken on moisture.

underground tanks are more temperature stable as i see it.

[2rismo]

As i have been to understand the pump E85 is usually delivered on the day. the drum stuff could be stored for god knows how long and taken on moisture.

underground tanks are more temperature stable as i see it.

I'm still not with you. E85 being delivered to the servo the day it's made is neither here nor there. How long it sits in the ground is surely a bigger concern. A full 200L sealed drum of E85 would be more stable that a half-full tank in the ground, surely.

[Wes Mantooth]

How does one figure that a sealed drum would take on moisture after prolonged storage, but an underground tank that is accessed regularly for level checks, and thereby exposed to atmosphere, wouldn't?

[RB30-POWER]

did i read this shit picks up the water more easily than normal ulp?

if so that might be an issue in ground pits, fairly sure i read this is part of the corrosion issue as it transports the water more readily in the fuel systems.

i have some good articles in mags at work on this stuff, both related to cars but also now boats where this can be an issue.

[da9jeff]

yeah, ethanol is hygroscopic.