In our local newspaper, this was the news, yesterday...

EPA moves closer to more ethanol in gas

The federal government has taken another step toward wide distribution of gasoline mixed with 15% ethanol by allowing manufacturers to register as suppliers.

While the EPA is moving the process forward by allowing the registration, E15 still has to clear another set of federal tests and become a registered fuel.

 

Just about everything in Minnesota is E10. A lot of pumps sell E85... Ethanol content is great... only most cars aren't tuned properly to take advantage of the characteristics. Also corn is by far NOT the best way to extract ethanol. I plan on using E85 in my RX-7 to keep the combustion a little cooler and utilize the additional points in octane as a safe guard against detonation.

 

What would it take to utilize E85 in our older trucks?

 

Carbed trucks are easy. Ethanol compliant fuel system components, and a properly jetted carb.

Worrying about detonation in a rotary implies it's boosted. An N/A rotary can run on fuel with as little as 67 octane rating.......


I don't like the federal mandate requiring ethanol in the fuel supply. Nor the federal subsidy that makes (corn based) ethanol artifically cheaper than gasoline.

Corn is not the cheapest way to produce ethanol, in fact, it's one of the more costly methods. Sugar, on the other hand, is far cheaper and would not need any subsidy to be priced lower than gasoline.

 

E-15 Did great in my '88 Toyota Corolla FX, but in everything else I have used it in, I have noticed a mild loss in power, and a slight decline in fuel economy(I am one of those guys that keeps a log book

 

Yep. It's a '94.

 

You had an '88 FX? Very cool. I had a '89 Corolla GT-S. I swapped a 4AGE 20V in it.





Also, to get back on point, I had a '92 Festiva with a 1.8L 16V swap that ran on E85. Different MAF, injectors, and advanced timing. It wasn't pretty, but it was FUN.

 

Stock twins, or big single?

Love the FD body style, but rather pricey to buy/own.




I dislike the E10 fuel, due to making my RX7 a bit harder to start when warm. I guess it vaporizes much faster than 100% gasoline. Having that header right under the carb/intake ensures a good amount of heat soak occurs after shutdown.

 

Right now there's no motor in it. Stock twins for now. LS swap done right is just too expensive.

 

Unless you have a feedback carb system. The extra ethanol in the fuel confuses the computer as the O2 sensor reads leaner than it actually is.

Also if you live in California, this will open up a can of worms.

If it gets too bad, I will do a propane conversion to my truck.

 

What do you mean by ethanol compliant? Gaskets and stuff like that inside the carb?

And jetting the carb, just a slightly larger jet?

 

Feedback systems aren't "real" carbs. Anything with a computer, requires reprograming....

Most carb kits now contain ethanol resistant pieces, and have for years. The same goes for "rubber" fuel hose.
The jetting requirement is more than just slightly larger jet(s). It requires more volume of fuel as the ethanol content goes up. By the time you get to 85% ethanol (E85), the need is around 25-30% more fuel volume.
MPG goes down, but so does the average cost per gallon.
On the other hand, E85 has an octane rating in the 105-110 range, so a much higher comp ratio and timing advance can be utilized, which explains why a lot of highly modded and boosted (heavily) "street" cars have been tuned to use E85. It's MUCH cheaper than high octane "pump" gas. A cheaper "go fast" fuel, if you will.

 

Can't reprogram the older computers, so like I said, a conversion to propane will be in the cards. Only viable thing California will let me do really. I'm definately not going to upgrade the smog components and make it harder to pass than it is now.

 

Well, if they do go to that nationwide, I'll have to figure out what to do. Having the feedback system that can't be reprogramed guess it's either EFI or DSII, or maybe propane. Been kind of figuring I was going to have to do something sooner or later anyway due to parts availability, or lack of that is.

 

IIRC, E15 will only be approved for use in newer vehicles. I forget the year break, but I remember reading something about separate clearly marked pumps.