No i didn't run it rich.
As fact i run it lean and we was looking at both the pluggs and they were light brown and the A/F was around 13.1-13.3 at full load and 456rwhp.
This was on a new rebuilt engine with new lapped sideplates and new housings seals and springs.
So if this engines is leaking how mutch is a older not that good leak.

 

Or at least once a month for high power/stressed applications especially if it's a weekend warrior.
Honestly I was very concerned about the oil contamination problem especially since I deal a lot with 100% methanol fueled applications and have seen what that fuel can do to the motor oil in a matter of hours.
Even though you're running about 33-40% more fuel with E85 and at that level contamination would have some effect but so far I've been pretty impressed. You can smell the E85 in the used oil but not any more than you would say with regular or race gas at the power level required for it's use. Actually from what I've experience the oil is actually holding up pretty well. I have left the car sitting for over a month and after an oil change there were no water or corrosion present. I can say that high lead race gas does more harm contamination wise when left sitting in the tank for short periods.
I can also go a little further and report that none of the aluminum components are showing any signs of corrosion. To me it's even cleaner than with regular gas. Spark plugs are also showing the very same results.
In the end no one actually can report on the long term effects of E85 useage on a rotary application untill that period actually passes by.
All we can do for now is keep trying and hoping for success.
For me the greatest advantage for it's use so far is the dollar cost vs race fuel.

 

Thank you!

 

Crispeed: how many miles do you think is safe to run before you need to switch oil ?

I made some hard miles on my engine just for testing how the E85 affect to my engine. And im going to disassemble it as soon i have time for it and i will report to you if there is any visible wear on it.
If there is any problen then it should be abnormal wear on bearing or side housings.

 

i was curious with what everyone was saying about the ethanol leaching in to the oil do you think that maybe just a tighter clearnace between the side seals and the corner seals would cut down on this. im considering this because the cooler operating temps would mean any thermal expansion would be minimal which might mean no pinching but also very little blow by. any thoughts on this idea?

 

No, when the rotor is opening the port and closing the port the whole side of the rotor tip is exposed to air and fuel inside of the side seals area.

Oil control rings (the iron rings) that are new or at least within spec really help control the amount of fuel in the oil as well as avoiding porting mistakes.

I believe you can also buy the stiffer race oil control seal springs.

 

Sorry !!
I wrote wrong AF ratio...
My AF is 11.1-11.3

 

Nice to see u here Jorgen. We need to get some data on this. Since E85 is a realy good fuel, and it would be a shame not to look into this.

I will be running it on my engine, with AGIP 10-60 racing oil. Wich is a realy thick oil. The engine will be dynoed in late april, early may.

It might be that without running in the engine first, that the blowby of the E85 was too big. So it might go down as the seals get worn in. I will be running in my engine for about 500km before i put E85 in the car.

Aint 11.1-11.3 quite rich with E85. That was the numbers i was running on my old engine with 99 octane Shell V-Power and dynoed at 406rwhp.

JT

 

How much boost were you running with this afr?

 

2,16bar =31-32psi

 

the piston engines we tune with e85 makes best power around 13:1!

last one was a euro spec bmw m3 3.0. T66 turbo and stock head. Made 817bhp and 950nm at the flywheel. Boost was 1.7 bar and afr at that boost was 13:1...

 

Have you tuned that lean on a rotary engine....and used it on the street or at the track?

/ Gabi

 

Cris,

what AFR should one aim for when tuning for lower boost (12-15psi) on e85?

and what advance/split is efficient and safe? am i asking for too many secrets?

 

Alright well I have a question, and don't know where else to ask it. With the reading I'd done I understood that there is a summer blend, and a winter blend, with the winter blend being closer to an e70, and between 100-103 octant vs the 105-109 octane of the summer blend. Something about additivies to help with cold starts, and something of that nature. Well, I called my local fuel place today to ask when the e85 switches back to the summer blend, and they transfered me back to their "fuel guy" who assured me that their blend never changes. It's always 85%. Can I trust this guy? Do places do this? Is it an option to switch to winter blend, or keep the summer blend? I just don't want to throw this in my car, and see any detonation because of his misinformation.

 

They mix it right off the truck, so their fuel guy will know. There's no reason why he would lie.

The guys on the EVO Forums, they've made a E85 gauge that you mount in your car. It tells you exactly what you've got in the tank at all times. I think it's around $150.

Not all places change the blend, just depends where you live and the person in charge of their fuel.

 

In sweden they have E75 in the winter and they switch to E75 in april. So if you are in a cold area then you need to check witch fuel that is in the pump.
If you are in a warm area then you probably have E75 in the pump.
The different between E75 and E85 is 10% more gas.

 

excellent. I just wanted to make sure that this happened, and I wasn't just talkin to someone uninformed. Could be a costly mistake, so just wanted to cover my bases. thanks.

 

I think the motor would just run retard rich if you got something less than E85, like E70. I don't think it would actually hurt anything, it just wouldn't run very well. Now if you got E98 instead of E85, that could cause leaning out and blown motors.

 

no. the winter blend reduces the octane rating. you have it backwards.

 

^

 

It reduces the octane because it adds gas. Gas does not have the same stoichiometry at ethanol. It takes a lot less gas to have a stoich mixture, therefore you will be very rich if you try to run this fuel. Probably rich enough that it will run poorly. It would be very obvious if you have a wideband, which you should.

 

Exactly, I would imagine tossing E70 or whatever in there, you would be spitting and sputtering and eventually foul your plugs.

 

Instead of guesing, why don't one of you calculate the difference in AFR change that really occurs when going from E85 to E70 without retuning.

I did this back when TX went from gas to E10 and comapred the results to what my wideband reported.

 

The AF is rich but you have a lower octane and if you run with a E85 map you probably damage your engine if you run it like it was on E85.

 

I'm saying you would notice the change before you go ***** out with a 4th gear pull and 25 psi of boost. You should notice right away.