Where I live there are stations that have E85 it’s not even remotely close to the accessibility of 93 octane which is available at every single gas station. I don’t want to make a special trip to a different gas station and E85 burns so fast which means I would have to go out of the way more often. Flex fuel takes car of it but for me personally, 93 is what I want because it’s there, everywhere.

 

well I really don’t think that anything is built to run exclusively on E85, it’s either fossil fuel or flex fuel. So you can set it up to run on 93 all the time, but if you decide you want to get a little more from your motor, then u can seek out E85, but to each their own.
and while 1000hp is becoming more common, make no mistake, these are race motors. And expect for the Plaid, they are all going to be pretty temperamental and require substantially more maintenance and tuning than the typical consumer vehicle. So driving it a lot will be tough.

 

why would someone put E85 in a street car? I don’t really get it tbh. We have 94 octane in some places here

 

you can run E85 in a stock ‘05 Dodge Stratus. It wasn’t conceived as a race fuel, it was conceived as an alternative to fossil fuels and just happen to have a really high octane equivalent rating for much less cost than airplane fuel.
E85 is equivalent to like 105 octane or something much higher than is available otherwise.

 

It makes a big difference in HP all other things being equal. For many enthusiasts it’s a big deal. It’s just not a personal preference to me but among enthusiasts I’m probably in the minority.

 

i completely am too, don't think i'd ever be fully happy without the nice sound that accompanies the way a good engine builds power... some say it's just an association thing, but what is an engine if not just a big wind instrument! you've got air passing through valves and then acoustically oscillating in a pipe to make tones, the way air is supplied just differs lol... the renault F1 team even used to run a special program on the car to make that fantastic 18000 rpm V10 play god save the queen


and yes knowing how to work the gears and really get the most out of the engine is very engaging and satisfying from a driver involvement perspective, in keeping with the analogy i guess it's like being the conductor of your orchestra lol... engines aren't perfect and have various flaw and nuances, but i think that's part of what gives a great engine a memorable character

 

So E85 adds power?

 

higher octane rating means higher compression or more boost, advanced timing, all will add substantially more power than regular 93 oct

 

Your car has to be tuned to use E85 or support flex fuel, or install a flex fuel kit which requires a tune. I know a few people who blown their engine using ethanol. It won't just add power. You Toyotas only supports 10 percent Ethanol

 

Exactly, for a turbo engine it’s a game changer.

 

i am not suggesting anything can make more power simply by putting in E85, I am talking about a vehicle that has been built using the correct hoses and pumps and have a engine controller that will recognize what fuel is going into into the motor instantly and at all times regardless if you have a mixed tank. And it adjusts the boost and timing to maximize performance for the type of fuel your using.

 

Oh yeah I got that. I just was making it clear to Jill that just by putting E85 in your tank doesn't equal more power

 

Because E85 burns so fast in the GTR world you need bigger injectors to handle the increased fuel flow.

 

I would think your going to need bigger injectors in anything that reaches 1000 hp is going to require some bigger injectors. All I am suggesting is you can build something that makes 800-900 hp on 93 and when your going to the track or something and want have the option for a lethal kill setting, you can fill it up with E85 and be able to hit the 4 digit area in HP, and then the motor wouldn’t have to be so radical and would be easier to drive on the roads for daily driving. Cause no matter how u build it, 1000 hp is more than u need or can make in most daily driving. You would blow the tires off every time you you left a stop light. So it’s just uncommon to have anything setup to make that much power in 1-3rd gear.

 

Yeah no doubt about that, forgot we were talking about 1000hp cars. Even for a tuned GTR on stock turbos you need new injectors to run E85 which is what I was trying to say and thats only for 600+ hp applications. The other benefit is it runs much cleaner, no black soot coming out of the exhaust.