Are you tired of the headaches when it comes to dealing with bouncing back and forth between pump gas and e85? Are you tired of dealing with ethanol blends with varying ethanol percent from pump to pump? Are you tired of draining your fuel tank to guarantee a switch between fuels results in an accurate "change" between pump gas and E85?
The wait is finally over for a solution to all those problems.
Some of you may be wondering what the big deal is about a LOT of owners of performance vehicles ( especially boosted applications) wanting to make the switch to E85. The are three main reasons to utilize E85 (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline):
1. The octane rating for E85 is approximately 107-110.
2. The evaporative cooling effect allows for increased ignition timing and/or increased compression ratio.
3. PRICE!!!! E85 is currently $1.99 per gallon. Even though you have to use approximately 30-35% more volume this is MUCH cheaper than other race fuels at $8.00+ per gallon.
Here's some official info and research on ethanol from MIT (while direct injection is discussed the properties of ethanol still apply for port injection)
http://mitei.mit.edu/system/files/2006-01-rp.pdf
Here's the products I have chosen to utilize for my Flex Fuel setup.
1. DPI Ethanol Flex Fuel sensor
This sensor comes from DPI brand new and also includes a new harness plug and pins to wire up the sensor.
2. 1200cc DPI Injectors
These injectors are compatible with all types of pump, race and ethanol fuels. Bigger injectors are a must on any K series on E85. I have maxed out stock 310cc injectors using 93 octane on a stock k24a1/k20a2 setup that was naturally aspirated.
3. Walbro 400LPH E85 model from DPI
(E85 400LPH on LEFT, Walbro 255 on right)
With increased fuel demand of around 35% an upgraded fuel pump is also a must. More importantly this pump is specifically designed to be ethanol compatible. Installing an ethanol approved pump is an absolute must. People have experimented with Walbro 255's, Walbro non E85 400 versions and many other fuel pumps. The bottom line is they all fail if not specifically approved for E85. Some Evo owners using the NON E85 Walbro 400 LPH had failures after a couples months, some a couple weeks and some even as short as a few days.
4. Fuel lines
•In tank: fuel lines here MUST be approved for ethanol SUBMERSION!!!! Using fuel line not rated for being exposed on the outside of the fuel line will lead to a loss in fuel pressure when the ethanol eventually breaks down the fuel line and creates a leak in your feed line to your rail and injectors. Here's the line I used that is ethanol approved ( I even know racers who are submersing this in 100% methanol without issues)
As you can see I also modified my OEM hanger and installed -6AN feed and return fittings
Fuel feed and return lines outside of tank
Aeroquip Startlite Hose
-ethanol compatible (inside line, submersion NOT approved)
-Kevlar outer layer is fire resistant, light weight and very durable
5. Fittings for flex fuel sensor
6. KPro4
The new KPro4 supports a flex fuel sensor. This sensor is integrated into the vehicle's fuel lines to read and provide a real time ethanol percent value of the fuel. Here's a quick video:
http://youtu.be/SYoV8U04zMw
Here's a screen shot from the current KManager Beta software
As you can see there are a TON of awesome features built in. The sensor can read from 0-100% ethanol. Let's talk about each feature
Fuel Compensation:
KPro4 will adjust fuel trim based off ethanol percent. This allows the proper volume of fuel to be delivered in order to operate at a desired A/F ratio. There are two different tables that allow you to setup different values for when the car is making a power pull (closed loop = richer A/F desired) and partial throttle (open loop= leaner A/F ok).
*An additional bonus of the KPro4 over the orginal KPro and KPro2 is the ability to send an aftermarket wideband signal into the ECU. This allows you to be able to datalog and see more precisely where lean/rich spots are in the map. The KPro4 accepts analog signals and also digital signals from some of the newer widebands.*
Ethanol ECT Compensation:
ECT is engine core temp and the OEM sensor used for this is the white plug you see on the side of the head. It measures the temp of the fluid (usually a coolant/water mix) circulating through the motor. This function allows the tuner to adjust the fuel trim based on that temperature.
Ethanol Cranking Compensation:
This function allows you to adjust the amount of fuel need to initially start the motor based on ethanol percent.
Ethanol Cranking ECT Compensation:
During cold weather, especially at and below 40 degrees F, a motor needs a SIGNIFICANT increase in fuel. In some cases as much as increase by a factor of 3! This feature allows you to adjust cold cranking fuel trim.
Ignition Compensation:
Finally we get to discuss making power!!!!! This function allows a person to setup up increases in timing based on ethanol percent. Increasing timing is what is going to make horsepower and there's two main reasons why increases are possible and both reduce the likelihood of detonation (aka "knock".) The first is the increase in octane rating ( approx 107 if we have to label e85 with an octane rating and in reality you can't calculate an octane number for alcohols like other fuels using the same math) and the other is the awesome evaporative cooling effect. Go from pump gas to e85 and timing adjustments are made automatically (after your setup has been tuned of course.) Both naturally aspirated setups and all forms of forced induction can benefit from this. Until now I have been describing closed loop functions but open loop has a separate timing adjustment table as well.
Boost Compensation:
Turbo guys here you go! There might possibly be some instances where a supercharged setup would use this function but mainly I see this mostly relevant to turbo setups. If you are at the limit of detonation at a certain boost level on pump gas then switching to E85 can allow you to run more boost because of the cooling effects and increased knock resistance. You can enter values into this table that will automatically turn up the boost (boost solenoid required) based on the ethanol percent.
When you combine all of the above mentioned features it really makes utilizing E85 an option for all types of setups from mildly stock naturally aspirated cars to a dedicated all motor drag car and especially any and all forced induction setups. A flex fuel system does all of the following:
-eliminates the need for multiple maps having to constantly being loaded
-allows a person to mix/top off tank with any combination of volumes and/or ethanol content
-provides protection in the event a person fills up with what they think is E85 but is really a winter blend of E70 ( only 70% ethanol). Filling up with winter blends puts a motor at risk of detonation when a true E85 map/tune is loaded in the ECU due to fuel trim and timing values not being accurate.
-allows a car to start up immediately every time no matter what the ethanol percent is or what the current TEMPERATURE is.
Now let's get everyone on Flex Fuel setups
Please feel free to chime in and discuss :up:
The wait is finally over for a solution to all those problems.
Some of you may be wondering what the big deal is about a LOT of owners of performance vehicles ( especially boosted applications) wanting to make the switch to E85. The are three main reasons to utilize E85 (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline):
1. The octane rating for E85 is approximately 107-110.
2. The evaporative cooling effect allows for increased ignition timing and/or increased compression ratio.
3. PRICE!!!! E85 is currently $1.99 per gallon. Even though you have to use approximately 30-35% more volume this is MUCH cheaper than other race fuels at $8.00+ per gallon.
Here's some official info and research on ethanol from MIT (while direct injection is discussed the properties of ethanol still apply for port injection)
http://mitei.mit.edu/system/files/2006-01-rp.pdf
Here's the products I have chosen to utilize for my Flex Fuel setup.
1. DPI Ethanol Flex Fuel sensor
This sensor comes from DPI brand new and also includes a new harness plug and pins to wire up the sensor.
2. 1200cc DPI Injectors
These injectors are compatible with all types of pump, race and ethanol fuels. Bigger injectors are a must on any K series on E85. I have maxed out stock 310cc injectors using 93 octane on a stock k24a1/k20a2 setup that was naturally aspirated.
3. Walbro 400LPH E85 model from DPI
(E85 400LPH on LEFT, Walbro 255 on right)
With increased fuel demand of around 35% an upgraded fuel pump is also a must. More importantly this pump is specifically designed to be ethanol compatible. Installing an ethanol approved pump is an absolute must. People have experimented with Walbro 255's, Walbro non E85 400 versions and many other fuel pumps. The bottom line is they all fail if not specifically approved for E85. Some Evo owners using the NON E85 Walbro 400 LPH had failures after a couples months, some a couple weeks and some even as short as a few days.
4. Fuel lines
•In tank: fuel lines here MUST be approved for ethanol SUBMERSION!!!! Using fuel line not rated for being exposed on the outside of the fuel line will lead to a loss in fuel pressure when the ethanol eventually breaks down the fuel line and creates a leak in your feed line to your rail and injectors. Here's the line I used that is ethanol approved ( I even know racers who are submersing this in 100% methanol without issues)
As you can see I also modified my OEM hanger and installed -6AN feed and return fittings
Fuel feed and return lines outside of tank
Aeroquip Startlite Hose
-ethanol compatible (inside line, submersion NOT approved)
-Kevlar outer layer is fire resistant, light weight and very durable
5. Fittings for flex fuel sensor
6. KPro4
The new KPro4 supports a flex fuel sensor. This sensor is integrated into the vehicle's fuel lines to read and provide a real time ethanol percent value of the fuel. Here's a quick video:
http://youtu.be/SYoV8U04zMw
Here's a screen shot from the current KManager Beta software
As you can see there are a TON of awesome features built in. The sensor can read from 0-100% ethanol. Let's talk about each feature
Fuel Compensation:
KPro4 will adjust fuel trim based off ethanol percent. This allows the proper volume of fuel to be delivered in order to operate at a desired A/F ratio. There are two different tables that allow you to setup different values for when the car is making a power pull (closed loop = richer A/F desired) and partial throttle (open loop= leaner A/F ok).
*An additional bonus of the KPro4 over the orginal KPro and KPro2 is the ability to send an aftermarket wideband signal into the ECU. This allows you to be able to datalog and see more precisely where lean/rich spots are in the map. The KPro4 accepts analog signals and also digital signals from some of the newer widebands.*
Ethanol ECT Compensation:
ECT is engine core temp and the OEM sensor used for this is the white plug you see on the side of the head. It measures the temp of the fluid (usually a coolant/water mix) circulating through the motor. This function allows the tuner to adjust the fuel trim based on that temperature.
Ethanol Cranking Compensation:
This function allows you to adjust the amount of fuel need to initially start the motor based on ethanol percent.
Ethanol Cranking ECT Compensation:
During cold weather, especially at and below 40 degrees F, a motor needs a SIGNIFICANT increase in fuel. In some cases as much as increase by a factor of 3! This feature allows you to adjust cold cranking fuel trim.
Ignition Compensation:
Finally we get to discuss making power!!!!! This function allows a person to setup up increases in timing based on ethanol percent. Increasing timing is what is going to make horsepower and there's two main reasons why increases are possible and both reduce the likelihood of detonation (aka "knock".) The first is the increase in octane rating ( approx 107 if we have to label e85 with an octane rating and in reality you can't calculate an octane number for alcohols like other fuels using the same math) and the other is the awesome evaporative cooling effect. Go from pump gas to e85 and timing adjustments are made automatically (after your setup has been tuned of course.) Both naturally aspirated setups and all forms of forced induction can benefit from this. Until now I have been describing closed loop functions but open loop has a separate timing adjustment table as well.
Boost Compensation:
Turbo guys here you go! There might possibly be some instances where a supercharged setup would use this function but mainly I see this mostly relevant to turbo setups. If you are at the limit of detonation at a certain boost level on pump gas then switching to E85 can allow you to run more boost because of the cooling effects and increased knock resistance. You can enter values into this table that will automatically turn up the boost (boost solenoid required) based on the ethanol percent.
When you combine all of the above mentioned features it really makes utilizing E85 an option for all types of setups from mildly stock naturally aspirated cars to a dedicated all motor drag car and especially any and all forced induction setups. A flex fuel system does all of the following:
-eliminates the need for multiple maps having to constantly being loaded
-allows a person to mix/top off tank with any combination of volumes and/or ethanol content
-provides protection in the event a person fills up with what they think is E85 but is really a winter blend of E70 ( only 70% ethanol). Filling up with winter blends puts a motor at risk of detonation when a true E85 map/tune is loaded in the ECU due to fuel trim and timing values not being accurate.
-allows a car to start up immediately every time no matter what the ethanol percent is or what the current TEMPERATURE is.
Now let's get everyone on Flex Fuel setups
Please feel free to chime in and discuss :up: