Guilt-toy Now Running On E85 !

[boostn0199]

Not everyone running ethanol is a tightarse, some run it because its a better (higher octane) fuel, Holden are banking on people running it for no power increase, just to make you feel warm, fuzzy and green. It has worked out around the same cost as 98 for me per km, but with a much higher power output.

I run ethanol because I hated the sound of my engine pinging on a hot day, I wanted to run stupid boost, and the 30% extra torque was a great bonus. Plus much of my hard earned is staying in Australia, some even going to our poor farmers.

Is there a better fuel you can buy from the pump?

Dont get me wrong Im not against it I run e85 and im the last person that gives a shit about consumption as I constantly drive on boost getting prob 250km to a tank which I dont complain about, what im saying is that the people that are saying its cheaper then petrol thats its not quite right just cause its 20cents cheaper a litre but as I said I went on it for the gains of power and safer on the engine as you said

[ARTZ]

well it is cheaper to buy, but not necessarily cheaper to run

[Harey]

Anyone know if there is definitely E85 at the Footscray Caltex?

Footscray, 62-82 Gordon Street

Plan on going there tonight to fill up some jerry cans!

[scotty nm35]

Anyone know if there is definitely E85 at the Footscray Caltex?

Footscray, 62-82 Gordon Street

Plan on going there tonight to fill up some jerry cans!

So is there a pump?

[Harey]

My tune got delayed till wed so I will go fill up tonight instead.

[boostn0199]

I think the caltex in clayton will have it soon since there doing some construiction work on the pumps.

[Bond]

Been away for 1 month with work and just went to United in Hoppers to fill up and they are out of E85 and said they couldn't get any in!! Not enough fuel in my tank to fill up anywhere else Grrrrr. Might have to use jerry cans!

[Bond]

Just spoke to some1 in the office at United and they said their supply of Ethanol wont be back until late May to Early June

[SS8_Gohan]

qld and vic floods, would have taken out most the crops i would imagine - Fueltown at Southland would most likely be in the same boat

wonder how Caltex is going

[Bond]

Filled up a Jerry at Caltex Footscray but it was very slow!!!! They told me they had fuel but the pump was stuffed. Going there later to try and fill up, otherwise its back to 98.

[Harey]

Filled up a Jerry at Caltex Footscray but it was very slow!!!! They told me they had fuel but the pump was stuffed. Going there later to try and fill up, otherwise its back to 98.

Thanks for the info!

[scotty nm35]

Filled up a Jerry at Caltex Footscray but it was very slow!!!! They told me they had fuel but the pump was stuffed. Going there later to try and fill up, otherwise its back to 98.

The Springvale pump does the same thing, just hang it up and start again. It seems to do it when they don't enable the pump quick enough.

[Angus Smart]

I've been searching the web for a while regarding e85 into a rotax Kart engine.

i'm about dew for a full rebuild on my motor and wanted to give e85 a go before i do so..

the carb has fixed jets, that re changed by removing and replacing with larger/smaller jet

Heres a little bit of reading on tuning.. if someone could tell me what i'd need to do to get e85 going would be great

Next you will need to install the proper Main Jet for the current conditions. Remember that the proper main jet can only be determined by knowing all of the following conditions:

Temperature

Humidity

Barometric Pressure

Altitude

Once the Main Jet is installed and the carburetor reassembled, you will be ready to install it back on the motor. Be sure to tighten the hose clamps and that all of the bolts are tight as well.

Take the kart out on the track and observe proper 'warm-up' procedures. Once the engine is warmed up, begin pushing it to its limits.

LOW RPM TUNING - If the kart runs rough at lower RPM's (5,500 - 8,500), we need to adjust the needle setting to be 'leaner'. How 'rough' it is running should determine this adjustment. Never adjust more than (2) grooves in any direction, this can cause a low RPM seizure.

HIGH RPM TUNING - If the motor will not rev cleanly from 10,000 RPM through to 12,500 then change the main jet to ONE jet lower. For example, if you are running a 168 jet and the motor pulls well through 11,500 and begins to break up or bog at 12,000 you should change to a 165 main jet. If the leaner jet seems to help, but still does not feel 100% right, consult your plug reading to determine if a leaner jet is suitable. BE VERY CAREFUL. At this point, going too lean could cause an engine seizure. Once you have found the appropriate main jet, it is possible you may have to change the clip setting to eliminate any lower RPM bog.

If the 'leaner' jet does not remedy the problem, you should install a jet that is one size bigger (richer).

The indications of a jet that is too lean can include a loud 'popping,' or a sudden drop off in performance at high RPM.

Any time the jet seems too lean you should consider immediately coming in to the pits, getting a good 'cut' on the plug and reading your plug indicators.

[DVS JEZ]

try getting a jet literally 30% bigger than your current jet, then check AFRs or if not possible, check egt with a temp gun and compare to your current egt with petrol.

then once set try adding some timing and see how you go with it. you should try and have some way of testing the power, ie 0-100kph with petrol vs 0-100kph with e85 + more timing, let us know how you go

[mr parts]

did another e85 test on the current batch of Caltex bio-eflex

http://www.mrparts.com.au/MPRacing/?p=460

[Bond]

After filling up on caltex all my cold start problems have gone. Will prob go get a retune

[Harey]

did another e85 test on the current batch of Caltex bio-eflex

http://www.mrparts.com.au/MPRacing/?p=460

Very interesting, thanks for the posting that. Wouldnt the United E85 (really E95) have issues with cold start in the winter?

I thought someone in this thread mentioned that Caltex have never gone to their summer mix and so far have just stayed with their low 70's winter mix? Did you get a chance to test Caltex during summer?

[Harey]

After filling up on caltex all my cold start problems have gone. Will prob go get a retune

Which fuel did you come from? This does make sense as the Caltex fuel at the moment is ~E70.

[SimonR32]

Flash point of Ethanol is 13deg and petrol around -40deg

By my calculations the flash point should be around the following...

E95 = 10deg

E85 = 5deg

E70 = 1deg

These are only approximate figures but they wouldn't be too far off. I know for over here in WA we could probably get away with E95 all year around as it only really drops below 10deg ambient in winter on cold mornings.

For colder weather like Melbourne you would probably get away with E85 all year around, E70 maybe for super cold mornings...

Realistically Australia has a fairly hot climate and there is no real need for winter mix (car may take a few more turn overs in winter) but remember they are selling to non car enthusiasts as well who may consider the extra cranking a problem/issue

Edited May 4, 2011 by SimonR32

[Randon_I_Am]

A.C.T dude...

Constant below zero mornings here in winter grrr