Haven't posted here in a while, but was planning on E85, but I am going to be running it all year every year if I get it. I've been debating it now.Please don't kill me James. =[

Just wanted some opinions from people in these cold frigid states that run full E85 and have gas stations that change blends due to these weather changes.

 

E47.5 is best for 99% of us.
E47.5 is not a problem in cold weather.

If you have vaild reasons to go full E85, do so in the warm months, & then cut back
to E47.5 during the cold weather months....

 

Worth it for the power increase, especially if you don't have to daily drive the car (gas mileage). Running straight is easier than mixing and it smells better but like Firehawk said, it's not necessary.

 

This is my daily driver and the blend changes every season.

 

I would do e47 it's not that bad mixing at the pump. Plus you run out of fueling on full e 85 if you tune aggressive enough...

 

I run E85 year long. Only time I ever really have problems in cold weather with cold starts is if its below 10 degrees. It might take a minute or so, but still isn't terrible.

Above 10, the car will fire right up. Then I usually give it a minute or so to warm up. With my tune, I can just watch my a/f gauge and know when the cars good to go. When I start it, it'll run real rich then start to lean out, when it gets to my 'idle' range, I'm good to go. Go any sooner and the car bogs a bit.

A real good tuner who is familiar with E85 is your best bet if you want to run year long.

 

E47 is the sweet spot on a bolted LNF. If you run E85 on the stock fuel system you have to limit midrange punch or it lacks fuel pressure and limps out. Mine crapped out at ~70-75% E during the testing back in the day.

Most torque stock fuel system is E47 (1:1) or E60 (2:1) if you want the extra octane & charge cooling.

 

Pros:
- Lots of extra power in the midrange and top-end from the added boost and timing you can run.
- Cheap ($2.89/gal here right now)
- Makes my exhaust smell nice.
- I picked up almost 8mph of trap speed from a bolted GMS1 setup with just switching to a ccss3 E85 tune (I'm able run 100% E85 due to high altitude, don't want to screw with mixing.)

Cons:
- Loss of fuel economy -- I used to get about 24city/31highway, E85 is more like 17city/21highway.
- Difficult to start in temps below freezing (I actually don't run my E85 tune in the winter months because of this.)
- Limited availability (There are 4 stations within a 50 mile radius of me.)
- Inconsistent mixtures at different stations/different times of year = requires tweaking to fix fuel trims if mixture changes.

 

Good point about the altitude, I'm just barely above sea level and was on a 24psi tune.

 

I might be the first to say it, but I love altitude. It makes all the N/A cars slower and skews the norm beyond belief.

Here's a quick comparison of E85 versus GMS1 - car has Hahn intake, ZZP catless DP, ZZP FMIC in the video:

 

gud info in this thread keep it coming

 

Here's a quick reference chart for E85 volitilty blends for each state by month and blend level.

Legend:
1- Class 1 (Min 79% Ethanol content)
2- Class 2 (Min 74% Ethanol content)
3- Class 3 (Min 70% Ethanol content)



Now keep in mind that these are suggested blends and actual blends at the pump may vary. I know for a fact because I've tested the E85 at the station I get it from locally and it is almost always between E78 and E83 regardless of whether it is January or July.

 

Which, speaking of testing your fuel's Ethanol content, here's what I use: Echecker - E85 Fuel Test Tube

It's cheap and quick. Would be good for someone who doesn't always fill at the same E85 station.

 

im on the edge if I want e47 or just full E85 since im at altitude. Wouldnt mind the boost of power+mileage that you get with e47 but is mixing that much of a PITA? how do you guys do it?

 

You pull up and put equal amounts of 93 and E. Pretty easy.

 

Another way to calculate...

Ethanol Calculators

 

Although in the winter selecting Credit, No Car Wash and No Receipt takes it toll on you doing it twice

 

thats what I was thinking. kind of a PITA to do that.

 

but its only takes 3 secs for that bump in hp

 

Don't have to convince me, I run it in the winter but I don't mix, I have in the past though.

 

Just run full E85, you're high altitude, it'll be fine.

 

yeah i think I will. its still 3.29 for E85 here though

 

Our blends change every month though, enough that it can mess up a lot..

 

A 10% mix change only shifts the fuel trims 3%. Please.

 

I'm below the 31 degree parallel, so a 5% shift in Ethanol content is all I see. I've been running the same 50/50 blend for about a year, now, and I don't see any big shifts in trims.