E-85

[shortman]

I have an '87 N/A Supra that I bought/stole from someone that was tired of it for $350. Great and fun car to drive. My question - has anyone here had any experience with converting one of these to run on alternative fuels such as alcohol or a blend such as E-85?

[shortman]

I'm going to start to convert this "project car" of mine probably next summer to running on 85% ethanol or higher. Will try to keep all posted.

[TcmaBoy]

If you are going to run on E-85 you will probably need to rebuild the motor. E-85 is some harsh stuff. You will have to prep it just like any other alcohol motor. You will want to change out the rings and valves, and have your pistons coated. Stainless parts are a plus. You will also have to change out your fuel system. E-85 will eat rubber. You will also probably need a different 02 sensor and cat.

It is a lot of work to get the motor ready, but there is some power potential. E-85 has an octane rating around 100, so you can turn up the pressure. One thing to be aware of when tuning. Gasoline is stoich at an AFR of about 14.7:1, E-85 is around 9.6:1. You will need to dump about 30% more fuel into the motor. Make sure you size your fuel pump and injectors accordingly.

[TDG]

Everything ^ said.

In the end you'll have a car you poured thousends into and ontop of that you'll have to fill up twice as much as you do now. Sure it will be diffrent than other cars and if thats what you're going for then go for it. I'd just build the motor for some racegas hehehe

[shortman]

Ok - this is the third time I've tried to post this. Thanks for the replies. This is a pretty rough car - and it's just one of what the wife says is "too many" cars that I have - which is why it doesn't scare me to play around with it in regard to E-85. The fuel system will have to be upgraded in regard to the properties of alcohol for sure - which shouldn't be that bad. I might do a few things to the motor but not much - if it goes I'll rebuild it. Alot of folks here in the midwest have converted various vehicles to run on this stuff with very little problems other than the fuel system. E-85 has been around for quite awhile here, and we are fortunate to have it readily available. Yesterday it was 70 cents cheaper a gallon than E-10 which is cheaper than dino gas here - at the pump. It certainly has its pros and cons. It burns clean but is tough on parts and mileage is of course is less - and it does start harder in cold weather - but I have started it at 10 below time after time. If I paid someone else to do what I plan to do it would cost quite a bit, but we do our own stuff so it's just parts and time. I'll keep a list of the mods - but please know that I can't get started until my wife graduates this spring from college - my middleclass paycheck is dedicated to her tuition at this time. I think it will be a fun project. Let me know if any ideas you may have.