E-85....Coversion?

[jugriggs]

Ive been running my 96 saturn sc100 on e85 for two years now. Check engine light its on, no failures or any other problems over the past two years. When gas gets down to 2.10 and lower I run 87.

I was thinking about running my 2000ssei on e85. What the hell coult it hurt. Some people say the rubber orings on the injectors will get ate up. Its a 2000..I couldnt imagine it being straight rubber. Some type of polly blend. Should hold up to the e85. Any ways I can trick the ECU to run a little more rich without buying bigger injectors or a tunner?

[lowrider0308]

Bad idea without all the proper parts, tuning, ect. E85 has a different power output per gallon than regular pump gas. You should never run an SSEi on anything less than premium anyway! If it causes an SES light on your Saturn, why do you continue to do it. Sure, it may still run, but it obviously wasnt made to run on it. You will pay eventually. Anyway, I cannot fully answer your question on what it would take, but I know my Flexfuel Silverado has modified injectors, tuning, o-rings, fuel lines, ect from the factory to be able to run E85. I see no point with the power and MPG loss anyway (plus i have read you should not tow on it). It has not been done here yet. You should talk to SacrementoE85 (or something like that). He loves E85 and wants everybody to run it. He might be able to help you.

[00Beast]

No, the o-rings are rubber, as are the fuel lines. They'll disintigrate under E85. It's not the octane that worries me, as it's 105 octane, but it's the increased fuel consumption and other factors that make it not good for a DD. Some of the guys with 500+ CI turbo big blocks in the area swear by it, as it's street legal and much better than 92 for their combination, but it's not a viable option for a daily driven car, unless it's factory installed, and currently 87 is cheaper per mile to run, as it's not much more expensive than E85.

[GoldenBullet]

Simply throwing E85 in your tank would be a very bad idea. With a proper conversion it can be done with success and if you're set on running E85 then i suggest you look into that.

[jugriggs]

My saturn has been on it for two years. Maybe I will regret it but I paided $150 for the car...its been worth it. In indiana E-85 is worth it over 87...depended on the price of fuel. Right now 87 is back up to 2.39. E-85 is 1.50 at the co-op and 1.63 at gas america. My saturn goes fro 31mpg down to 26mph....its worth it.

[GoldenBullet]

E85 makes cars made for gasoline run lean, correct? ( I'm not very up on E85 in this regard) The main point of concern with you ssei compared to your Saturn, is that with the supercharger, a lean condition can be much more devistating than it would be in a naturally aspirated car such as your Saturn. If you want to run E85, which you have clearly stated that you want to, more power to you, but do it properly.

[Greyhare]

Will it make the engine run lean? Yes and no. As soon as the PCM goes into closed loop mode the O2 sensor feedback will tell the PCM to adjust the fuel trims. The O2 sensor does not care what the A:F is, it "sees" lambda. Lambda of 1 is stoichiometric. ~14.7:1 for gasoline, ~ 10.2:1 for ethanol. It is all the same to the O2 sensor.

Your Saturn lost 15% fuel economy; about right for E85. Your CEL is most likely for "system too lean"; this means the long term fuel trim is too large. Most PCM's will tolerate LTFT of +/- 10%, they can adapt as much as 25% (depending on make/model). Your LTFT is at +15% just from the E85, it will vary from there with weather, altitude, etc.

If your injectors can not supply enough fuel you will run lean and damage the engine.

[00Beast]

My saturn has been on it for two years. Maybe I will regret it but I paided $150 for the car...its been worth it. In indiana E-85 is worth it over 87...depended on the price of fuel. Right now 87 is back up to 2.39. E-85 is 1.50 at the co-op and 1.63 at gas america. My saturn goes fro 31mpg down to 26mph....its worth it.

Around here gas is $2.30, and E85 is $2.10, and we live 20 miles from an Ethanol plant, and are in the heart of Ethanol country, southern MN. It's only viable in our suburban if it's $.40 or more cheaper per gallon. And it's not.

[boostedpb03]

I agree with everyone on here saying that "unless its built for it, don't do it" but the performance benefits are staggering, look up HOTROD mag. may 2009, has an article of a supercharged LSX running on three different fuels and one of them is E-85.

And the performance numbers are as followed, 805hp and 670ft.lbs. with E-85 vs. 750hp and 640ft.lbs. with 93 oct. and still made more power than C12 (108 oct.) wich had the same peak numbers as the 93 oct. but with a more stout power curve.(and they had a charge cooler that wasn't activated for these tests)

E-85 has a natural cooling effect due to the alcohol and would actually benefit a supercharged motor, just make sure it's built for it as it does eat away rubber.

[00Beast]

That was an engine specifically designed to run on E85. It would take a long time for the cost savings of E85 to pay off, and that's what I'm getting at. It's not cost effective on a Daily Driver.

[J Wikoff]

To say it's not cost effective is incorrect. It depends on the location (pricing) and the car.

[Allmachtige]

If you're willing to spend the money many L67 drivers convert their engines to handle e-85 for performance reasons at the track.

But no, you can't just dump e85 in a stock engine.

[Jrs3800]

What parts are required to run E85?

I have no stations around me that I can get E-85 at... But just the same what would it take to make the fuel system compatible?

[Allmachtige]

What parts are required to run E85?

I have no stations around me that I can get E-85 at... But just the same what would it take to make the fuel system compatible?

Dunno. You'd have to ask the GTP guys because I have no interest to do it. However, I know a few have converted to E-85.

[BonneMe]

What parts are required to run E85?

I have no stations around me that I can get E-85 at... But just the same what would it take to make the fuel system compatible?

You'd have to replace the rubber in the fuel system all the way from the Pump to the Injectors. Checking a pump to make sure it's compatible isn't a bad idea either.

I'd also calculate what adding 15% flow across the board relates to your fuel pump's capacity and the fuel injectors duty cycle. A Worn out pump or stock injectors may come close to being taxed.

Should really get a tuner as well if you planned on doing it. I'm interested to see what is possible with an L67 and the super high octane of E85 tho. Boosted cars may benefit a lot, N/A not so much..