E85

[Alan D Harmon]

Any thoughts on useing E85 in pulling tractors

 

[RESLLS]

I've read anywhere from 15 to 25% less power. Depend on who you believe. If I was doing it I would use ethanol free. But that's me. I use straight e free gas in everything but my daily driver and my 3600 ford. The ford will just about run on anything.

 

[Russ from MN]

I had a co-worker that ran straight alcohol in his stock car, but I think in was methanol alcohol. I remember him saying it burned about twice as much but went faster, so it should work in a puller if the fuel system is tuned for it. Would it be legal?

 

[300jk]

We have an Oliver 88 puller built for what here is called light enhanced. Msd ignition, bunch of engine work ect. We use race gas. Over 100 octane. Very pricey. Alcohol is good in an engine that will use it, and use a lot. It helps with cooling the engine, but Im talking about a pretty serious high horse engine. I do not know what your application is though ! Maybe youd like to share what your working on ?

 

[rlp in Co.]

I've heard that you can get more horse power out of it, because it burns faster and you can use less ignition advance. You will use way more fuel though. It won't even run with gasoline jets! Drill them out or get new jets.

 

[MSD]

It's been done. Guys that started using it usually left their tractors run all afternoon when we pulled in the winter time. Some had trouble starting them. E85 is ok as a fuel if you get it from a reliable source. Pump E85 cam be any mixture of gas and ethanol but not over 85% ethanol so you never get a pure 85 blend. My supplier of race fuel has pure E85, E98, and E110 if you need a little more bang. We run 120 octane race fuel in all of our JD's and they perform pretty good on it.

 

[DoubleO7]

Per the numbers E85, E98 and E110, I am thinking you are talking octane numbers.

E85 is 85% ethanol, 15% gasoline.

There is no such thing as 110% ethanol.

 

[Steve@Advance]

It would only be beneficial for an engine specifically built to run it, as in radical high compression, high compression teamed with a blower or turbo.

It's only advantage is the cooling effect of flooding mass quantities of fuel into an engine that would melt down otherwise.

You would have to be a serous puller to benefit from that!

Along with raising the probability of breaking something, there is the unpredictability factor, inability to run consistently pull after pull.

 

[DoubleO7]

(quoted from post at 14:42:47 03/16/21) Any thoughts on useing E85 in pulling tractors

To gain any power, you will have to bump compression ratio up to around 12.5 to 1 and a different cam.

 

[Brendon-KS]

My understanding of the timing is the opposite. Since high octane fuel such as E85 is by definition more resistant to pre-detonation the ignition timing can be advanced farther which puts the peak cylinder pressure at a more optimum point in the stroke. Up until the point that detonation starts occurring more ignition advance will typically result in increased power.

 

[Janicholson]

Compression pressures (or turbo boost) can be raised, maybe as much as 12:1, as the octane rating is well above 100, and near 105. Getting a tractor engine to that level is really a turbo choice as the normal compression ratios are more like 7 to 1. Jim

 

[DoubleO7]

Sunoco says E85 is no more than 100 octane.
Their E85 racing gas is labeled as 99. They market E85 and label it as racing because it actually contains 85% ethanol.

E85 at your local gas station (if you can find it) is legal E85 as long as it contains more than 51% but not more than 85% ethanol.
That much variation in ethanol content would be a tuners nightmare.

 

[Alan D Harmon]

Thanks for all the info. Great comets from all