info on E 85 tune

[Jackpine]

Great! That's one business I'd like to see fail!

- Jack

[soutthpaw]

as for the cost of E85, I just got diesel a couple days ago for $1.48 a gallon. the E85 at that same station was $1.70 and reg gas was $1.72...

[JWBFX4]

Originally Posted by soutthpaw

as for the cost of E85, I just got diesel a couple days ago for $1.48 a gallon. the E85 at that same station was $1.70 and reg gas was $1.72...

Yea there is hardley any difference in the price of e85 here, but we only have one station Diesel is still right at 2.00+ here

[crowsnest]

I think that this got off the subject just a little bit. Everyone has there own opinion on everything, and I am glad to live in a country where I can voice that opinion. Good people have died to give me that right, and I am very greatful to them and their families. Now back to my original post. Is there an E-85 tune or not? I guess I am going with no since I haven't heard anything one way or another.

[soutthpaw]

I think you are gonna have to wait for Bill to answer that. My guess is that it would need to be a custom tune... if he has not already written some E85 tunes then it would probably require some live tuning. Though as you can make some significant changes using E85 esp to the timing due the the higher Octane ratings I am sure the net result would be much better than running the stock (factory) program that is still programmed for regular gas

[Jackpine]

Originally Posted by soutthpaw

I think you are gonna have to wait for Bill to answer that. My guess is that it would need to be a custom tune... if he has not already written some E85 tunes then it would probably require some live tuning. Though as you can make some significant changes using E85 esp to the timing due the the higher Octane ratings I am sure the net result would be much better than running the stock (factory) program that is still programmed for regular gas

I'm going to respectfully insert a note here to remind everyone. Octane rating is NOT a measure of power! Higher octane means the fuel is more resistant to ignition under extremes of temperature and pressure (pre-ignition) and, it actually burns "slower" - does not "explode".

Southpaw, I was not taking anything away from your absolutely correct post. I just get "twitchy" when I hear anything about hi-octane fuel.

- Jack

[soutthpaw]

I was not trying to compare E85 to regular gasoline...What I was getting at was that you could have a more advanced timing and probably a longer injector "on" time to dump more fuel in the engine due to the Air/Fuel ration that E85 can burn at thus giving more power than running E85 on the factory stock settings. (this would probably negate any $$ savings compared to gasoline as it would use more e85 than the stock tune) As far as i am aware the engine cannot tell the pecentage of E85 vs gasoline in the fuel tank to make changes.. thus it would need to be done manually.. So from that perspective an E85 tune would be a great idea. Also, unless you run it exclusively or drain your fuel tank before filling you probably are running a mixture more like E50 or E60 for example.
I was not trying to compare E85 to regular gasoline... as I mentioned before I am aware of and pointed out that Octane only inhibits combustion.

[Jackpine]

Exactly correct southpaw! I knew you understood octane, but I've found there are a lot of people who really don't. And, I agree with you. It DOES seem you would have to "tune" for E85 to get any benefit from it, doesn't it?

- Jack

[Sburn]

Originally Posted by soutthpaw

...probably a longer injector "on" time to dump more fuel in the engine ....

That's how Brazil implemented wide scale ethanol use in cars originally designed for gasoline. It's a wiring harness that goes between the fuel injectors and the (gasoline) PCM that just keep the injectors on for 20% longer.

...As far as i am aware the engine cannot tell the pecentage of E85 vs gasoline in the fuel tank to make changes...

FFV Taurus use a sensor in the fuel line that measures the optical property difference between gasoline and ethanol and is able to tell the PCM about that percentage. PCM can then manage fuel and timing for any mix between 100% gaoline and 100% E85. I'd assume that FFV F150s likely use the same scheme, but I have no first hand experience.

[shaody]

I have a gryphon custom tuned with 87, 91 & E85 performance tunes. I have run them all at one time or another and was pleased with the performance of each. My uncalibrated butt dyno places them in this order 91 best, E85 next and 87 heading up the rear. I did see a reduction in MPG with the E-85 of about 10-15% depending on the driving habits. MPG was about the same with the two regular gas tunes, some people see an increase useing the higher octane tunes but I didn't, sure is fun to drive though!

Jeff