[DailyN54]

I just wanted to share my experience. When I first got my stage 3 pump and PI I was very excited to run a full e85 tune but more so not have to worry about mixing my fuel. After the install I drove around for almost 2 hours trying to run out of gas. Finally, I was at 0 mile range and drove about 6 miles to a Shell gas station pumped in what I thought was e85 and filled up. It turned out that the e85 was only e53! Decided to try to give it a go and ended up with misfire in cylinder 6. Car was not happy either was I. A friend gave me the heads up on a e88 verified pump. It was crazy the amount of difference that made.

Yesterday I saw a 135i DTC with pure stage 2 turbos and e50 tune put down only 323 whp also his AFRS were in the 14 range throughout the entire midrange. I asked him if he had a analyzer and he said he did not. We concluded that his car was running that way because of poor fuel quality.

Without an analyzer there is no way to know what your really running. Just a side note. So far every speedway I have been too has had really great e85. Just thought I would share.

[mojobmw_e90]

I recommend mobil. In Chicago the 3 mobil gas stations I have tested with e85 all 3 tested out e70+. One of them happened to be e90 and closest to my house. Every time I fill up e60 I measure my e85 content and mix accordingly

[Turbo_power4ever]

why don't the stupid pumps have analyzers instead??? lol

[Grand_hustle17]

Oh woow

[DailyN54]

Its crazy that the e85 is not regulated to a certain standard. I don't understand how they can sell you e53 and still call it e85.

[TrollToll]

I really think the gas stations should have a report on hand regarding what's in their reservoirs. It would make sense to test upon fuel delivery and to keep the paperwork on file in case of complaints or problems.

[csu87]

Originally Posted by DailyN54

Its crazy that the e85 is not regulated to a certain standard. I don't understand how they can sell you e53 and still call it e85.

It is regulated but the latest regulations allow all the way down to e51. Used to be e70 was the lowest you could go

[pits200]

Why would gas stations care about ethanol content of their e85? The point of e85 isn't to appease enthusiasts, it's for flex fuel vehicles which already have analyzers built in to adjust ECU based on the e85 content.

[Chris@VargasTurboTech]

Originally Posted by pits200

Why would gas stations care about ethanol content of their e85? The point of e85 isn't to appease enthusiasts, it's for flex fuel vehicles which already have analyzers built in to adjust ECU based on the e85 content.

That's true but it'd be nice.

[BQTuning]

Yea, very important to check your ethanol content. Long time ago I use to remember the station I use to frequent has a threshold of at least 70% ethanol. For some reason now that sticker is gone

The only station I have found that guarantees nothing less than 70% ethanol is the Sunoco station that provides E85 pumps.

[dwspen01]

I like my str8shot bluetooth ethanol analyzer.

[ferocity02]

It's a good idea to have the sensor even if you know the ethanol % coming out of the pump. If you are continuously mixing E85 with premium the little errors can accumulate over time leaving you with something that isn't even close tho what you hoped for.

[DailyN54]

^+1

[335is-dct]

Doesn't make sense that your friends car would run that lean due to bad fuel. The car targets lambda, and trims would attempt to compensate for the fuel change. If anything trims would be very negative and the car would run rich if the e85 was too diluted with 93.

[DailyN54]

Originally Posted by 335is-dct

Doesn't make sense that your friends car would run that lean due to bad fuel. The car targets lambda, and trims would attempt to compensate for the fuel change. If anything trims would be very negative and the car would run rich if the e85 was too diluted with 93.

I was told that it was the fuel. Dont know all of the details because I had to leave. My main point is that knowing what fuel your running is imperative especially when your running maps designed for e85 and the fuel is actually e50ish.

[str8shot]

Originally Posted by dwspen01

I like my str8shot bluetooth ethanol analyzer.

Thanks bud!

[335is-dct]

I guess it's possible his trims maxed and car kicked into open loop.

[JasW]

Originally Posted by csu87

It is regulated but the latest regulations allow all the way down to e51. Used to be e70 was the lowest you could go

The newer ATSM standard of 51% to 83% actually went into effect over 3 years ago. Most states adopted the standard as part of their fuel regulations within the following year. Essentially, the floor was dropped to 51% to make it easier to meet minimum vapor pressure. Certain states like California have low-vapor pressure regulations, and distributors in those states were having a hard time under the previous standard getting a fuel blend that met those vapor pressure regs. So they just didn't make it available. Now they do -- and it can be as low as E51.

[alexve90]

Anyone know the octane rating of say e51 from the pump? I've read that e85 is 100-105 octane which is one advantage of e85 but I couldn't find the octane rating of e51. Also from reading a few articles it seems they mix ethanol with a lower grade gas like 87 octane. Question is, if verified at the pump that e51 is what is actually being pumped out, can you just use that without the usual mixing of 93 and e85 to achieve e50-e60 and have the same octane?

[csu87]

Originally Posted by alexve90

Anyone know the octane rating of say e51 from the pump? I've read that e85 is 100-105 octane which is one advantage of e85 but I couldn't find the octane rating of e51. Also from reading a few articles it seems they mix ethanol with a lower grade gas like 87 octane. Question is, if verified at the pump that e51 is what is actually being pumped out, can you just use that without the usual mixing of 93 and e85 to achieve e50-e60 and have the same octane?

if you confirm its e51 at the pump, you dont have to mix to get e50


e50 is around a 95/96 octane

[bigdnno98]

Originally Posted by alexve90

Anyone know the octane rating of say e51 from the pump? I've read that e85 is 100-105 octane which is one advantage of e85 but I couldn't find the octane rating of e51. Also from reading a few articles it seems they mix ethanol with a lower grade gas like 87 octane. Question is, if verified at the pump that e51 is what is actually being pumped out, can you just use that without the usual mixing of 93 and e85 to achieve e50-e60 and have the same octane?

according to an octane calculator I just used, 50/50 87/e85 would equal 96 octane. Whereas 50/50 93/e85 would equal 99 octane. That's a big difference and I'm sure they're putting crap gas in that e51 mixture. The Speedway gas stations around my house regularly have e85-e90. I mix that with 93 with great results. A flex fuel sensor is a must have though when running ethanol.

[adidoman]

There's still an e85 station near me that has the minimum 70% sticker on it. I just started blending and I'll have to test it to see what it's at.