E85

[Faron]

My Blower Combo is 10.25-1 I'm running the Blower 8% under and Im getting between 8.5and 9.5 lbs. of boost I have a Comp Magnum 292 605 Cam , I discovered The Magnums use the Old VDM lobes that allow up to .015 over or under the .022 Lash I have Mine at .010 Cold , with the Eld Aluminum heads Im running either 100LL or 93 Pump and Torco Accelerator , 3923 Autolite Plugs 33 degrees Total timing , no sign of detonation Im using Twin 660s that I tweaked over the years with the Ford progressive carb linkage ( this is a 100% PA Street Legal Car ) ok all that said Im thinking of Trying E85 since its now readily available in my area , all the tech out there on E85 Carbs are on Single Carb setups , Ive done the research and I believe I can use the 660s with some minor mods , I converted the rear bowels to their own feed I don't trust the transfer tubes to flow the addition 30% of fuel , Everything Ive researched says E85 and Roots Blowers are a match made in heaven , well Ill let you know , but in the meantime I welcome any Insite on E85 from my fellow FE Guys

[jayb]

Quality of the E85 fuel in my area varies quite a bit.  One guy I know tested E85 from multiple pumps and found some as low as 70% ethanol.  I don't know if this is a common problem, but it's something to be aware of.

[FrozenMerc]

Jay,
   You are spot on.  I have actually seen E85 with percentages as low as 50%.  The "85" is just a maximum standard, no real minimum % standard exists as long as the fuel meets a few other performance requirements.

And yes, E85 loves boost.  I got to play around with it in a turbocharged 1100 cc twin cylinder snowmobile engine about a decade ago.  Spent many hours on the development dyno seeing what the engine could take and what the fuel system would support.  We stopped at 330 hp when the crank came out the bottom of the engine....  Ended up dialing it back to 280 hp and dropped it into a chassis.  It would about pull your arms out of your shoulders when the boost hit.