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E85 !!!!

15K views 26 replies 13 participants last post by  SoCA-SS  
#1 ·
I've searched but not able to find anything about it. My question is, has anyone converted there SS to an e85 setup and what was needed to accomplish it?
 
#6 ·
This platform/powerplant was not designed for E85... W88 is steering you right. Many of the current GM line is "EWHATEVER" compatible. That said, some of the vehicle lines actually had a "composition" sensor which told the ECM the actual alcohol content of the fuel passing through the sensor so that the ECM could adjust timing etc... The later cars/trucks used a formula that the ECM would recognize a fueling event of 3 or more gallons and use the oxygen sensors and an algorithm over the next given drive time/miles driven....The SS has no suchsoftware....E85 is hard on noble metals such as found in fuel level sensors. Hard on injectors...etc etc.. Compression ratio of LS3 is such that I doubt E85 would not deposit up motor....
 
#5 · (Edited)
#8 ·
Whats needed - More fuel to make the same power because E85 has a lower energy density than gasoline so larger injectors, a crazy high flowing fuel pump, and ECU flashed to make thing get along to put it simple.

That being said, E85 is generally used with smaller displacement forced induction engines because it is similar to super high octane fuel in that it will not detonate as easily. So generally you can add timing and or boost and be more protected against knock.

Yup, there are stories of cars being damaged by fuels with high ethanol levels turning fuel lines to gum among other issues.

There are so many ways to make safe reliable power with the LS....that I would recommend you look to an alternative to corn juice!

I ran it on another platform, loved it, and left it due to limited availability of E85 near me.....and more importantly the fact that I had stock connecting rods that I preferred remain INSIDE my block!!
 
#9 ·
Simple answer is a Fuel Composition Sensor ($100 + $100 install), and flag that In your current tune ($125 setup and $225 reflash).
Once flagged that FCS is connected, you will need to add one spark table and its modifier to the current tune (2 x copy and paste).
Voilá, perfect factory flex fuel tune enabled for the Chevy SS, as Holden has continually updated calibrations required for ethanol in GenIV LS (including LS3 L77 & L99) model update since 2010.
$550 for a measurable performance gain including 25hp, loads more torque, cooler running. In terms of bang for your buck, pays for itself with fuel savings per mile and the clever thing about this technology is that it will automatically switch up to better performance when e85 or flex is on offer at the pump (and switch back seemlessly to gas).
PM me if you would like flex fuel enabled using the stock tune... or perhaps a bit raunchier (+7% rwhp).
 
#10 ·
If we keep coming up with uses for ethanol, we gonna run out of corn.

Corn is a basic material for cattle feed, chicken feed, pig feed, dog food, corn-on-da-cob, tortillas, tacos, enchiladas, chips, sweeteners, corn bread, etc., etc..

A huge industry relies on corn and now you want to burn it in a car?

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:serious .
 
#11 ·
If we keep coming up with uses for ethanol, we gonna run out of corn.

Corn is a basic material for cattle feed, chicken feed, pig feed, dog food, corn-on-da-cob, tortillas, tacos, enchiladas, chips, sweeteners, corn bread, etc., etc..

A huge industry relies on corn and now you want to burn it in a car?

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:serious .
It's not the uses for corn; it the water it takes to grow it and make ethanol form the corn.

"Ethanol plants consume roughly four gallons of water to produce each gallon of fuel, but that's only a fraction of ethanol's total water habit. Cornell ecology professor David Pimentel says that when you count the water needed to grow the corn, one gallon of ethanol requires a staggering 1,700 gallons of H2O."

Ethanol's Water Shortage - WSJ
 
#13 · (Edited)
You guys are so funny! Over here we use sorghum, molasses, wheat flour ... no corn. Didn't realise it wasn't viable because of a water shortage in the United States?!

Before entertaining the notion of prioritising corn for livestock and human consumption in order to save water(?!), here's some perspective on the above corn statistic:
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No matter however water is utilised in order to benefit humans, be it in a car, for cattle, beer or chocolate factory, water does not just disappear, it merely changes form.

What's the total water / energy use in the lifecycle of dead dinosaurs and extinct forests through exploration and drilling through refinement and transportation and retail to provide one gallon of gasoline?

The point is sustainable use of energy and resources: The US importing cheap oil for transportation energy is "problematic" right now and forever into the foreseeable future. Ethanol plays a part of Australia's solution to transport energy.

And it makes your car go faster.
 
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#21 ·
You guys are so funny! Over here we use sorghum, molasses, wheat flour ... no corn. Didn't realise it wasn't viable because of a water shortage in the United States?!

Before entertaining the notion of prioritising corn for livestock and human consumption in order to save water(?!), here's some perspective on the above corn statistic:
Image


No matter however water is utilised in order to benefit humans, be it in a car, for cattle, beer or chocolate factory, water does not just disappear, it merely changes form.

What's the total water / energy use in the life cycle of dead dinosaurs and extinct forests through exploration and drilling through refinement and transportation and retail to provide one gallon of gasoline?

The point is sustainable use of energy and resources: The US importing cheap oil for transportation energy is "problematic" right now and forever into the foreseeable future. Ethanol plays a part of Australia's solution to transport energy.

And it makes your car go faster.
I don't care what the chart says, I am not gonna stop consuming items 1 to 24 on the chart!




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:smile
.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Ever wondered why your car carries all the DNA for running pure ethanol?
In Australia where the car was devised and created, we've had Power Alcohol underpinning our domestic fuel mandate since Shellkoll in 1928.
That's several years before Brazil, 88 years of energy security and economic benefit, then again most of QLD coast and northern NSW is sugar cane and inner plains wheat.
I'm currently reading a book on energy and its future role for the human race, 'Energy Victory' by Robert Zubrin, the guy who inspired PayPal genius Elon Musk to action SpaceX, Tesla, and the colonisation of Mars. Worth a look re: global energy threats and benefits when rethinking transportation energy.
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Puts shameful inefficient energy waste into a global, even universal perspective - a worthwhile read. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Victory#
Gasoline is the devil, not alcohol.
 
#23 ·
Here's a other unbiased source comparing fuel economy and cost for e85:

E85: Will it Save You Money? - Cars.com

"For example, the flex-fuel 2010 Chevrolet Impala equipped with a 3.5-liter V-6 engine gets an EPA-estimated 18/29 mpg (city/highway) on gasoline and 14/21 mpg when burning E85. The acceleration is pretty much the same, but the car's range is shortened. In other words, you'll be filling the tank more often when using E85.

Do the math and you'll discover that E85 must be priced roughly 28 percent less than gas just to break even. For example, if gasoline is $3 per gallon, E85 would have to be priced below $2.16 per gallon. There are regions in the Corn Belt where E85 reaches this threshold, making it cost effective."
 
#24 · (Edited)
It makes horsepower, plain and simple. Really no other reason to use it. I made over 100HP in my GTR and 60-100HP in my past Evo X and STi on corn alone. In forced induction applications, there isn't an easier way to increase boost, increase timing, or lean out AFRs to pick up power than with E85.
 
#25 ·
BTW That test on a GM V6 is not relevant apart from the generalisation that yes you use more fuel, but it is cheaper.
How much more or less depends on how and where your driving, state of tune, as above. It is very easy to get the tune wrong, and it was back in 2010.
Can't think of a basis you could make valid a comparison of LS3 to V6...
 
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#26 ·
There are PLENTY of G8s out there running corn that could provide the empirical data you seek from 93 v E85.

I tuned my SS a few weekends ago on corn for giggles before the LSA S/C goes in - good, easily scalable injectors, quality fuel setup and a few tune adjustments and it was running perfect. Lambda in line; added a little timing up top; zero knock; no issue. Road tune alone I noticed a little increase in the feels but nothing quantitative.

I could care less how much it costs or what my gas mileage is. These vehicles don't exactly "sip" unleaded fuel as it is. I'm not running meth so this will be a safe and proven alternative.