DonGfun

iTrader: (19)

Has any 1 tryed E85 or mixture of gas and E85???
E85 is like 105 octane. I was thinking of trying it.

http://www.e85fuel.com/index.php

http://www.ethanol.org/e85.html

AceofSpds

iTrader: (4)

So far the only places ive heard that carries this suff is cali, and i live in alabama, if we ever get this stuff we would be the last state.

Can our cars run on this stuff SAFELY? Doesn't something that is too high of an octane bad for our vehicles? 105 octane??? Isnt that like race fuel?

DonGfun

iTrader: (19)

I ran 116 at the track (with no cat)

SilverGLE

iTrader: (21)

I believe it says in the owner's manual not to run any gasoline that's more than 15% ethanol.... Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

ganoid

iTrader: (1)

Octane wont hurt your vehicle but you would need a complete fuel remap to run e85 and probably larger injectors to boot. It takes a ton of ethanol to run a car. If our cars would actually run on ethanol we would probably get about 10-12 MPG. Ethanol reduces efficiency of gasoline but it does burn a little cleaner with the ethanol you just need to burn more of it.

qballjr13

You can not use E85 in a motor that is not set up for it. Ethanol is “ethyl alcohol”, 200-proof grain alcohol...this much alcohol in a standard motor with so many rubber parts will ruin those parts. Check out this webite, there is a lot of great information about Ethanol in it. http://www.ethanol.org/

MxdOut97

iTrader: (1)

i believe that a mixture of more than 15% ethanol will start to eat away at the rubber hoses and other rubber in the engine. we would need to do some mod. to our cars to make this work, but who doesnt mod? this stuff is cheaper and gives more power so who wouldnt. also i believe the only cars that can run this stuff so far is mainly only newer domestics, for example the grand prix, its on gm's site somewhere.

TXT-1

iTrader: (1)

Your vehicle needs to be specifically designed to run E85 like GM's Flexfuel line.

Teufelhunden

iTrader: (8)

you need to get a (FFV) flex fuel vehicle, you cant just put it in regular cars.FFVs are sold in many different manufacturers. if you do decide to put it in your car, post what happend to your car afterwards

qballjr13

If you go to the site I posted above they have a list of all the motors and cars that every manufacturer makes that can handle it.

carsarecool

iTrader: (1)

What is different about these cars do you guys know? I know no regular federal spec or even cali spec emissions car should run more than 15, i think its actually 10% ethanol but whats different in the Flex Fuel cars? E85 actually gets less mileage since it has less energy than a gallon of gas but its supposed to be more economical cause it only has 15% gasoline, although it takes these fuels to refine corn alcohol into an ethanol blend.

frankd121

iTrader: (1)

ethanol has less energy per volume than traditional gasoline - you need to burn more to achieve the same power as normal gas.

once again, octane number denotes the resistance to detonation; a higher octane number indicates that the fuel will not detonate as much as a lower octane fuel. simply put it, higher octane will not produce more power as long as the fuel that you are using does not cause detonation. most people do not notice a difference in power running high octane fuel.

It is a false notion that higher octane will produce more power. The reason why race cars use high octane fuels is because the combustion chambers see much high temperatures and pressures than the typical automobile. Consequently, they need to use a higher octane fuel to prevent detonation.

Whenever fuel detonates, it makes the car run less efficiently and potentially harms the engine. A car that does not experience detonation will feel like it has more power than a car that experiences detonation. So, running 115 octane fuel will not give you more power than running 93 octane fuel. The only time you will feel more power with higher octane fuel in a maxima is if you're making some serious power (highly modded NA's, turbo/supercharged vehicles).

Teufelhunden

iTrader: (8)

its gets horrible gas milage, but its like a dollar a gallon. plus if more people use it, it brings regular gas price down.

spiromax

The answer has already been posted.

Regardless of what you know or don't know about octane...

Regardless of how much power you'd make on E85 vs gasoline...

Regardless of how much E85 costs...

E85 is a corrosive solvent. Fuel storage tanks and dispensing equipment must be corrosion and damage resistant. Fuel pumps and hoses must also be made of non-corroding materials, and stainless steel is used for fuel tanks. Extra care is required in keeping storage tanks and delivery hoses clean and free of sediment that could be washed into a vehicle's fuel tank and cause problems.

Do not put E85 in your Maxima.

MaxKlinger

Spiromax and frankd121 have both covered important points about E85. It is corrosive. It has lower energy content per unit volume. It isn't even readily availble in most regions, so there's no point in modding your car to accept it.

If for some reason you have it available (and there's uite a few reasons why it is more difficult to distribute than gasoline) and you really want to try it get a Flexible Fuel Vehicle. Ford and GM both make several models that are like this from the factory...they have bigger fuel injectors among other changes that make them different. If you every see a Taurus that has the little symbol of a green leaf on a road, it's an FFV. Most FFVs have never actually run on E85.


Ever notice this symbol on the fender of a Taurus?

Here in NJ, most Hess stations sell E10, a blend of 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline. I run it in my Maxima all the time. I'd rather not use any Ethanol at all, but Hess is significantly less expensive....

But I completely agree. Do not run more than 15% ethanol in your car. Do not run your Maxima on E85.

doc2278

iTrader: (3)

that would mean a total system rebuild to the maxima fuel lines, tank, injectors, modified fuel curves among other things. Am I understanding this correctly? BUt e10 is ok? go figure.

doc2278

iTrader: (3)

so you would need silicone fuel lines, gaskets, stuff thats htv ( heat temperature vulcanized) quality, i see a market here!!!!!

Teufelhunden

iTrader: (8)

i saw something on ethanol today on tv. and ethanol can be used on regular cars with slight modifications. they didnt explian how, but they said it can be done.

BUSi87

I know this is kinda off subject but would 100 octane work fine with my maxima??/ I plan on mixing 5 gallons of 91 with 5 gallons of 100 octane of higher....

silverx

ethanol Only Has 70% Of The Energy Of Gas == Less Hp == Less Mpg

Sell your 255hp maxima and drive a civic.

00Max00

Also ethanol is actually much more expensive than raw gasoline without government subsidy on tax payer's money.