E-85 tune for gas engine?

[muns53]

I'm glad to hear you're able to do ethanol tuning!! From everything I've read, it's not a matter of components at all; all modern cars can run on ethanol. Just like diesels were originally intended to run on farm-based oil crop fuels, the gas motor was designed to run on farm-based alcohols. For example, the first Fords (Model A's, etc.) had adjustment knobs and levers in the cab that the driver could fool with to optimize the carberator based on the fuel he had access to. In the city, he was buying petroleum-based gas; in the country, he was buying alcohol/ethanol.

Ethanol is 106+ octane (depends on what blend), though and burns cleaner and cooler and more completely than gas, so it's actually a much better fuel. Engines running ethanol have almost no carbon build-up and last longer because of the lower temps. Most of the problems with fuel mileage dropping are a result of trying to use it in an engine optimized for a dirty, hot-burning, low-octane fuel (gasoline); but an ethanol-optimized engine actually produces better fuel mileage than the same engine optimized for gas; primarily because it burns more completely.

In the colder climates, a "cold-start" device helps get the motor running. There's a variety of ways to do it - propane/ether injectors; a small gasoline tank to start the motor on; or a glow plug device (like a diesel) to warm up the combustion chamber.

I'm in the process of building a micro-scale refinery (same basic process as moonshine; larger scale) to make ethanol and will convert my gas engines over to run on it after some experimentation. (Maybe I need to get another Ford vehicle so Bill can write the tune for it!)

If anyone learns further about component differences b/t flex-fuel and straight gas Fords, I hope you'll post more info in this thread.