E85 For Birthday Present

[OMG513]

Hi Guys my birthday is coming up soon and thought i'd convert my 08 gtr to E85. Before I go ahead with it though just wanted to clear up a few questions please.

1. Has anyone here in Sydney done a drive in drive out conversion with a trusted workshop? I understand Willall is the place to go but its a little far and if I have any issues sending the car back and forth will be costly.

2. How much should a E85 conversion cost? From some reading i think i'll need the cobb+tcm, upgraded injectors and fuel pumps?

3. Will I need to do gearbox upgrades due to the power increase?

4. Are most E85 users in sydney just filling up at united rozelle? and/or ordering by the drums and filling it at home? or are any even using flex fuel from caltex?

5. Maintenance wise will I have to use different oils because of the change in fuel?

Any feedback is much appreciated. Thank you guys.

Ken

[Martin Donnon]

Here are some members experiences on E85 - http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/326710-r35-catback-e85-wsid-full-weight/page__p__5319746__hl__duncan__fromsearch__1#entry5319746

[OMG513]

Thanks Martin for the link =)

[OMG513]

Hey Guys just wanted to report back that I've successfully converted over to E85!

Previously I had Down pipes, midpipe, upgraded turbo actuators, hks evc and Cobb tune. Got that dyno'd prior to doing the E85 conversion ended getting just over 360 kw.

After calling up Martin from Willall and taking his advice I then purchased ID 1000's, Twin DW65C pumps, COBB AP with TCM, Willall engine, diff and transmission oils and finally a mailorder tune from Martin.

With the help of Brad from Profabrication everything went smoothly and was installed perfectly!

I currently use united e85 fuel only and on a fortnightly basis when I fill up I carry four 20l jerry cans with me and fill them up for back up, so during the next week when I start to run out I don't have to go back every week.

The result is 412 kw, car feels incredible and a little scary to be honest. Also I performed a clutch relearn and reflashed the launch program to LC4 R Mode Off. I haven't launched it yet but i suppose its the one to use.

Future mods I was thinking intake kit, larger turbo inlet pipes and gfb bov's. I currently don't have a catback but not sure if it's worth the coin vs performance at the moment? Also should I reflash to LC5?

Of course a massive thanks to Martin from Willall racing and Brad from Profabrication for the their time and help.

[bcl]

Good work. The upgrade requirements are relatively minor.

How did you find spool-up?

Whilst I haven't converted my R35, I run my STi on E85, and I'm using it as a dd at the moment.

Rozelle fuel is very consistent.

This week it is reading 86% Ethanol on the Zietronix digital readout. If there was any problem with the fuel it would get a wide broadcast across quite a few forums.

Brian

[domino_z]

daily driving both my tuned turbo cars on e85 and love it - can't go back to 98ron

400+awkw is right where the r35 needs to be

also interested to hear from martin how the actuators went on stock turbo. consensus seems to be theres no point pushing the stock turbos any harder than stock actuators can handle (8psi springs iirc), but with hks now releasing their gt570/600 kit actuators it seems worth pursueing - especially if you're down there changing out the turbo inlets

http://r35tt.com/store/HKS-Actuator-Upgrade-Kit-09-R35-GT-R/

LC5 is definitely more aggressive, and it does improve shifts in auto mode by holding gears longer. I prefer to run launch with VDC in R mode rather than off as it controls wheelspin alot better, especially on a low grip surface

[OMG513]

Good work. The upgrade requirements are relatively minor.

How did you find spool-up?

Whilst I haven't converted my R35, I run my STi on E85, and I'm using it as a dd at the moment.

Rozelle fuel is very consistent.

This week it is reading 86% Ethanol on the Zietronix digital readout. If there was any problem with the fuel it would get a wide broadcast across quite a few forums.

Brian

Hey Brian,

Thanks for tuning in. I think the spool up is better and pretty much better everywhere! I really am enjoying it at the moment and just got the baby detailed as well. Looking Schmick but maybe not as good Dominos!

Yeah from general consensus of e85 fuel quality, I only get it from united at the moment.

daily driving both my tuned turbo cars on e85 and love it - can't go back to 98ron

400+awkw is right where the r35 needs to be

also interested to hear from martin how the actuators went on stock turbo. consensus seems to be theres no point pushing the stock turbos any harder than stock actuators can handle (8psi springs iirc), but with hks now releasing their gt570/600 kit actuators it seems worth pursueing - especially if you're down there changing out the turbo inlets

http://r35tt.com/store/HKS-Actuator-Upgrade-Kit-09-R35-GT-R/

LC5 is definitely more aggressive, and it does improve shifts in auto mode by holding gears longer. I prefer to run launch with VDC in R mode rather than off as it controls wheelspin alot better, especially on a low grip surface

The previous owner had the actuators done at croydon ages ago because apparently boost starts to just cliff drop after trying to hold boost to a certain level. But yeah not too familiar or know anything for that matter.

Hmmm.... I guess im going to reflash mine tonight to lc5! love how easy it is to do something like this with these cars.

[Docc]

Nice work OMG513. Reading this makes me want to go the e85 route sooner than I originally planned!

[domino_z]

the boost does drop off at high rpm on stock turbos, however even if you could hold more boost the stock turbos are out of their efficiency range and just blowing hot air

I still think there's power to be made, single digits maybe at most but you'd need to balance that against more stress on the turbo

Post up the dyno graph and we can see what's happening at high rpm

[Wardski]

the boost does drop off at high rpm on stock turbos, however even if you could hold more boost the stock turbos are out of their efficiency range and just blowing hot air

I still think there's power to be made, single digits maybe at most but you'd need to balance that against more stress on the turbo

Post up the dyno graph and we can see what's happening at high rpm

Sam, how good are the stock BPV's at holding boost?? I know on my STi the stock BPV leaked like a sieve at anything over 15-16 PSi, but after getting an aftermarket BPV it held boost so much better to the red line (especially at +19 PSi tuned)

[domino_z]

a member on nagtroc did a pressure test ages ago and iirc they were good to around 23psi

either way you'll be fine on stock turbos