{"id":1571,"date":"2018-04-11T17:59:34","date_gmt":"2018-04-11T21:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/?p=1571"},"modified":"2018-04-11T18:09:50","modified_gmt":"2018-04-11T22:09:50","slug":"the-big-fuel-test-e85-versus-all-the-winner-is-crowned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/2018\/04\/11\/the-big-fuel-test-e85-versus-all-the-winner-is-crowned\/","title":{"rendered":"The Big Fuel Test: E85 Versus All\u2014The Winner is Crowned!"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<header class=\"entry-header clearfix\" style=\"background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; color: #333333; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; height: 186.15px; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 30px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; visibility: visible; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;\">\n<h1 class=\"entry-title\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; color: #000000; font-family: &amp;quot; roboto slab&amp;quot;,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 48px; font-weight: 500; line-height: 48px; text-transform: none; margin: 20px 0px 15px 0px;\">&nbsp;<\/h1>\n<div class=\"entry-meta\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px;\">\n<div class=\"avatar\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin-right: 20px;\"><a class=\"author\" style=\"background-color: transparent; border-bottom-left-radius: 50%; border-bottom-right-radius: 50%; border-top-left-radius: 50%; border-top-right-radius: 50%; box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; display: inline-block; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.enginelabs.com\/author\/bobmorreale\/\"> <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"80\" style=\"border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; box-sizing: border-box; height: 50px; vertical-align: middle; width: 50px; border: 0px none #337ab7;\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.enginelabs.com\/wp-content\/userphoto\/bobmorreale.thumbnail.jpg\"> <\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"byline\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; color: #a5a5a5; display: inline-block; margin-top: 15px;\"> By <span class=\"author vcard\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\"> <a class=\"url fn n\" style=\"background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c5c5c; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.enginelabs.com\/author\/bobmorreale\/\">Bob Morreale<\/a> <\/span> <\/span> <span class=\"posted-on\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; color: #a5a5a5; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;\">April 03, 2018<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<p>This article is the fifth and last of our Big Fuel Test series (Article 1: <a style=\"background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff5d1f; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.enginelabs.com\/engine-tech\/dyno-testing\/introducing-the-race-fuels-octane-additives-and-injections-showdown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Introduction<\/a>,&nbsp;Article 2: <a style=\"background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff5d1f; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.enginelabs.com\/engine-tech\/dyno-testing\/the-big-fuel-test-boostane-adds-24-rwhp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BOOSTane<\/a>,&nbsp;Article 3: <a style=\"background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff5d1f; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.enginelabs.com\/engine-tech\/dyno-testing\/the-big-fuel-test-meth-injection-adds-42-rwhp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Meth Injection<\/a>, Article 4: <a style=\"background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff5d1f; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.enginelabs.com\/engine-tech\/the-big-fuel-test-part-4-race-fuels-fight-back\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Race Fuels Fight Back<\/a>), which spanned 13 different test fuels, octane additives and injections. During this final installment of the series, we review the ethanol-based fuels (E85, C85) and get the results of this power-making shootout, all of which was performed at&nbsp;<a style=\"background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff5d1f; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thetuningschool.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Tuning School\u2019s facility<\/a> in Odessa, Florida.<\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-content\" style=\"background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #474747; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;\">\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">After all this testing, it was clear there would be two fuels left slugging it out for the victory. Ethanol (E85) and methanol injection were the two clear winners leading up to this pivotal point in the article series.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">The results of all tests are in, so let\u2019s get to it!<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">Testing in this final round were the following fuels and injections:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px;\">\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">Pump E85 from a local station (40-percent as tested from the pump)<\/li>\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">VP Racing\u2019s C85 (40-percent for consistent testing and fuel system limitations as well)<\/li>\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">VP Racing C85 plus meth injection (40-percent for consistent testing and fuel system limitations)<\/li>\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">VP Racing C16 plus meth injection<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">Just to be clear: we were limited to 40-percent ethanol testing for two reasons. The first reason is simple\u2014that\u2019s what actually came out of the pump when we bought \u201cE85,\u201d which typically varies from tank to tank. This means that the concentration of ethanol was actually only 40-percent, and gasoline made up the remaining 60-percent. We would have preferred it be what it claimed (85-percent ethanol, 15-percent gasoline) but that\u2019s what it actually was. As it turned out anyway, due to fuel system limitations, we couldn\u2019t run any higher than 40-percent ethanol. The volume of fuel the car required exceeded our test car\u2019s ability to provide it. So for those reasons, we didn\u2019t increase the concentration and performed all tests at 40-percent ethanol concentration. This is a common issue with direct injected vehicles without heavy fuel system modifications.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\"><span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: underline;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;\">Results:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">Here are the&nbsp;results for the pump E85 versus 93 octane pump gas:<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\"><a style=\"background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff5d1f; display: block; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http:\/\/cdn.speednik.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2017\/11\/the-big-fuel-test-part-5-e85-vs-all-a-winner-is-crowned-0001.jpg\" rel=\"shadowbox[sbpost-215725];player=img;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1016\" height=\"758\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-215726\" style=\"border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; height: 663.99px; max-width: 890px; vertical-align: middle; width: 890px; border: 0px none #ff5d1f;\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.speednik.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2017\/11\/the-big-fuel-test-part-5-e85-vs-all-a-winner-is-crowned-0001.jpg\" data-lazy-loaded=\"true\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"ad responsive-ads clearfix apply-responsive-ads clearfix with_sidebar select-cluster_1 processed\" style=\"width: 990px; height: 250px; padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 60px; clear: none; font-size: 16px; margin-top: 50px; margin-bottom: 50px; margin-left: -30px; display: block; visibility: visible; max-width: none; box-sizing: border-box;\" data-select-cluster=\"cluster_1\" data-banner-count=\"\" data-group-reponsive=\"desktop\" data-displayed=\"cluster_1\">&nbsp;Pump E85 was a killer fuel after tuning, as it made a solid 618 rear-wheel horsepower on our <a style=\"background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff5d1f; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mustangdyne.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mustang Dynamometer<\/a>,&nbsp;soundly defeating our baseline fuel of pump 93 octane gasoline at 574 rear-wheel horsepower. It also beat 93 octane plus meth injection (we\u2019ll call that 93+MI) by 2 horsepower\u2014and as you know I\u2019m going to point out, <em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">that\u2019s in the margin of error<\/em>; which means it\u2019s not enough to call a true winner.<\/div>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">That\u2019s right, if you recall from <a style=\"background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff5d1f; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.enginelabs.com\/engine-tech\/dyno-testing\/the-big-fuel-test-meth-injection-adds-42-rwhp\/\">article #3 of this series<\/a>, our 93+MI runs resulted in a roller spin measured at&nbsp;616 rwhp.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">Let\u2019s take a moment to let the internet burn to the ground. That\u2019s the end result??? The power output of pump fuel plus meth injection against E85 showed virtually the same result? I can only imagine the flame wars brewing in the interwebs! We just started automotive World War III, so to speak.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">Not happy with leaving this alone\u2014having a shared winner&nbsp;for our series\u2014we performed several more tests to help us declare a final winner. With pump E85 now sharing the winner\u2019s crown with 93+MI in a tie for the victory of the entire test series, we thought maybe <a style=\"background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff5d1f; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.vpracingfuels.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">VP Racing\u2019s<\/a>&nbsp;C85 could be a clear victor. So we drained the pump E85 out and filled up with C85.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">As we hoped, the race fuel came through and made a show of its strengths. Check out the results below. 93+MI results are the solid lines, and dashes are VP Racing\u2019s C85.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\" style=\"background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #474747; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;\">\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\"><a style=\"background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff5d1f; display: block; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http:\/\/cdn.speednik.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2017\/11\/the-big-fuel-test-part-5-e85-vs-all-a-winner-is-crowned-0002.jpg\" rel=\"shadowbox[sbpost-215725];player=img;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1021\" height=\"762\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-215727\" style=\"border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; height: 664.23px; max-width: 890px; vertical-align: middle; width: 890px; border: 0px none #ff5d1f;\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.speednik.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2017\/11\/the-big-fuel-test-part-5-e85-vs-all-a-winner-is-crowned-0002.jpg\" data-lazy-loaded=\"true\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">Now with a clear victory in hand, we should have stopped. 629 rwhp was clearly the best result to date, and made a solid case for VP Racing C85\u2019s superiority over 93+MI\u2026 the debates began among our own staff. We knew the cries of the meth injection junkies would be coming in fast and furious upon reading these results; how we needed a race fuel version of E85 to beat meth injection and lowly pump gas\u2026 How it wasn\u2019t really pump E85 that won. VP Racing\u2019s C85 won: the pure race version was needed to make it the winner. What could we do?<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">So, we ran two more tests\u2014and the surprises kept on coming. The roller coaster had two more twists before we were able to close out this series and call a real winner.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">In order to be fair, we decided to give the meth injection camp another chance to win, by running the best non-ethanol fuel we had tested (VP Racing\u2019s C16) with meth injection on top. Surely this would bring the meth injection camp the glory we know they seek. Sadly for them, the car made&nbsp;<em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">less<\/em> power with C16 plus meth injection than it did with 93+MI. We were able to make only 605 rwhp after exhaustive testing. We had suspected this could happen, with too much octane creating such a slow burn that we simply couldn\u2019t make the power we hoped for.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">So, as we said earlier, we had a clear victor and should have stopped. But we took a request from the meth injection camp for one last and final test. What if we tested VP Racing\u2019s C85 plus meth injection?<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">What if we combined both for one last test, just to see? That\u2019s where the internet begins to burn down again. Behold, the&nbsp;<em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;\">Final Test Results<\/strong><\/em> and <strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;\"><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">the winning fuel combination<\/em><\/strong> of the entire series:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" id=\"attachment_940694\" style=\"background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 930px; width: 930px; border: 0px none #474747;\">\n<p><a style=\"background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff5d1f; display: block; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http:\/\/cdn.speednik.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2017\/11\/the-big-fuel-test-part-5-e85-vs-all-a-winner-is-crowned-0003.jpg\" rel=\"shadowbox[sbpost-215725];player=img;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"757\" class=\"wp-image-215728 size-full\" style=\"border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; height: 690.2px; max-width: 930px; vertical-align: middle; width: 930px; border: 0px none #ff5d1f;\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.speednik.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2017\/11\/the-big-fuel-test-part-5-e85-vs-all-a-winner-is-crowned-0003.jpg\" data-lazy-loaded=\"true\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\" style=\"background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-left-color: #ff5d1f; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 4px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6a6a6a; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; padding-left: 15px; text-align: left; margin: 20px 0px 15px 0px;\">Making 632 rear-wheel horsepower and 558 lb-ft of torque, the winner of our series is\u2026 the combination of VP Racing C85 with meth injection!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">Again, we\u2019re left with one inescapable conclusion\u2014E85 and meth injection are both amazing options and both are better than pump gas alone. They fight for each last horsepower and came out virtually identical in all our testing, and when combined together, they worked even better. Maybe that will help quench the internet fire over the superior solution. Maybe it will just generate more chatter. Who knows\u2014but it\u2019s up to you, the reader, tuner, engine builder, whomever is reading this, to look at the charts and determine what\u2019s best for your actual combination.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">To help with that, here\u2019s some more data.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">Here\u2019s our final results chart, with all fuels, octane enhancers and injections we tested:<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\"><a style=\"background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff5d1f; display: block; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http:\/\/cdn.speednik.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2017\/11\/the-big-fuel-test-part-5-e85-vs-all-a-winner-is-crowned-0004.png\" rel=\"shadowbox[sbpost-215725];player=img;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"673\" height=\"401\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-215729\" style=\"border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; height: 530.29px; max-width: 890px; vertical-align: middle; width: 890px; border: 0px none #ff5d1f;\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.speednik.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2017\/11\/the-big-fuel-test-part-5-e85-vs-all-a-winner-is-crowned-0004.png\" data-lazy-loaded=\"true\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; text-align: center; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">Below is a chart showing percentage gains:<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\"><a style=\"background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff5d1f; display: block; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http:\/\/cdn.speednik.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2017\/11\/the-big-fuel-test-part-5-e85-vs-all-a-winner-is-crowned-0005.png\" rel=\"shadowbox[sbpost-215725];player=img;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"643\" height=\"363\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-215730\" style=\"border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; height: 502.44px; max-width: 890px; vertical-align: middle; width: 890px; border: 0px none #ff5d1f;\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.speednik.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2017\/11\/the-big-fuel-test-part-5-e85-vs-all-a-winner-is-crowned-0005.png\" data-lazy-loaded=\"true\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">The 5-10-percent gains you see above (30-60 rwhp gains) using just different fuels are very impressive. When you understand that a decent camshaft upgrade on an LS\/LT Engine will also net 5- to 10-percent gains (30-60 rwhp gains) over a stock camshaft, you can see how important it is to choose&nbsp;<em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">and tune<\/em> the correct fuel for your application!<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">There is one more way to look at these results. You can look at these from a perspective of dollars versus improvements. In the chart above, we can look at the results from 93 and BOOSTane (4.2-percent) to VP Racing\u2019s C16 (5.4-percent) and see a trend. You can get about 5-percent more power than pump gas for a small upfront investment. That means, you can simply add BOOSTane into the tank, or any of those race fuels <em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;\">and with the right tuning<\/strong><\/em>, gain about 5-percent power over 93 octane pump fuel; about 30 rwhp in our example.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">However, in the chart above, it looks like once you start getting about 6-percent gains and higher the costs go up pretty quickly. Looking from 93 plus Boost Juice (5.9-percent) and higher gains, the up front costs go up at least $500 due to the parts needed for a good meth injection kit. Assuming you\u2019re going to inject methanol, you\u2019ll need a good kit of about $500-$750.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">Assuming you\u2019re going to run one of the ethanol-based fuels, you\u2019ll need larger injectors ($500-$1,000) and potentially more fuel system components (another $500-$1,000). So, depending on your budget, you can have roughly 5-percent more power for very little cost up front, or 6- to 10-percent more power with a bit more money outlay ($500-$2,000 for fuel system upgrades).<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;\">E85 Pros<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px;\">\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">Made the highest power of all testing we performed, including the best race fuels<\/li>\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">Ongoing costs of operation are very low compared to race fuels<\/li>\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">Average cost per gallon comparable to pump gas<\/li>\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">Easily available in many states<\/li>\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">Well supported and commonly used in the aftermarket performance industry<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;\">E85 Cons<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px;\">\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">Up front costs to set up your vehicle to run it can be high (injectors, fuel pump, lines, etc.)<\/li>\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">Quality and concentration can vary from pump to pump (E85 may not always be 85-percent Ethanol)<\/li>\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">Quality and concentration can vary from season to season (winter blend is different than summer)<\/li>\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">Cold starts can be difficult<\/li>\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">Tuning make take more time and cost, but most can be automated to adjust for changes in fuel quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;\">Tuning Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">Ethanol-based fuels are not something we recommend a beginner tuner attempt to work with. To do a good job and not wash down the cylinders, the tuner should be able to tune the combo in question on pump gas in his sleep. In relation to that, we always recommend you finish tuning the vehicle on pump gas first before going and switching to an ethanol-based fuel. We do this for a few reasons, the first being most tuners can easily recognize issues with the tune when working with pump gas. They can easily spot a mechanical problem and not mistakenly cover it up with tuning changes. Second, it allows you to show a baseline pull or pulls, with power progressing as you make spark changes, until you finish and find the best possible power on pump gas. After that, you can change out the fuel for an ethanol-based fuel, retune and know for sure what kind of gains really came from changing fuels.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">The ethanol-based fuels are also best tuned using Lambda method instead of air\/fuel ratio due to changing stoichiometric ratios from the changes in fuel quality. For example, filling up with \u201cE85\u201d that turned out to be only 43-percent ethanol, would have a stoichiometric value of 12.18:1, but E85 has a stoichiometric value of 9.77:1. Due to the fact that these are constantly changing from fill up to fill up, it\u2019s easier to tune using Lamba\u2014because Lambda never changes. If you aren\u2019t familiar with how this works, have a look at the table below, taken from The Tuning School\u2019s GM Advanced Level 2 course.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\"><a style=\"background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff5d1f; display: block; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http:\/\/cdn.speednik.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2018\/03\/big-fuel-test-part-5-e85-versus-winner-crowned-2018-03-15_15-35-22_700571.jpg\" rel=\"shadowbox[sbpost-215725];player=img;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"263\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-215732\" style=\"border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; height: 243.82px; max-width: 890px; vertical-align: middle; width: 890px; border: 0px none #ff5d1f;\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.speednik.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2018\/03\/big-fuel-test-part-5-e85-versus-winner-crowned-2018-03-15_15-35-22_700571-960x263.jpg\" data-lazy-loaded=\"true\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">In this case, VP Racing\u2019s C85 preferred Lambda of .85-.87, while pump \u201cE85\u201d preferred .82-.84, a bit richer. Look at the chart above to equate that to gasoline AFR, if you are used to working or thinking like that.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">VP Racing\u2019s C85 also preferred 23 degrees of spark advance, while \u201cE85\u201d preferred 22-23.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">Tuning for wide open throttle is simple, once you get the correct Flex Fuel tuning set up with a good Ethanol content sensor. Without such a sensor, you are constantly monitoring the Ethanol content of each fillup, and then manually changing the Stoichiometric value in the tune, which is a real pain and reiterates the need for a quality Flex Fuel tune. Another aspect of the tuning process with ethanol-based fuels to keep in mind is your wideband sensor and gauge. If your wideband reads in AFR, then you will see the same AFR you are used to working with during gasoline based tuning, unless it has an option to change it to know what fuel it is working with, and you have changed it to know it\u2019s working with ethanol. If your wideband reads in Lambda, then it will not be affected\u2014which is another reason to tune using Lambda when working with any ethanol-based fuels.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">One last component to this evaluation is the human factor. We decided to ask a few industry expert friends and a few who work with us. We asked if they preferred meth injection or E85, and why.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">Ron Mowen, owner of <a style=\"background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff5d1f; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.vengeanceracing.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vengeance Racing<\/a>,&nbsp;said: \u201cI think they both will ultimately make similar power, but E85 is much safer in the long run if you can justify the fuel system costs associated with it.\u201d Vengeance Racing is known for building some of the nation\u2019s fastest LS\/LT powered vehicles, including road race and airstrip attack cars.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">Tony Gonyon, owner of <a style=\"background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff5d1f; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tunersincperformance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tuners Inc.<\/a> and also The Tuning School\u2019s Ford course instructor, said he \u201cprefers E85&nbsp;<em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">if they have the proper supporting mods<\/em>, if not then meth injection is fine.\u201d Tuners Inc. is known as one of the premier tuning shops in the nation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">Stephen Taylor from <a style=\"background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff5d1f; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/vcmstore.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">VCM Performance<\/a> in Melbourne, Australia noted that E85 is far more popular in Australia\u2019s performance market.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">Brett McClelland, one of our instructors at The Tuning School, noted that E85 is most popular among the students they teach.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">Our other instructor,&nbsp;Josh Hofstra, noted that E85 is great for knock control in high-horsepower builds (1,000-plus) from experience, and meth injection can also be great.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">My personal opinion is that the correct answer depends on the engine and build you have, who the customer really is, and how much budget can be put into the vehicle. If you can commit to the money needed for an ethanol-based solution, you have good ethanol-based fuel readily available in your area, and you are going to have a proper Flex Fuel tune done, then you have a great option for maximum power. However, I still prefer meth injection for most solutions, due to ease of installation and history of performance, as I have used this solution personally and professionally since 2003 with success.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">I have seen too much variance in ethanol\u2019s performance to consider it any type of reliable replacement for a race fuel in a high-dollar build. I do believe race fuels are still best when you aren\u2019t building on a tiny budget, and you have a lot of money in the engine that could be saved with a quality fuel. If ethanol is still your hangup, they make C85 for that: a known-quality ethanol-based race fuel I can live with on the expensive builds.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\"><span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: underline;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;\">Tuning Results &amp; Fuel Evaluation:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">Testing and tuning of the ethanol-based fuels was as difficult as doing the meth injection tuning. If you or your tuner isn\u2019t familiar with tuning either E85 or meth injection, you\u2019re in for a long day on the dyno. Just like tuning meth injection, ethanol or E85 is fuel you are introducing into the combustion process. Unlike gasoline, it burns differently and at different rates. The quantities needed are different: more E85 is needed than gasoline, typically 20- to 35-percent more. E85 is the designation for an ethanol-blended fuel where ethanol makes up 85-percent of the content, and gasoline 15-percent.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">E85 has a few issues you need to take into account before using it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">Understanding why E85 makes better power than pump gas&nbsp;is important. Depending on who you ask, your answers will vary \u2013 but we have a few of those reasons from our conversation with Freddy Turza, Technical Manager at VP Racing. One of those reasons worth mentioning that you probably haven\u2019t already heard is called Hydrodynamic Pressure. This term means that due to the extreme rich mixture required of E85 to produce power, a byproduct is extra compression from the space taken up by the fuel in the combustion chamber. Extra compression creates extra power, plain and simple. However, Freddy noted that the E85 craze is subject to poor quality from pump to pump or time to time.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">From our perspective, this makes it even more important that your tuner perform a good flex-fuel tune so the ECM can recognize the ethanol content as the fuel flows into the engine from the tank. This means your tune will automatically adjust the Stoichiometric air\/fuel ratio and spark settings as required by the changing ethanol content from pump to pump.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">The final evaluation of what fuel is right for you rests in your hands. In summary, you can gain about 5-percent more power than high-octane pump gas for very little investment because of great products like BOOSTane, and VP Racing\u2019s MS103 or MS109. Just drop it in the tank, tune it and roll. When you want 6- to 10-percent more power is where the questions begin to arise, and the winning combination of fuel plus meth injection or E85\/C85 will be entirely up to you to evaluate. I\u2019d suggest keeping an open mind for your combination, and to even test and see what benefits your combination best.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">Remember this \u2013 to be the winning racer doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you have the newest and best stuff. Sometimes the winner is the one with the most time testing and experience to really dial in their combo, making the most power possible from the build, right down to knowing the best possible fuel. Thanks for reading our series, and stay tuned for our next series \u2013 where we test injections like you\u2019ve never seen or heard of before.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; By Bob Morreale April 03, 2018 This article is the fifth and last of our Big Fuel Test series [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-techpost"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1571"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1571\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1574,"href":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1571\/revisions\/1574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}