R2.7TA6

since I use a Superchips tuner on my pickup that requires Premium unleaded, it's gotten too expensive and I've planned to turn it off. However, I've had a couple of shops suggest that that I can use a 50/50 mix of 85 oct and E85 instead of using Premium and get better performance. I might try it for one tankful and see what happens, but I did an E85 search and only found 3 places near me that carry it, but when I went to the one they said they don't get very much in and it goes quickly. The other two are still in the process of getting set up for it.

gietl

E85 is something like 104 octane. Be sure your fuel system is ready for it as well as your O2. Drop a line or a call to Randy at Autobahn as he has setup a few 1.8T's to run E85 I believe. He might be able to give you some insight.

Reggie

Eric - you might get by for a couple of years but long term you will hurt the engine<ul><li><a href="http://www.autobloggreen.com/2006/09/13/heres-how-the-e85-movement-can-get-scary/">Link</a></li></ul>

R2.7TA6

this isn't for the A6, but I'll give him a call, do you has anyone on the 4wd site done a conversion

Apikol

Before that I ran a mix of 91/E85. Started running pure E85 after I installed an 034 ECU w/ big injectors. I have about 8000 miles of pure E85 and will be pulling the motor soon for a 2.0 liter block. I will let you all know how the internals look when I open up the old 1.8t.

I don't know where you are located, but check out the following link for E85 stations:
http://e85vehicles.com/e85-stations.htm

There are stations scattered throughout CO and initially I was nervous about being stuck w/o E85 to fill up so I calibrated a 91 octane map and put in a map select switch on the dash to switch between the 2 fuels. In 9 months I have only gone back to 91 octane once because I was up in the mountains for a few days (No E85 stations there)

WRT running an E85 mix, be careful. I ran a 50/50 mix of E85/91 in the A4 w/ the 034 ECU and that was the limit I could go. I had to bump the main fuel scaler a lot to run the mix (main fuel scaler is similar to the main jet in a carb) and I was nearly out of injector. I didn't run pure E85 until I put big injectors in. I don't know if your factory ECU will be able to adapt enough to a 50/50 mix and you may run lean. W/o an AFR gauge, I would try a lesser mix initially and see how it runs... Just because you are boosting your octane doesn't mean it will work, you need to burn a greater volume of E85 since it has less energy per unit volume than gasoline.

Let us know how your experiment goes! E85 is pretty cool stuff even for all the bad press it gets.

-Brendan

gietl

I don't know anyone who has done it in my little IHC circle. We are all carbed so it is pointless. There are some guys who have gone EFI who are working on it but no worthwhile leads.

ar design

I've seen an E85 tuner out there for trucks. Check Summit Racing.

Reggie

<ul><li><a href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/253042/e85_conversion_kits_debated.html">Link</a></li></ul>

Autobahn Wrench

Here is a link to the E85 stations in the state and the prices are listed too.

http://e85prices.com/colorado.html

-Randy

OOOOya

Jim Green tipped me off and I've been running 1 gallon regular unleaded + 10 gallons E85 since 2006. That's about the max ratio I can use before maxing out my 450cc injectors (roughly 78% ethanol factoring in the 10% that's already in unleaded).

So far, there have been no signs of trouble. I only drive the car between April &amp; November (not snow car at all), so I've got about 17 months of driving with this blend. Over the winter, I typically run the tank as low as I dare, then fill with unleaded. Ethanol is good at attracting water which is the primary catalyst for fuel system corrosion. Even though we live in a very dry climate, I don't want to expose the fuel system to unnecessary water attracting risk while it sits for months at a time.

Despite the general bad rap E85 gets, it makes sense in my setup for several reasons. Roots superchargers with no inter/after coolers make hot boost that only gets hotter with long WOT - like 220+°F hot. Hot boost breeds detonation.

E85 solves this problem with it's lower inherent energy content and higher octane. The additional fuel volume required helps cool the charge air, and the high octane eliminates detonation. Of course, the higher octane allows greater ignition timing advance which ultimately makes more power.

cooler boost = win
higher octane = win
greater timing advance = win
$2.69/gal last time I filled up = win