Sorry if this topic has come up before, but with gas prices going out of sight, maybe it is worth revisiting - E85. For those of us that have access, E85 is about $.25/gal cheaper than regular, and yes I know that mileage is not as good with ethanol. But at 25 cents cheaper, mileage can be made up for.

I am about to start putting an engine together for my 1800, and wonder what I would need to do to tweak and engine to burn E85. I have both an SU B18 and B20e, with some knowledge of the dreaded d-jet. So what do you think?

--
Kent - too much iron, too little time

Feed the corn to livestock or eat it yourself - if picked soon enough it is
GREAT!! "I have given you every flowering plant for food........."
or, (worst case) drink the stuff. But don't burn it in your car.
I think I told you what happened when I filled "Righteous" with
"oxygenated" (pre-burned) fuel in Colorado. Plugged up the filter
and the fuel line out in the middle of Rocky Mountain National Park
with 7 of us in the car. Fortunately the weather was nice and we were
able to blow it out and get back on the road in less than an hour.
But I have little respect for those who would waste something good
like corn on something as mundane as motor fuel.
--
George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!

IMHO, I don't think you should do that. Running 85% alcohol is going to be bad for your rubber seals. You will need to change the timing and your fuel milage will drop considerably. Not worth the expense to convert. Just wait a week and the gas prices will come down.

Klaus
--
98 V70Rawd(101Kmi), 95 854T(85K mi), 75 164E(173K mi)

Klaus and George,

Yeah, I know, corn squeezin's are for drinkin'. But alcohol has been a fuel for a long time in other parts of the world. The Germans used it in their tanks in WWII.

Klaus - Yup that alcohol eats up the old rubber. I almost blew myself up because I didn't find one small hose in the fuel line of my 164E, in which I burn E10. The 1800 I am redoing is going to be ALL new, so it will have NO rubber in it what-so-ever, even if I DON'T burn ethanol.

If I decide to do this, I will make all of my findings known on this board...


p.s. Don't hate me George ;>)


--
Kent - too much iron, too little time

My big complaint with alchohol is its propensity to absorb moisture. Whereas thats great for keeping corrosion down, it wreaks heck with the specific energy of the fuel over time... especially if you don't drive the girl all winter!

OTOH, you could probably up the CR a little and gain back some of the lost power (or was that for propane, darn I've gone and confused myself).

--
Mike!