What, if he leaves 6 degrees of timing out of your E85 tune "just in case" (and therefore a ton of power and throttle response)?
If you have a spot on 93 tune and you go fill it up with 87 and put a window in a piston, nobody is going to say your tuner "doesn't know how to tune."
This is a conversation between me and 04sleeper on SVTP. Apples to oranges with your 87 to 93 comparison, that is extremely different than the e70 to e85 comparison. I would imagine you have never ran e85 before? and if e70 is such a lower octane than e85, why havent I put a window in my block yet? I've filled up on gas that had an ethanol content lower than 80% multiple times, granted it was above 70% too. You're talking about a tuner that has absolutely no idea what he is doing tuning for ethanol.
Originally Posted by
jymboslice
Hey man, I saw your post about E85 in the distillery and have a question.
Is there a difference in the octane or ethanol rating in E85 during the summer months when compared to E85 in the winter months? I heard that E85 is actually like E70 in the winter months. Basically, is there any difference in E85 in the winter months compared to the summer months - is what I'm wondering.
I'm looking at getting an E85 tune in the springtime and am wondering if I should wait until the summer to get the tune.
Thanks!
The Octane rating of E85 does not drop off until you get to about the E50 mark. Depending on the supplier of E85, they may choose to lower the ethanol content down to E70 for winter months. This is done for easier starting in cold climates. But adding more gasoline will raise the cost of the fuel so sometimes they don't change it. Here in Texas they do not change to Winter blend.
If you would like to test the amount of Ethanol it is pretty simple.
You can buy a simple Ethanol tester like this one.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/qf...FXGRPAodcWMAfQ
Here's a thread on testing it.
First time testing E85
If your tuner knows what he is doing, tuning for winter blend will not be a problem come summer time.
You won't see much of a power difference between E70 and E85 either. Both will make around the same.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Originally Posted by
jymboslice
Hey, thank you for the response. I appreciate it!
My tuner will most likely be
Amazon or JPC racing, I would guess that they know what they are doing?
Both tune, but I am not sure of their experience tuning E fuels. I would check into making sure that whoever you choose is comfortable tuning E85 as there are many differences.
I'm going to get one of those Ethanol testing kits and test the E85 in my area.
Good idea. I recommend keeping one handy and testing on a regular basis to help you understand your area.
So, if I were to get an E85 tune right now (Using E85 available right now/Winter in MI) I would be ok to use the same tune for the summer blend of E85? All depending on if the supplier changes the ethanol content to E50 or not. I'm not sure if that makes sense or not, this is the first time I've been messing around with E85.
I would not need two tunes - one for the winter blend (E70, depending on if the gas station switches) and one for the summer blend (Normal E85), right?
Thanks again
You tuner should have the ability to provide you one tune for both E85 and E70. If you test the fuel and you actually have E85, then if you fill up with E70, your car will just run a tad richer and won't harm anything.
If you test your fuel and see you have E70, then tune it a bit on the rich side to begin with and come summer blend you will still be fine.
One of the great things about E85 is that it has a very wide "Sweet Spot" when it comes to A/F.
Your tuner should know all of this. (Hopefully)