rmh3093

Is anyone running 100% E-85 in their car?

4MySwee

iTrader: (2)

Wouldn't that ruin the engine?

That wood grain alcohol is the worst thing for our cars, even in small doses (ie "It only has 10% ethanol")......

fuzionSE

you gotta have the fuel system for that stuff i think. And wouldnt that change the tune you have on your car? GM has a special ecm that controls the mix pre- injector spraying. **** the sales man shot in my ear

upstatemax

iTrader: (15)

Without a reprogram a Maxima can't run E-85.

Prophecy99

iTrader: (1)

....is 85 even available at typical pumps?

89 91 93.....95(sunoco ultra)

and arent all those 10% ethanol neway you get it?

rmh3093

i though that our cars could handle up to 20% ethanol so E-85 shouldnt be an issue.... E-85 is higher octane and with an EU you could add more timing safely probably... I was actually just wondering about it for the cost savings and im interested in the science of alternative fuels....

DasYears

E-85=\ 85 octane

Froggmann

iTrader: (6)

Not available in CA CARB and AQMD have not given thier blessing.

DasYears

which is funny, im surprised its not law to run either hybrid or E-85 in CA

opanick

iTrader: (1)

Maximas are not flex fuel cars

flxsunxchick

iTrader: (2)

Most stations around here, (Florida), either don't have ethanol in their fuels, or don't advertise it. I just stick with Shell (V-Power) since it's a top teir fuel...and my car thanks me for it.

rmh3093

I might be wrong about this, but FFV (flex fuel vehicles) is a GM trademark or something which designates which of their vehicles are designed from the factory to run on E-85 or gasoline.... which does not necessarily mean a Maxima can't run ethanol

i doubt GM cars have computers that are smart enough to detect whether or not you are using ethanol or gasoline so most likely any ECU adjustments are made from O2 senson info just like a maxima would adjust for 87-93 octane gasoline

DasYears

ford uses it too, not just a trademark. there is a tuning difference

absoundlab

93 ftw. I would never put 85 in my car.

rmh3093

E-85 has an octane rating thats +100.... which means you can safely bump timing with something like the EU and get more HP....

you could probably bump the base timing to something like 20deg

DasYears

..............

DasYears

actually you need to bump the timing a bunch just to get the same performance numbers as with pump gas. its more effective on boosted cars since you can bump the timing a bunch without worrying about detonation. advanced timing with boost - detonation = big gains

TurtleHead

A gallon of ethanol contains roughly 66% of the energy of a gallon of gasoline. However, as it is most commonly blended, E85 contains 71% of the energy of gasoline. In actual use, drivers can expect a fuel economy reduction of at least 15% relative to gasoline. Some auto manufacturers are installing larger fuel tanks, so the range of FFVs is similar to gasoline vehicles. Power, acceleration, payload, and cruise speed of vehicles operating with E85 are comparable to those operating with equivalent conventional fuels.

So I say, "F___ E85"

Source:
http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/afv/eth_vehicles.html

rmh3093

yes E85 makes less power per gallon than gasoline does, however it is cleaner to the environment and it costs way less than gasoline so even if you have to fill up more often you still pay less per mile you travel

BMWHIGH1

No alternative fuel for my Max! I only feed it the best! 93, and believe me it begs for it!

DasYears

i couldnt care less about the environment, while at the same time i couldnt care more about power. i also dont care that it costs another 5c per mile for me to get 15% more power. sounds like me and 91(highest pump octane here) are a perfect match

TurtleHead

You spend more money on E85 then a regular fuel because you have to fill it up even faster.

There will never be enough resources to mass produce E85 anyways.

I've been running 87-89 Octane for over 78k miles with no problems at all. Occasionally I will put in 91, but rarely.

Maxgig

iTrader: (5)

E-85 wont hurt these cars I use it periodically and get about 360 miles per tank no matter what I fill up with, (normally 87 octane). Oh yeah I also occasionally use octane boost, (going against the svc manual) and if I use royal purple oil I won't change my oil until I've driven 10k miles whether it takes me 6, 8, or 10 months to do so too. You get where I'm coming from; the Maxima oil/gas myth is BUSTED.

DasYears

oil/gas theory's arent one size fits all. what works for you might burn a hole in another persons piston. you cant say "well i got 360 miles on a tank of E-85, so you should too".

PS: anything that makes you slower sucks. by that logic, E-85 sucks

4MySwee

iTrader: (2)

I couldn't disagree more^^^^^

If Nissan says no more than 10% (It says it specifically in the manual), then why in the world would you say that it wouldn't hurt the car?

I wish you the best about your car, I will not do that to mine.....

DasYears

at first i thought you were disagreeing with me, got a little confused when the post agreed with mine though. same time posting FTL

PadawanKnight

iTrader: (1)

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/download.shtml

check some of the vehicles that you can run E-85 with...my wife's van, for example, is a 2001 Chrysler Town & County with a 3.3L ... check the fuel economy difference when running with E-85

rmh3093

what is your point here exactly.... I've never been in a FFV, do they have a switch for E-85 or normal gas? i bet not, that means the tuning is not going to be as efficient as a car that tuned for E-85 specifically or gasoline specifically, is that what you are pointing out?

but my question was who is actually running it, not if you think it sucks

DAP

E85 is 85% ethanol and our cars can handle up to 15%. Our fuel system wasn't designed to handle the alcohol since it is more corrosive than gasoline.

nlmaxima

iTrader: (10)

"most likely any ECU adjustments are made from O2 senson info just like a maxima would adjust for 87-93 octane gasoline" The timing is usually adjusted by the Knock Sensor on the Maxima and on most cars. If the ECU is told by the Knock Sensor that there is knock detected then it will retard the timing, that is how the Maxima and most vehicles do it. GM, Ford, and Chrysler have been ahead of the game with what there Ecu's can detect and make adjustments on. I suggest you do a little research on E-85 before you decide to put it in the tank of a Maxima. E-85 = 85% Ethanol 15% Gasoline

Maxgig

iTrader: (5)

[QUOTE=DasYears]oil/gas theory's arent one size fits all. what works for you might burn a hole in another persons piston. you cant say "well i got 360 miles on a tank of E-85, so you should too".

True you are correct especially since a lot of guys here run nitrous, turbos and in some cases super chargers, (my Max is stock). But to straight out say that these cars should "ONLY" use the highest octane gas or certain type of oil is a total lie and leads to the younger guys here believing and further spreading those lies as the .ORG truth.

Stereodude

You can buy E-85 at quite a few of the Meijer gas stations around Detroit. I would never put it in my Maxima though. The fuel system isn't design to handle the corrosive nature of it.

Stereodude

The car does make more power on 91 octane or better. If you weren't worried about power, why even buy a max. I hear the Honda's are nice.

rmh3093

i never said I was close to running E-85.... but I am interested in doing so in the future

nlmaxima

iTrader: (10)

I only suggested that you do some research on E-85 before you decide to use it. I didn't imply that you were close to running E-85 and I would suggest not running it but I thought it would be more informative for you to do some research to see why you shouldn't run it.

TurtleHead

Max's are family sedans......let's not forget that.

I've noticed no power difference between octanes, that's just me. Does anyone have any dyno #'s running 87 vs 91+?

rmh3093

i also realize that some parts might need to be replaced... and I didnt mean to sound defensive in that last post, what I meant was I have lots of work to do before I run e85, and yes research is needed

i just though someone would have already done an e85 conversion

rmh3093

the maxima can be what ever you want it do be, and I believe there is a sticky with the dyno results of someone running 93 vs. someone running 87 and the results are obvious... the knock sensor messes with timing and you loose power/fuel economy

TurtleHead

I don't have that problem running 87 or 89...hmmmm

AlpineGt66

iTrader: (8)

not yet

ps. anyone running E-85 in a maxima is a dumb A$$ period.