Anyone running E85 on an open engine?

[Bobq16]

I was wondering if anyone is running E85 fuel. I know a lot of guys are using it on a crate engine but I don't know any with an open engine. If you have any experience please let me know what you think of it. It is becoming pretty popular at local gas stations in my area. I have used it in my truck a couple of times and only lost almost 1 gallon per mile or less. The low price of the E85 more than makes up the difference. Thanks for any help, Bob

[Dirtracer50]

I've been using it for 10 seasons now and have been very happy with it. Cost was the reason I started using it as well and tho it's gone up in price a lot around here it's still the most economical race fuel I've found. I always check every batch I buy to be safe but have found it's pretty consistent at my local fueling station.

[Bobq16]

If it doesn't check out to your specks can you do anything to it to make it right or just not use it? How does it compare to alcohol in terms of amounts used per race. Does it run cool like alcohol? Any problems with water in your oil? Thanks for the information

[3dracer]

We ran it for several seasons. I liked it a lot because of price. The local stations are not very accurate around me so we ended up mixing it ourselves. We bought e98 and mixed it with gas to get our percentage. We used right around 2 gallons more per night than gas and found no water in the oil like the alcohol.

[Bobq16]

Where do you find E98? Can you get that at a gas station or from a speed shop? 2 gallons a night isn't much at all. I have been running alcohol for a short time just because of the price of race gasoline (almost $9 a gallon here for 114 octane). We seem to always have water in the oil so I change it after every race night. Plus all of the carb maintenance. It almost doesn't seem worth the cost savings to run alcohol. Do the E85 carbs require so much maintenance? Do you have to drain them after racing?

[powerslide]

Bob what kind of compression are you running? You might not need 114. I'm not trying to steer you away from E-85 just making conversation. A lot of people over octane stuff

[JustAddDirt]

Where do you find E98? Can you get that at a gas station or from a speed shop? 2 gallons a night isn't much at all. I have been running alcohol for a short time just because of the price of race gasoline (almost $9 a gallon here for 114 octane). We seem to always have water in the oil so I change it after every race night. Plus all of the carb maintenance. It almost doesn't seem worth the cost savings to run alcohol. Do the E85 carbs require so much maintenance? Do you have to drain them after racing?


I am assuming you are getting baby crap color looking oil????
if so that is alcohol in the oil, not water.
I always tell people to run a 180º thermostat with alky. if you race early and late in the season and it is cold use a 195º thermostat in cold times.
alky like to run best around 185-195º. (I my experiences)

I built a pure stock for a customer that we chose to run the E-85. (about 13.5:1 compression)
He buys 1 drum a Renegade E-85 for the early and late season, and uses pump E-85 during warmer months.
Running a 180º thermostat in it, and it runs right on the thermostat temp. oil is clean as can be.
Smells like cheap tequila.

Ethanol is just as corrosive as Methanol.
in all my years of racing using methanol, I never drained anything fuel related, unless I took a couple weeks off, then I would drain bowls, and put a little 2 stroke oil in bowl threw vent to keep acc. pump soft.
I do the same thing to winterize carb and fuel pump, fill with 2 stroke oil. then about 2 days before I plan on using it, flip it over and drain oil out.
I do the same thing with my gas carb for winter storage.

[dirtracerl77]

I second the thermostat for alcohol. Methanol & ethanol both need temp to fully combust. I have been running methanol since 2000. I change my oil every 5 nights. It looks the same coming out, as it did going in. 180 degree thermostat all the time.

[Dirtracer50]

If it doesn't check out to your specks can you do anything to it to make it right or just not use it? How does it compare to alcohol in terms of amounts used per race. Does it run cool like alcohol? Any problems with water in your oil? Thanks for the information

I have added E98 before to bring up the ethanol content as well. I typically use around 12-14 gallons in a race night on a pretty fast and heavy 3/8 track. I would typically use over 20 gallons of methanol on the same track. E85 definitely runs cooler than gas but not as much as methanol. I've never noticed any issues with milky oil and usually run 6-8 nights on a a good synthetic oil between changes. I also havent had near the corrosion issues as I did with methanol. I normally add marvel mystery oil to all my fuel to add a bit of lube to it and have had no problems with it for a few weeks at a time. I still flush my fuel system over the winter and clean and lube the carb and pump for safe measure.

[HEAVY DUTY]

I like it. Runs cooler than gas. Uses very little more than gas. Cost roughly 1.50 to 1.60 a gallon in the summer. The only drawback I can see is that you have to check it with a $15 tool to make sure it doesn't have too much gas content, which is only in the late fall to spring. Buy 2 or 3 barrels in September before the mixture changes and you are good to go. Same fuel pressures and pump as gas. They say it is good to 13:1 compression, but I don't have that much.

[Bobq16]

Powerslide I'm running just under 15:1

[Dirtracer50]

You may want to do some more research before trying E85 my experience is anything over around 13:1 is getting close to detonation issues.

[MLR19]

We have ran pump e-85 at 14.5-1 for several seasons with no detonation issues. Like any other fuel you need to make sure timing is correct & good radiator/ fan setup. We always run a 180 degree thermostat. Our open motors run around 180 Degrees. 604 crate runs about 200-205, because you are pulling it so much harder.

[daytonagary]

we ran it all last season on 2 open engines. did nothing except buy a good E-85 carb from Pro systems and bolt it on. Changed nothing else and engine sounded and ran better than race gas. cooler running, crisper sound, suppose to be 5% more power. Many say they don't flush system after each night of racing but we do add upper lube in the E-85 and also disconnect fuel line from fuel pump and run the pump and carb dry then pour unleaded gas with upper lube in it down the vent tubes and through the accelerator pumps after each night of racing. Locally our E-85 pump gas is 76% E-85 consistently all year round. As low as $1.49 a gallon sometimes. $2.09 right now over the holidays. NO more spending up to $100 per night on race fuel.

[Bobq16]

Dayton. Any problems with the 76% ?

[daytonagary]

Bobq16 No problems of any kind. All benefits, no negatives. Ran in 3 different engines from flat top limited late model with flat tappet cam to full roller open wheel a mod with high compression, 650 lift roller cam, rhs heads, etc. etc.