I actually almost threw up recording that one scene. You're welcome. Build info: wiki.blackthumb.tv/wiki/Legac... Socials: Instagram: / blackthumb.tv TikTok: / blackthumb.tv Website: blackthumb.tv/
Today I have learned the following: Why people use corn juice How a flex fuel sensor works How air and fuel combination works with different fuel types (Here in Norway we mostly only have '95 and '98) Santa isn't real Easter Bunny isn't real Tooth Fairy is real And that I am adopted. 10/10 would watch again
I have a 2005 Dodge Neon. I've been running E85 in it for almost a year now with no problems. The only thing I did was swap out the injectors with ones from a Ford Mustang that have a 25 percent greater flow rate. The computer did the rest, without a tune.
I'd love to see the computers learning values. Also, have you ever had to put 93 in due to lack of E85 in the area? We have E85 in most parts of this area, so not a huge risk to go corn-only here, but those long trips would be sketchy.
@@BlackthumbTV I have added a couple gallons of regular 87 gasoline a few times when I was running low and wasn't close to an E85 station. It ran fine and I actually couldn't really tell a difference. It probably just ran a little rich. For long trips, I run the tank down to less than a gallon and swap the stock injectors back in. Then I fill up with 87 gasoline and disconnect the battery to reset the computer. I did this before a 500 mile road trip during which I used 87 gas exclusively. I don't think the stock computer advances the timing when the E85 is added, so I don't think using regular 87 after using the E85 has any effect on predetonation (knock).
I tried E85 in my Mercedes, not into an empty tank though, i think there was like 60-65% ethanol in the tank. Ran just fine, no misfires or overheating or anything like that. Didn't even feel like there was a lack of power.
I absolutely love your videos, I attended uti and was very dedicated to learning as much as possible. You are a better teacher than lots of those guys, and I really enjoy your style. I recommend your channel to all my buddies when they ask me about this kinda stuff
Fun fact, Amazon sells e85 ethanol distillation systems so you can make your own fuel. Another fun fact, ethanol fuel was founded by Henry Ford which he called gasohol and every Ford vehicle till 1974 was designed to run on it. Ford was paid by oil companies to run vehicles on gasoline. But before gas stations dotted the maps people made their fuel at home with Ford's fractional distillation system. Amazon also sells e85 conversion kits for most vehicles. Enjoy your freedom from the pump!
This is my fix for cars away from cars. I gound you while i was on vacation and not able to be home driving/wrenching on my own car. Solid content, information is easy to understand even through the complexity of the topics. Seriosuly, i appreciate these videos so much!
Love all the plot twists throughout the video, every single time I was about to write a comment addressing a caveat it was immediately addressed. Something that wasn't addressed though is that your stock fuel pump might be too weak to supply fuel to all injectors upon an upgrade, I've only seen this happen to really old cars which were due to have it replaced in the first place though.
Fun Fact: In Brazil, Ethanol and Gasoline are the norm of fuel. Diesel is only for trucks. Ethanol gives more power, but more consuption. The gasoline is the opposite. ALL Vehicles from after 2005 have Flex Fuel Capabilities. Great video to see how a normal car behaves with Alchohol. (In Brazil its made with Sugar Cane). The car with Flex Fuel can run in ANY mix of gasoline and Alchohol. But it has its downsides, as the engine is "bogged down" having to work with two fuels, and there's a saying that goes somewhat like this: Flex Fuel Engines are Engines that are made to run Ethanol, that are forced to run with Gasoline. There are engines that when running in 100% Sugar Cane it gives 5 hp's more! (its not insane but its quite a bit more power).
In 2003 VW Launched the Flex Fuel with the Gol G3 1.6 Power, and generating a whole new Flex Fuel ecosystem here. (In the late 70's and mid 80's when the fuel crisis came, we found out about the sugar cane fuel, and to prevent having no gas, vehices from that era, specially after 1976, were manofactured to run on Ethanol instead of Gasoline, with cars returning to gasoline in the mid 80's) Specially back then, the Ethanol vehicles needed special carburetors and fuel systems to handle the water on the Alchohol, that could corrode the normal carburators and rubber hoses.
I used to run E85 in my 96 Lincoln Towncar. That car loved it. Engine light would come on for the lean code. But it wasn't that bad, aside from its higher octane rating, ethanol also burns cooler. And it's great for cleaning carbon from the valves, pistons and heads. Similar results running corn juice in the 2003 Chevy 1500 van and my 2016 Ford Flex. When it was time for annual state inspection just run it low and refill with normal gas and the light goes away. Yes, all 3 cars had improved power, all 100% stock.
I’ve been experimenting with blending E85 in E10 and had some success with it! During summer I always blend 50/50-60/40 E10-E85 respectively. No extra parts needed, no check engine lights, slightly cheaper to run, more power and most importantly: It’s greener lol
@@richarddesimone960 There are many good reasons to run Flex Fuel. Your comment does not give any good reasons to go against it. I could tell you don't dabble with flex fuel much. Flex fuel cars are still around by the way. People love flex fuel especially your bang for the buck type person.
@@richarddesimone960 "Flex fuel" gives you the option to run pure gasoline or mixed up to 85 percent. So why wouldnt you just setup for it, and use it when needed, like a track day or a spirited driving. Plus keeping the emissions low. Flex setups make it easy to adjust on the fly. By the way i have 30+ years of owning and operating a custom high performance and service shop. So I think I gotcha beat bud. But that honestly doesnt matter. Its what you know and how you apply it.
Great content amigo. I like it that way (easy way) how you explained the difference or potential consequences of just running E-85 on a regular GASOLINE engine
Great job breaking all this down. I've tried to explain ECU learning to novice car people and it goes way over thier head. This video will be my reference now.
My emissions were to high during the yearly inspection. Filled the tank up with e85 and passed. In the end i did replaced the lambda sensor but it was funny to look at the face of the mechanic when he looked at the numbers.
Dude! I have never watched your show before but the very first impression I get of it was how cool the dude is this he would go great with Seth Rogen as his older brother! You remind me so much of him. Which I might add he's a great actor. Funny as all get out😂
I have an 01 Audi A4, it's been very modified. Plus I personally tuned it but I switched to E85 + methanol injection. This car uses lamda not AFR. So when I switched to E85 there was very little tuning involved. Honestly it probably would have ran fine without. This is after a much bigger than stock fuel system.
I’ve run a few tanks of e85 in a 95’ ej22 under a 96’ ej18 intake manifold and sensors and ECU. Idk if the fact I swapped it made any difference but it did it happily, mostly highway miles at like 3000-4000 rpm at like 80mph
I tried it once on a Carbureted 9.1 to 1 compression V8. It didn't work. The compression wasn't high enough, It was way down on power. The fuel hoses and any rubber - ish parts turned to mush or turned rock hard. I had to rebuild the carb internals and replace the mechanical fuel pump. What a mess. But it sure does smell Good !
Used e85 in my 00 crown vic interceptor back when fuel was skyhigh. It worked fine and only lost about 2mpg. There was a flex variant of that model but mine was not one.
I personally break the law this is probably like the 10th E85 video I watched in past 2 days. Been wanting to modify my car, specifically my prius, for flex fuel for so long. I know it's doable, but to do it proper it's a project (for me) and there is no real value to doing it, I just want to!
People shit on the LS4 being a FWD LS engine but my Grand Prix GXP was one of the easiest cars to add Flex Fuel too I've ever worked on, the factory injectors and ecu are both compatible with a tune on a stock (for now) engine and all I needed to add was an Ethanol content sensor and it ran better than it ever did on 93, plus where I live e85 is readily available and 30%+ cheaper than 93 so it was saving me money too
I put some in my Toyota Prius coming back from Virginia to New York. It was substantially lower priced than regular 87, so I pushed the button and filled my gas tank just to see what would happen. The answer is, nothing. I believe my fuel economy went down slightly, but the car ran 100% normal, cruise control set on 75, not so much as a hiccup. But I think on the long-term it would be a problem. At least that’s what I have been reading.
When running e85 or an Emix you need a tune most of you are already aware I'm sure. The big thing with runnjng more than say a e25 mix on a stock fuel system is going to cause potential misfires because the more ethanol you run the more fuel volume required for combustion, stock fuel systems typically the HPFP aren't meant to run usually beyond a e15 mix on a naturally aspirated all depends on the specs of the vehicle make and model, also another note you should never leave heavy e85 mixes just sitting in your car, it has alcohol and it seperates into water and leaves a gummy oil gunk mess if you dont frequently run higher octane fuel like 91 afterwards and run 2 tanks of regular fuel after your e85 mix, basically only run the e85 mixes when you are planning to race it or test it
The manual for my 1969 Buick Skylark says to raise the float level .050 and advance the timing 6 degrees to get improved performance and increased milage.
An example of an ECU "over learning" is when a flex fuel sensor reads the wrong ethanol content of the fuel and adds way to much fuel, potentially causing the engine to stall or not run at all... I've seen it a few times, and simply resetting the values is usually the fix
I use 50%+ E85 in my 2005 PT Cruiser GT (turbo motor). Been putting in E85 for a couple of years. So far, so good. (Had an 06 PT GT before that that I used E85). I do get a little less mileage to the tank vs. pure 93 octane dino gas, though. *edit - I'm also running a Diablo Sport tuner with the factory Diablo tune.
I have an 09 Impala that is a glex fuel ready vehicle and I just stsrted having the issues starting when its cold due to the sensors thinking its starting out with more fuel than it actually is. If I press the gas pedal a little it starts right up which is a known issue with these vehicles and replacing my Idle control sensor or Cooland temp sensor should fix this issue in my case. My point is that even in vehicles that are E85 ready the CPU can have the same issues if a sensor starts to malfunction or the ECU cant properly detect which type or what mixture of fuel is actually in the tank.
The BIGGEST problems running e85 in an AMERICAN unmodified engine is: A: the fuel lines: if they are neoprene lined you’re good there but most aren’t. B: e85 can pit the engine and that’s not a good thing C: fuel pump lubricity Remember the very first model t is e100 compliant. Henry ford envisioned a world of vehicles running on his heavily advertised “corn gas”.
I have run moonshine (that my DAD made) in a 72 Maverick- and it burned the wheels off-- later when we dismantled the engine for rebuild- it was clean as a whistle inside- NO carbon AT ALL. It was like racing fuel...for real!!!
i ran E85 on a Stock Citroen from the early 90s for quite a while, you need to slowly change over from normal fuel to E85 and back, if i quickly changed over it then went into limp mode and got the same issue as you did, i am guessing the ecu might be able to correct both long and short term fuel trim and thats why it's fine? I don't really know tbh, it just worked.
the regular gasoline lubricates the rubbers and casings of everything in the fuel system. stuff will start becoming brittle and cracking leading to shorts in things like the pump if you run e85 too many tanks before switching back to regular fuel. I like the idea of mixing the 2 getting the best of both worlds with low knock from e85 and lubrication/longevity of regular gas.
13-17 kia soul has factory wideband and does not give a shit, factory lsu4.9 will add tons of fuel quickly and then retain it in long term no issue, only time you might notice is freezing weather cold starts when it does not have enough to crank, but long crank and itll fire and adjust again very quickly. just some comments from a casual observer on a daily not a stand alone boi
many many other cars might be exactly like this, just wanted to give you first hand experience from someone "rolling with my shit off safety" (kinda sorta not, because fuel trims with wideband factory)
This is quite interesting! I know you play with factory ECUs a lot. Do your tools let you inspect current learned values? I'd love to see the data the factory ECU is learning. One of my favorite things about cars is seeing data logs! I just looked up virtual flex and that's nuts, must suck to tune around without knowing it's on!
@@BlackthumbTVanother good example is the 2014 Camry se. Very very adaptable factory ECU. Frankenstein motorwerks has managed to take it from 170 to 210 up with no tune just intake and exhaust. Still ran correct afr.
How would this apply to carburetors and tuning it to run Richer may be a stupid question but would this not mean it's going to burn just as inefficient due to it needing a high volume of fuel to burn rught
Flex fuel vehicles are OK to run regular petrol gasoline or E85, including a mix of the two. You will get less "mileage" on corn, but it is cheaper. So you'd have to do the math to see which is cheaper at the end. Best of luck!
When I first started driving, I grabbed the yellow nozzle by mistake because I was an idiot and it was my first time filling up by myself. I was driving a 1996 monte carlo at the time. I was so scared when I realized what I had done and... it drove fine with no issues. I didn't put more of that gas in the tank though, I had no idea what it could have done to my engine so I made sure to put the right stuff in after that.
Have drivning volvo 245, volvo 945 bothe turbo and na, renault clio etc on 100% e85. Just put a cheep chinese btr and adjusted it to little higher then original pressure
I've run e85 in a bunch of different cars and never a real issue. My 99 neon ran like crap at first and I thought I ruined it but after about 50 miles it cleared up and was always fine after that so I figured it absorbed water already in the tank and once it cleared that it would run fine. My 99 maxima for some reason got better mpg on e85 (not flex fuel car). Flex fuel cars add a butt load of fuel and get worse mpg, non flex fuel cars don't know to add that much but they add enough to be OK, most stock ecus add up to 25%. Also running leaner than stoich does not burn hotter, stoich is hottest and is the reason we run rich at WOT, typically 12.5 or so on gasoline, 14.7 melts pistons at WOT without the excess fuel to cool it, leaner than that it starts to cool down again but makes less power and won't keep the cat working as well so we don't generally do it.
If you have a vehicle that uses factory widebands you can. I see people running e85 on the newer Kia souls that can't use it yet they run fine. Just acts funny on first startup until it warms up and enters closed loop. Narrowbands won't do it and not all wideband vehicles will because of the stated learning limit.
E85 isn't better for the environment though, it takes more energy to grow and harvest corn than the corn ethanol saves. It's also not anywhere near cheap, the government subsidizes it so heavily, (and corn in general) that they can afford to sell it at a loss. In fact, these corn subsidies are also why corn syrup is in so many foods. Normally corn syrup would be more expensive than sugar, but it is cheap as dirt, as it is a byproduct of the corn ethanol production process.
Wonder how the AFR on my s10 is lookin😅 got some bent pushrods on intake and exhaust side and I know bent pushrods at least on the exhaust side means it's not burning all the fuel and on intake meaning it's not getting enough, new ones on the way problem should be fixed soon👍
I E85 converted my old ford Sierra 2,0 DOHC. By simply opening upp the tamper seal on the fuel pressure regulator and was able to adjust it with an allen key untill it ran good on idle. I know thats the wrong way of doing it but it worked and passed the emissions test. Ran it for about 2 years like that untill someone stole it. Edit* im not saying you are wrong. Im just saying that i am a cheap ass and got the car for 200 dollars and didnt give a f if it blew upp. It was essentialy just an experiment because i could.
E85 can contaminate your oil, and you'll need to change your oil waaay more often. Also, E85 can cause serious fuel system corrosion if the vehicle isn't designed for it.
i have a tune on 85 which is my primary tune but when i went to michigan they had no 85 and only 91 and i had to go to e like nothing in the take bc i could switch tunes wish i was pure fuel flex
I refuse to run e85 now , I ran it 5yr ago when its price was equal to the mileage loss you'd get but now ,it's the same price dang near as 87oct gas , tgats just dumb and the govt ripping us off. When e85 1st was hitting the pumps , it was less than half the cost of 87oct
I see a few common questions, so here's some answers! - E85 is better for performance engines as it has a ~105 octane rating. Research how octane rating effects high compression and boosted engines for more info. - E85, while technically getting "worse mileage", is still cheaper doller-per-mile than 93 (at least in my area) - E85 burns much cleaner than petrol meaning less carbon deposits, and even tends to clean existing carbon off engine internals. - The jury appears to still be out on whether or not it's "environmentally friendly" on the whole, I see sources on either side of the fence. - "IT RUNS FINE IN MY NON-FLEX CAR!": Some cars ECUs will learn around the additional fueling requirements different than others, this is an example of what can happen and how it can cause damage. Show me datalogs, then we can talk. None of this is new, this info has been around forever. All we do is show the literal data coming from the car in the real world and describe the potential ramifications. Not sure why some of you are trying to make this political, but take that crap back to Facebook (or whatever hole you crawled out of.) This is a low-buck performance car enthusiast channel, we don't do that here. Go outside.
I'm leaning towards no, I don't quite have anything interesting to bring I think. I also just acquired another project to play with. It's a shame I'll miss you! We gotta meet up some time!
