Last weekend @ gingerman raceway, I tested out the E85/93 octane blends that I've recently been using. I started out my first session with a 40/60 blend. After about 3 laps I had to pit in because of how bad power was cutting out in the straights. I searched for codes, and got: 29E0, and 2AAF, fuel mixture control, and fuel pump plausibility. I decided to dilute my ethanol percentage, as my LPFP was clearly maxed out. I poured in 4.5 gallons of 100 octane unleaded, to about 5-6 gallons of the remaining 40/60. The result was night and day! No codes, and a big increase in power, my next session. I also ran my fastest lap of the day in this session.
By the last two sessions of the day, My gas tank was nearly empty, and since I brought along a 5 gallon jug of E85, I mixed up a full tank of E30 (30/70). No codes, but again, I noticed a power drop from 100 octane, and my lap times were on average 2-3 seconds slower.
Conclusion: I will still continue to use E30 as it helps neutralize the exhaust smell, since I am not running the stock cast back with my kittyless dps. However, I am now convinced that the actual octane level of E85 is actually
94-96 octane, as some have been recently suggesting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E85#Octane_and_perfomance
"E85 has an octane rating higher than that of regular gasoline's typical rating of 87, or premium gasoline's 91-93. This allows it to be used in higher-compression engines, which tend to produce more power per unit of displacement than their gasoline counterparts. The Renewable Fuels Foundation states in its Changes in Gasoline IV manual, "There is no requirement to post octane on an E85 dispenser. If a retailer chooses to post octane, they should be aware that the often cited 105 octane is incorrect. This number was derived by using ethanol’s blending octane value in gasoline. This is not the proper way to calculate the octane of E85. Ethanol’s true octane value should be used to calculate E85’s octane value. This results in an octane range of 94-96 (R+M)/2. These calculations have been confirmed by actual-octane engine tests."
If this is true, then E30/E40 mixtures are in fact, barely 94 octane. whereas if you mix in 4-5 gallons of pure race gas, you end up with like 95-96 octane, which the N54 loves. It's definitely a steep cost, at $8/gallon, but from now on, I'll be filling up my 5 gallon jug with race gas, in case they run out of the good stuff, at the track. 100% E85, with upgraded fuel pumps, and injectors, seem to produce similar ET's to 100-110 octane gas, for top fuel dragsters. However, since we don't have good upgraded aftermarket pumps, and injectors, it seems that we won't be able to truly see the benefits of this fuel. Again, these are just my observations/opinions. As E85 is really popular in the N54 community right now, please don't flame me.
By the last two sessions of the day, My gas tank was nearly empty, and since I brought along a 5 gallon jug of E85, I mixed up a full tank of E30 (30/70). No codes, but again, I noticed a power drop from 100 octane, and my lap times were on average 2-3 seconds slower.
Conclusion: I will still continue to use E30 as it helps neutralize the exhaust smell, since I am not running the stock cast back with my kittyless dps. However, I am now convinced that the actual octane level of E85 is actually
94-96 octane, as some have been recently suggesting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E85#Octane_and_perfomance
"E85 has an octane rating higher than that of regular gasoline's typical rating of 87, or premium gasoline's 91-93. This allows it to be used in higher-compression engines, which tend to produce more power per unit of displacement than their gasoline counterparts. The Renewable Fuels Foundation states in its Changes in Gasoline IV manual, "There is no requirement to post octane on an E85 dispenser. If a retailer chooses to post octane, they should be aware that the often cited 105 octane is incorrect. This number was derived by using ethanol’s blending octane value in gasoline. This is not the proper way to calculate the octane of E85. Ethanol’s true octane value should be used to calculate E85’s octane value. This results in an octane range of 94-96 (R+M)/2. These calculations have been confirmed by actual-octane engine tests."
If this is true, then E30/E40 mixtures are in fact, barely 94 octane. whereas if you mix in 4-5 gallons of pure race gas, you end up with like 95-96 octane, which the N54 loves. It's definitely a steep cost, at $8/gallon, but from now on, I'll be filling up my 5 gallon jug with race gas, in case they run out of the good stuff, at the track. 100% E85, with upgraded fuel pumps, and injectors, seem to produce similar ET's to 100-110 octane gas, for top fuel dragsters. However, since we don't have good upgraded aftermarket pumps, and injectors, it seems that we won't be able to truly see the benefits of this fuel. Again, these are just my observations/opinions. As E85 is really popular in the N54 community right now, please don't flame me.