CORN GAS RESULTS (pics!)

[SSC's76]

glanced at the pics looks like more of a lean detonation issue. were you running just e85 straight or gas with 10%? the 10% alone will not have any ill effects unless the engine is lean out of the box or your timing is way off. if you were burning straight e85 then yeah you need to adjust for that at least 10% richer for proper combustion. I ran e 85 for a while but it wasent worth it cost wise and there were only 2 gas stations in drivable distance that sold it at the time.

[Stew_Magoo]

Originally Posted by Mrknowitall

She ran hot, slowly burnt her valve stem oil seals..

Run the 91+ people!!!

I'd take a look at them coolant passages, pretty sludged up. If the inside of your radiator looks like that, I think that would be an area of concern you should address ASAP. A clogged radiator will cause a poor cooling condition loooooong before running 87 octane fuel regardless if its E10 (10%/90% ethonal/gasoline mix) for pure gasoline.

[Mrknowitall]

Originally Posted by S10Fan

Corn belongs on your dinner table, not in your gas tank.

Hahahahah!!!


Thanks to all ur insight!

This was over 2 years ago, 87 octane from arco.
Sense then been rebuilt and rejetted as well as new cam and tons of other things.

I love watchn yall fight. Hahah we all have our opinions and they are just that, opinions.
I corrected this problem awhileago but thanks forthe tips yall!
Still, i stand by it, 87 is really like 85 nowadays, e85 like 83...

DRAW UR OWN CONCLUSIONS!! pull ur heads and take a look
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[Mrknowitall]

Originally Posted by Stew_Magoo

I'd take a look at them coolant passages, pretty sludged up. If the inside of your radiator looks like that, I think that would be an area of concern you should address ASAP. A clogged radiator will cause a poor cooling condition loooooong before running 87 octane fuel regardless if its E10 (10%/90% ethonal/gasoline mix) for pure gasoline.

Coolant passages! Yes that was an issue as well!!
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[Stew_Magoo]

Originally Posted by Mrknowitall

Hahahahah!!!


Thanks to all ur insight!

This was over 2 years ago, 87 octane from arco.
Sense then been rebuilt and rejetted as well as new cam and tons of other things.

I love watchn yall fight. Hahah we all have our opinions and they are just that, opinions.
I corrected this problem awhileago but thanks forthe tips yall!
Still, i stand by it, 87 is really like 85 nowadays, e85 like 83...

DRAW UR OWN CONCLUSIONS!! pull ur heads and take a look
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E85 has an octane rating of around 110. I don't know where you're getting your information from, but its wrong.
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[Mrknowitall]

Originally Posted by Stew_Magoo

E85 has an octane rating of around 110. I don't know where you're getting your information from, but its wrong.
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So i did some searching and 85 has a rating of 104-110. So yes i was wrong. I know when to admit it.

So answer me this, why does e85 run lean in a motor intended for 87+ ??

If it has a rating of 110 thats jet fuel. It should run extreamly ritch, thus require smaller jets. In our sprint car when ran on corn it required a jet so large no one made it, we had to drill it out...

Im confused please educate me.
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[BigBlocksRule]

Unless you have a lot of experience building carbs for alky, it's best to buy one from someone who does. It's a damn sight more than a few jet changes and drilling a few passages out.
I want to build a big turbo E-85 engine. I know that I can run 93 with 10.75:1 compression at and near my altitude in a 540 with aluminum heads. I also know that I can run a good bit of boost with E-85 in this same engine. Just trying to figure out the induction/injection system that'll let me run whichever fuel and boost I want.

[Stew_Magoo]

Originally Posted by Mrknowitall

So answer me this, why does e85 run lean in a motor intended for 87+ ??

The optimal air to fuel ratio for a gasoline is 14.7 parts air to one part fuel. E85 isn't gasoline. (Although it does have gasoline in it, it's only 15% gasoline.) So when you run E85 in through an engine not designed to run on E85, it's not going to run correctly and will cause damage.

Originally Posted by Mrknowitall

If it has a rating of 110 thats jet fuel. It should run extreamly ritch, thus require smaller jets. In our sprint car when ran on corn it required a jet so large no one made it, we had to drill it out...

Im confused please educate me.

Jet engines run on diesel, so it doesn't have a octane rating. A rich air/fuel mixture has nothing to do with the octane rating of the fuel. Octane, and lean/rich have nothing in common.

[chevy4life02814]

personally, i hope corn fuel is never the standard. it's not as efficient and not cheaper to produce Corn only looks cheap because of government subsidies. you think you're paying high taxes now, if ethanol fuel becomes the major fuel, watch out! Just one mans opinion...
__________________
2011 camaro
1987 r10 p/u
1989 scottsdale stepside
__________________

[gmclowsierra]

E85 is alcohol based. Means more power lower economy. Thats why its 100+ octane. Thats why it was running so hot. It'll also break down rubber components alot faster. Apperently you had other issues other than running e85 fuel.
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[lilpoindexter]

You can thank the corn lobby for shoving this crap and high fructose corn syrup down our throats.

[BigBlocksRule]

Ethanol doesn't burn hot, it burns a good bit cooler than gasoline in spite of the higher octane rating. Again, octane has little to do with burn temps but everything to do with detonation resistance.

[superwade57]

Originally Posted by Number21

Good freaking god. I just paid $4.47 for premium with 10% ethanol. "Real" gas is almost non existant here.

Octane does nothing for your engine unless your engine is built for it. If your engine runs fine without pinging on 87 octane then going to 92 is not going to change anything. You will not get better mileage unless you make a change to the engine, like advance the timing or increase compression. A modern car will do that automatically as you drive, so they will get better mileage. Your old Chevy will not. Most small blocks in trucks are built to run on 87. If your engine is running lean and burning valves, then you probably need to adjust your carb.

not true you will and ive tested and tested get better milage with real gas or in 99% of the cases super cause thats what usually 100% GASOLINE, its only like a 1-1.5 mile a gallon difference but it does offset the higher cost and is ultimately cheaper per mile. and better for your engine, keep in mind ethonol is corrosive as well.

btw i run 93 in my 01 tahoe 5.3l it actually pings at highway rpms with out it. also on a side use super in your small gas engines 2 and 4 stroke or else youll wreck them.

[superwade57]

Originally Posted by chevy4life02814

personally, i hope corn fuel is never the standard. it's not as efficient and not cheaper to produce Corn only looks cheap because of government subsidies. you think you're paying high taxes now, if ethanol fuel becomes the major fuel, watch out! Just one mans opinion...
__________________
2011 camaro
1987 r10 p/u
1989 scottsdale stepside
__________________

ethanol was a good cheap way to when e85 was introduce corn was approx $2per bushel, now how ever corn in our area anyways is over $7 a bushel same reason why bio diesel plants tanked- soybeans became to expensive to quickly and it made it more expensive than petrolium based diesel fuel

[Number21]

Originally Posted by superwade57

not true you will and ive tested and tested get better milage with real gas or in 99% of the cases super cause thats what usually 100% GASOLINE

Premium has the same ethanol content as regular unless you find a gas only pump. Yes, I already said you will get better MPG with 100% gas than 10% ethanol. You WILL NOT get better mileage by running premium vs regular. Not in an old Chevy anyway. Some modern engines yes.

To say something like "all engines need premium!" or even "all small engines need premium" is ridiculous and simply wrong. It all has to do with compression.

The REASON ethanol mixed gas gives you worse MPG and runs lean is because there is less BTUs in a gallon of ethanol vs a gallon of gasoline. There is LESS energy in a gallon of ethanol, but at the same time it is much higher octane. A gallon of 87 octane and a gallon of 92 octane gas have the same BTU content, thus will give you the same gas mileage.

Whether it makes sense to use ethanol at all or not is another completely different arguement to have.

[csb#356]

The octane rating is the resistance to ignition. The higher the "octane", the harder it is to get that fuel to burn completely. Thats why higher compression engines use higher octane rating fuels. On the compression stroke the heat created from compressing air will burn lower octane fuel before you want it to trying to force the piston back down before it completes the stroke. Causing the "pinging" everyone is talking about. If you try and burn higher octane fuels in your engine when you have 8:1 compression, you're throwing away money and that is why you all have trouble burning this E85, but I have no idea what the octane rating of that fuel is. You can't make enough heat to burn that fuel. This is why diesel engines work on the principles that they do. Create a bunch of heat by compressing the air so much that atomized fuel will ignite without spark. (why the fuel can't be drawn in with an air mixture like a gasoline engine)

[superwade57]

i agree as i stated i just simplified as a general term super, refering to 100%gasoline, i stated that.
and all ethonal gas no matter what the ratio will ruin small gas engines especially 2 stroke.

[Number21]

Originally Posted by superwade57

and all ethonal gas no matter what the ratio will ruin small gas engines especially 2 stroke.

Cough*cough*bull*****cough*cough

[BlackChevy]

Originally Posted by BigBlocksRule

Once technology provides us with a better solution than corn, it'll be in everything and a lot more than 15%.

Good news
There is already an alternative to corn. Its called Switchgrass. It requires about as much care as you'd give to a clump of crab grass. I imagine the reason it hasnt become a big deal yet is because corn growers really like the attention. But you'd probably still need to change your engine a bit to run on any kind of ethanol. If you ever ran alcohol through your go-kart you probably know why.
Check it out, Switchgrass ethanol!

[Mrknowitall]

Originally Posted by Stew_Magoo

The optimal air to fuel ratio for a gasoline is 14.7 parts air to one part fuel. E85 isn't gasoline. (Although it does have gasoline in it, it's only 15% gasoline.) So when you run E85 in through an engine not designed to run on E85, it's not going to run correctly and will cause damage.





Jet engines run on diesel, so it doesn't have a octane rating. A rich air/fuel mixture has nothing to do with the octane rating of the fuel. Octane, and lean/rich have nothing in common.

Humm. Im still confused, i understand 85 is not "gas". What i dont understand is why more is required to do the same work as fuel, when it has such a high octane rating?

Jet fuel is diesel? Never hered that before.

Ok so as i understand octane is a rating of flash point.
So with higher compression low grade will pre detonate thus ping.
When pinging is is not an issue, the higher flash point of high grade will cause a ritch condition in a non injection motor, correct?

So corn with a rating of 110, should be harder to burn, so with a stock motor less fuel should be needed, in theory.???? --please disprove and tell me why. I dont understand

Lots of good insight here!
Number21, its just ppls opinion man if u thing theyre wrong forget em, who cares?
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[f.monroe]

This fuel is pretty hard on engines both small and large. It's just not as efficient as pure gasoline. I Hope texas will go back to straight gasoline at some point. I would pay more for straight gas if given the opportunity to choose. The problem here is that the choice has been taken away.

I work on dispensing equipment at c-stores and service stations for a living and I can tell you that it causes issues with the equipment . Between water, phase separation, and the corrosion I see inside the dispensers, I can only imagine what the long term effects will be on the vehicles we are using it in.
Frank
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[richards72chevy]

They have been talking about switch grass for years.I remember a long time ago they were talking about a plant called kudzo or kudzu.It was imported over here from asia in the 30's and now its a problem in the south.It grows about three inches a day.

[yousesteers]

E85 does not have as many BTU's of energy as E10 or straight gas that is why it does not burn as efficently Octane has nothing todo with your MPG. we have run ethonal in everything for over 20 years never lost an engine to it. Run it in everything from new cars to 70 year old tractor to chainsaws. you just have to be able to set your carbs up and a carb running on alchol will need adjustments based on temp and humidity whether it is a stock motor or a high performance motor. E85 will loosen rust and other debris in a tank and is hard on old rubber hoses but once and that stuff just takes time to work out and clean up the system.

[chevyboy55]

Originally Posted by Mrknowitall

Jet fuel is diesel? Never hered that before.

I drive a gasoline tanker for a living (32 years) Jet A is basically stove oil/kerosene. There are a couple grades of Jet but they are all Diesel based. We used to have a switch that picked how it was billed, Jet A, JP4, Arctic Diesel, Stove Oil or Kerosene(non orderless) it all came from the same loading arm. It's just that the Aviation products (at least in Washington St.) have a special Aviation tax ( similar to your highway taxes on gas & dsl)

[crazy longhorn]

I have run ethenol based fuels, for many yrs....not a bit of problem I run em in the old "hotrod", as well as the DD? crazyL