| Author | Message | ||
     Tomzhog |
i would like to know if anyone is running E-85 in their XB's i have 2003 9r K&N Jardine race ecm just wanted to throw it out there | ||
| Gunut75 |
NO! The XB's fuel injection system is NOT designed for the E85 fuel. I don't think it will even run. | ||
| Greg_e |
It should not be able to force enough liquid in the chamber to work, the injectors are close to their limit now. Also the rubber parts are probably not e85 tolerant, and you do know that you get about half or so for the mileage on e85... That means it would be like running your 3.7 gallon tank only half full. | ||
| Jstfkndi |
Nobody sounds like they are, but doesn't mean it can't be done. Buell is a weird bike, but I know they have conversion kits for Japanese bikes and other watercooled models. My guess is that a 9 would do better with it than 12 because of the compression. Had an Explorer with E85 capabilities and it would only get about 3/4 of the gas mileage it would when I put straight gas in it. Doesn't seem worth the trouble, but if you are environmentally conscious.... | ||
| Greg_e |
E85 is supposed to be less than half the price, so if you get a little better than half the miles you come out ahead. I would say there is little preventing the Buells from E85 if you step up the fuel pump volume and put in bigger injectors. Then check the rubber parts to make sure they are OK for the alcohol. And then start programming the computer to handle the changes. Good thing is that you should be able to bump the compression ratio way up and not worry about detonation. 12 motor with 9 pistons or higher would be the choice. | ||
| Froggy |
Greg_e is correct. The way E85 cars run it is by using extra large fuel injectors and some tweaks to the ECM programming. The E85 is more corrosive than gasoline so you may run into issues with various fuel system parts deteriorating faster. The extra high octane is nice, some cars are programmed to take advantage of it and advance the timing to increase power. | ||
| Greg_e |
If I was making the machine to run on e85 all the time, I would find a way to seriously boost the compression ration. Would be good for turbo applications too. If you invest enough time and money into fuel system components you should be able to have it be a multi fuel vehicle just like the other cars. Also something I want to work toward down the road if I can get a few things put back together. | ||
| Chase12s |
I've ran 100LL airplane fuel through mine on several occasions. Didn't seem to hurt it but these bikes run best on 93 octane pump gas. | ||
| Jstfkndi |
Out of curiosity, I know the cars have teflon lined tanks because ethanol is more hydroscopic. Is that overkill? I feel that if you ride enough and the temps stay pretty solid with humidity not being ridiculous, should seem to be fine without. I have always liked E85 applications, but on certain models (like my FOrd) I lost power and mileage, but on Dodge's Caravan appl., they got 2 more hp and better mileage? | ||
| Union_man |
2 more HP in the minivan?   I bet the guy running the Dyno had to shower when you left. | ||
| Jstfkndi |
Hahahaha! The numbers weren't from my testing! It was an article in Car and Driver (I think), where they did a comparo of all the Flex fuel vehicles. They have to get the numbers somehow.... | ||
| Froggy |
Pretty much, but it is a precaution the OEMs take because they don't know if you are going to be driving to Mexico on a daily basis, or if you are a grandmother that only uses the car to go to church and the supermarket.
The more power is easily understandable as cars can tuned to take advantage of the higher octane when they detect the ethanol. I am not sure how they pulled of the higher mileage, as E85 has only about 72.3% of the energy content of plain gasoline, so you will notice a hit good hit on your MPG. The E85 is usually quite a bit cheaper than gasoline, so depending on your area it may be economically worth it. | ||
| Greg_e |
They also say that e85 is not good in very cold environments because it won't start the engine, in winter the plan is to switch to something closer to e50. The aluminum tank in our Buells should be fine. |
