I still need those floor mats! Lol. On jack stands right now, can't do much! I think there's another zMax event the second weekend in August.

Scored some feet of a 5-wire cable from work and soldered in the sensor connector tonight. I really dislike electrical/wiring work, but I'm getting better at it.

I really don't want to clutter up anywhere on my dash with this gauge that displays the ethanol percentage, but its necessary to run the sensor properly. I think I'm going to just Velcro it up under the dash to the left of the steering wheel (kinda near the fuse box). That way its out of sight, held in place, and I can easily reach it and pull it down to see the reading if I feel like it.

 

e85 in NC doesnt make since due to the cost, e85 isnt much cheaper than 87 at the few stations we have it so no "normal" people will use it.

What ecu are you using? Aem v2 and infinity have native flex fuel controls and dont need the analyzer box.

 

Yeah, unfortunately I have Haltech. I didn't realize until the other day that the AEM v2 had that firmware update a while back that allows you to wire directly in with the sensor signal; that's pretty awesome!

And you know very well that we aren't "normal" people, lol. I get what you are saying though. If it doesn't appeal to the masses then no one will make/sell it.

 

If it makes you feel any better my truck will run on b20 diesel and I've yet to come across it in any state.

 

Glad to see ya pushing the limit there!
Couple of questions that I am sure you have answers to from your research, if you do not mind.
1) Are there lines, sensors, etc, even the fuel pump that has to be alcohol compatable? Will all your shit erode away in a years time due to the E85?
2) I thought you needed way over sized injectors for E85 like in the 2000cc range and like duel fuel pumps for E85 and that gas milage will be like 3 miles per gallon?
3) What horesepower gains do you expect to see at what fuel ratio?
4) Expect you will have to spend some time at the dyno but what fuel ratio due to tune to?
and lastly could you have not gotten the power you wanted by going to a relative simple meth injection system? Also I do understand you are doing this just to do it as well and kudos for that. You know I am not a hater just curious. Plus you know if it all works out for ya I will probably do it to o!!!!

 

Lets start at the tank and work to the engine: All fuel tanks starting in the 80's or something were federally mandated to not rust under conditions like this, so they are fine. The Aeromotive 340 pump is compatible with E85. No one running stock lines have had an issue running E85 through them. The fuel rail is aluminum, no problems there. The AEM pressure regulator is good for E85. The sensor I just installed is obviously made for E85. And the ID1000's are good for E85 as well.
This was the most confusing part of the research process. Mixed and limited info on exact setups, and I'm still not 100% on how the results will be. I do know that I can raise the base fuel pressure if the injectors are reaching their limits. I'd imagine that I will at least need to be at a 50 PSI base pressure and still have the ID1000's around 90-95% duty cycle at redline. But with how linear our SC power curve is, that demand would only exist in the top end and for a short time. If I went to ID2000's I think I'd need at least another inline pump to keep up with the injectors, but I could retain stock base pressure. Its all a bit of a black art in my opinion, lol.
I think Ben will still tune me for 12 AFR on E85, same as on my 93 octane tune. But he will be able to advance the timing more which brings on the power gains. He may be able to run it leaner because E85 burns cooler; I'll leave that to him. I'm at 393 WHP on Ben's SuperFlow dyno with the 93 octane tune. I'd expect around a 30 WHP gain and love anything additional. I'll be floored if I see 450 WHP.
You just asked that question, lol! I'd assume 12 AFR just like the 93 octane tune, but Ben will know best.
I dunno, lol. Moddiction didn't have much luck at this power level with meth injection.
Yeah I know. I just think its an awesome way to make some extra power and be a bit different.
LOL!

 

So here's part of the reason why I'm putting off the wiring, lol. This is how the flex fuel sensor, Zeintronix ECA gauge, my AEM wideband failsafe gauge, and the auxiliary port on the Haltech ECU will all be wired together.



I got absolutely nothing done this weekend and I'm going out of town for the start of the week. Going to be a busy night on Wednesday or Thursday. Hopefully it cools down some.

 

Thanks for the knowledgeable reply as always. One follow up question:

View PostDaGou, on 27 July 2014 - 12:43 PM, said:


4) Expect you will have to spend some time at the dyno but what fuel ratio due to tune to?

You just asked that question, lol! I'd assume 12 AFR just like the 93 octane tune, but Ben will know best.

When I said fuel ratio I did not mean Air to Fuel ratio I meant E85 to 93 Octane. I think I know the answer but let your research shine here once again. I believe the beauty of this system is that it does not matter. Any percentage of alcohol to gasoline is somehow covered by the sensors you are installing. But what does the computer do with this data? Shift the timing advance table?

 

In the above diagram I do not see the AEM WBFS O2 sensor any where. Is that already wired in and you just did not show it?

 

Correct Wally; I only showed the wires that I care about for this install. The AEM WBFS is already fully wired in, I just took note of the wires that I need to look out for and interface with.

Now I understand what you meant by fuel ratio, sorry. Ben will tune on E85 the next time I see him. Then he will basically tell the Haltech to use that tune if I'm on E85, use the other tune if I'm on E10(ish) (which would be 93 octane), and to linearly interpolate between the two tunes for any ratio in the middle. The Haltech will alter fueling and timing tables accordingly based on the observed ethanol percentage.

All together I have $80 for the sensor and harness plug, $6 for the two adapter fittings, $12 (?) for some 100 psi fuel line, $180 for the Zeintronix ECA gauge, and I didn't pay for the wire from work. So let's call it $300 total. If I had an AEM v2 ECU (or the new Infinity) instead of the Haltech I wouldn't have *needed* the Zeintronix gauge, thus cutting the price by more than half.