Humboldt County thread
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Shoot I would be all over E85 if they had a closer pump! they are running it in portland all over with a tune, they have 3 Different Stations that supply it! the closest that I could find were San Fran, Klamath Falls, or Eugene. And Because I have an EcuTek Tune I was told that I wouldnt be able to hook up a laptop without the software they used to monitor engine rpm's and diagnostics. But then again I havent had too much experience with monitoring or editing the ECU Diagnostics, and Have heard from others that EcuTek Locks out the ECU. But later when we eventually meet we'll see what we can do.
Do you have a laptop and a Tactrix cable, or some way of taking logs? If so you could take some RPM ONLY logs and we could plug them into the Airboy spreadsheet. It reads a little higher than an MD, but it is great for checking the state of your tune, as well as little tweaks.
i run an AVC-S boost controller, so it is especially helpful. That and it is fun to do 4th gear pulls and lay them over my baseline
IMO you should skip the meth. It adds more moving parts that will quickly destroy an engine if they fail. E85 is the future, although it is not likely CC will see it soon. Race fuel tho...but to all their own. At least make sure you have a system that will cut boost if you run out of meth or if it stops pumping.
i run an AVC-S boost controller, so it is especially helpful. That and it is fun to do 4th gear pulls and lay them over my baseline
IMO you should skip the meth. It adds more moving parts that will quickly destroy an engine if they fail. E85 is the future, although it is not likely CC will see it soon. Race fuel tho...but to all their own. At least make sure you have a system that will cut boost if you run out of meth or if it stops pumping.
Last edited by ViperWRX; Jun 2, 2010 at 02:43 PM.
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Shoot I would be all over E85 if they had a closer pump! they are running it in portland all over with a tune, they have 3 Different Stations that supply it! the closest that I could find were San Fran, Klamath Falls, or Eugene. And Because I have an EcuTek Tune I was told that I wouldnt be able to hook up a laptop without the software they used to monitor engine rpm's and diagnostics. But then again I havent had too much experience with monitoring or editing the ECU Diagnostics, and Have heard from others that EcuTek Locks out the ECU. But later when we eventually meet we'll see what we can do.
Renner will be offering E85 in eureka soon
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Ya, the plan is:
Eureka, Arcata, Mack-Town, Willow Creek and Garberville.
Do me a favor thought guys...call Renner and tell their fuel guy that you are VERY interested in E85 in Fortuna. The more people call the better the chance I get a local pump...along with the local Modded car crowd!!
BTW, E85 is still waiting on permits...so it will be 6 months AT LEAST...closer to a year
Eureka, Arcata, Mack-Town, Willow Creek and Garberville.
Do me a favor thought guys...call Renner and tell their fuel guy that you are VERY interested in E85 in Fortuna. The more people call the better the chance I get a local pump...along with the local Modded car crowd!!
BTW, E85 is still waiting on permits...so it will be 6 months AT LEAST...closer to a year
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Well we have a renner station here, I wonder if I should go have a chat with them to see if they will be offering it or if they are considering it. E85 is cheaper than Premium and has more octane, its a no Brainer!
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Ya you should. Just be aware that Ethanol has it's own caveats, and it is not necessarily the magical fuel solution that many think it is.
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Who is hating?
Increased fuel consumption, due to decreased energy output from Ethanol, will require larger and more expensive injectors. With 30r and bigger setups you will also need to look at upgrading your fuel pumps and fuel system.
E85 is not always 85%. To ensure you know the proper % you would need additional gauges in your fuel system. Otherwise you will have to leave a lot on the table with your tuning, or tune yourself everytime you encounter different percentages of Ethanol.
Limited geographic availability, which is especially an issue when combined with the shortened travel range. If you plan on taking your car anywhere without Ethanol, you must still have a pump gas map when running Ethanol. This is fine if you run an Access Port, but it could limit your ECU options as well as increase your tuning bill.
Also, there is a limit to the amount of corn that can be produced in the US in a year. The supply also depends on seasonal conditions. Cellulose Ethanol is a possibility that will greatly increase the Ethanol supply, but it is not here yet.
It stands to reason that as Ethanol demand increases, so will cost. Combined with the 20-30% decrease in efficiency, it could end us costing us more to fill up with Ethanol. There are other reasons that cause the cost of Ethanol to fluctuate as well...
I am sure I have left out a few things. You will also notice that I did not include any of the positives, which was intentinoal.
Some tuners love it, some do not. There are valid answers to each side of the question.
In the end, it is a good alternative to gasoline...especially with the increased octane rating. What I am saying, however, is that it is not a "magical" fuel that cures all ills with no negatives. It is fine if you live in the Midwest, or an area with a bunch of local stations with cheap Ethanol.
Obviously that is not always the case.
Increased fuel consumption, due to decreased energy output from Ethanol, will require larger and more expensive injectors. With 30r and bigger setups you will also need to look at upgrading your fuel pumps and fuel system.
E85 is not always 85%. To ensure you know the proper % you would need additional gauges in your fuel system. Otherwise you will have to leave a lot on the table with your tuning, or tune yourself everytime you encounter different percentages of Ethanol.
Limited geographic availability, which is especially an issue when combined with the shortened travel range. If you plan on taking your car anywhere without Ethanol, you must still have a pump gas map when running Ethanol. This is fine if you run an Access Port, but it could limit your ECU options as well as increase your tuning bill.
Also, there is a limit to the amount of corn that can be produced in the US in a year. The supply also depends on seasonal conditions. Cellulose Ethanol is a possibility that will greatly increase the Ethanol supply, but it is not here yet.
It stands to reason that as Ethanol demand increases, so will cost. Combined with the 20-30% decrease in efficiency, it could end us costing us more to fill up with Ethanol. There are other reasons that cause the cost of Ethanol to fluctuate as well...
I am sure I have left out a few things. You will also notice that I did not include any of the positives, which was intentinoal.
Some tuners love it, some do not. There are valid answers to each side of the question.
In the end, it is a good alternative to gasoline...especially with the increased octane rating. What I am saying, however, is that it is not a "magical" fuel that cures all ills with no negatives. It is fine if you live in the Midwest, or an area with a bunch of local stations with cheap Ethanol.
Obviously that is not always the case.
Last edited by aboothman; Jun 3, 2010 at 08:08 PM.
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I'm hearing what your saying abooth.... BUT in my case my high compression motor can make some really decent power gains by doing this......wrx injectors and a web tune. Now I know that sounds expensive but really I think its worth it.....and I will take a 30% loss in extra fueling and replace it with the % cheaper e85 is than regular gas. I don't use access port, I use ecuflash and enginuity, and the laptop is always in the car If I have to reflash it while on a long trip.
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Way to jump on the bandwagon and drastically oversimplify a complex topic 
I am not saying that E85 is a "bad" thing. I am saying that it has some properties that make it less than magical, and that anyone who considers running it needs to educate themselves on the pros and cons.
I'm hearing what your saying abooth.... BUT in my case my high compression motor can make some really decent power gains by doing this......wrx injectors and a web tune. Now I know that sounds expensive but really I think its worth it.....and I will take a 30% loss in extra fueling and replace it with the % cheaper e85 is than regular gas. I don't use access port, I use ecuflash and enginuity, and the laptop is always in the car If I have to reflash it while on a long trip.
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Way to jump on the bandwagon and drastically oversimplify a complex topic
I am not saying that E85 is a "bad" thing. I am saying that it has some properties that make it less than magical, and that anyone who considers running it needs to educate themselves on the pros and cons.
I am not saying that E85 is a "bad" thing. I am saying that it has some properties that make it less than magical, and that anyone who considers running it needs to educate themselves on the pros and cons.
