Don't get us wrong, we love E85, but there's certain conditions when E85 can wreck your engine! LINKS: READ MORE on MotoIQ.com! www.motoiq.com/ FOLLOW US on Instagram: / motoiq LIKE US on Facebook: / motoiq
Been running E85 in a 4G63 for 12 years plus. I cycle between periods of 91 & E85. The reason for the high carbon deposits on a E85 motor is that E85 is lacking, in percentage, the PIB cleaning solution found in regular high octane gas (PIB = Polyisobutylene). Injector gunk is very common on E85 run motors due to the low percentage of PIB. Learned this from a petroleum engineer.
@@konic40 Fairly likely, as Isomers (branched molecules) usually have greater inherent detonation resistance, the more branched the higher resistance (typically). Pure 2,2,4 Trimethyl Pentane (Iso-octane) is RON and MON 100 per definition, and why a straight chain alkanes like pure (n)-Heptane is RON and MON 0 per definition. Infact, pure straight chained Octane (n-Octane) has a rating of -20 RON and -17 MON.
@@jda8176 I run a 1/4 tank 92 and 3/4 tank e85 with marvel mystery oil in the gas and in the oil before and after oil changes. And I use royal purple 0w 20. It always comes out looking golden still at 5k.
Mike is the only person I've seen talk about his blown engine with a smile. If I ever get some sort of terminal disease or cancer, I would like Mike to break the news to me. And if at all possible, read me a bed time story about bearing tolerances.
He learnt alot about the effects of e85 in a limited use street engine so that helps not much to smile about when your engine blows and you learn nothing 😂
It's because he got to prove people (I'm sure he is frustrated by) wrong. This is a pretty big discovery for another reason, for two he caught it before major damage could be done and is able to fix it. He was able to prove E85 just shouldn't be daily-ed.
I am a lifetime race engine builder for 45+ years. What this man is saying is all true. I see a lot of cylinder wall wash etc. E- fuels are great for HP. But like everything good comes with a price to be paid. GREAT VIDEO !!!
There's a genuine and honest lifetime race engine builder named Andy Randolph (NASCAR and formerly General Motors) who would say you don't know what you're talking about. Here's an interview I did with Andy a few years ago: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xLztoTpsk5I.html
In formula 1, grand prix, 24 hour lemans, etc. they all use straight methanol. When they tear down the engine after a race, you cannot even tell it did a lap.
My uncle bought a 96 dodge Dakota brand new. Changed his oil religiously every 3k miles. He only drove a few miles to work and home every day. I took his valve covers off after around 100k and his engine was pretty sludged up! He was very surprised but I explained to him that the short trips don’t evaporate the moisture out of his oil and that causes buildup. I think that truck is still running but definitely had some sludge issues. Short trip driving is the worst no matter what fuel you use!
We typically drain the oil and fuel after a race. Fuel goes in a steel barrel and we swap gasoline back in and the oil goes into a modified water heater. It cooks the oil for 4hrs at 240f before shut off. Then ready for next race day. Obviously not much in common with street cars. A dual fuel system based on temperature would probably work best
I have a 2013 impala, I rarely run E85 in it, but I do drive city all the time, so it’s definitely going to cause more frequent oil changes. I was happy to see on my most recent oil change, my oil life meter was at 0% with 1800 miles left to go according to the oil change sticker which was set at 5000 miles. I run mobile one synthetic 5W30 but I always change mine at around 3000 miles due to my frequent short trips around town. Normally my oil life monitoring system seems to run me to about 5K before indicating a need for an oil change. This time it was around 3K at 0% life left. I guess the oil life monitoring systems are coming along because when these first came out, it would run people to 10k at times or more before indicating the need to change the oil. Thank you for this amazing video, and for sharing your knowledge with the world!
Thx for the video and info bro! You’re awesome and I love your videos and content. I’ve learned so much from you I can’t even begin to tell you. It’s crazy we are all still learning now matter how far along we are in a profession , there’s still more to learn. Thank you for what you do bro, forget about the guys with the lame comments, trolls are all over the internet and it’s just something you have to deal with and let go, don’t even waste your time on stupid comments, the majority of us love and appreciate what you do and the content you bring !
Wow, the deposits on the pistons were surprising and the oil ring even more so! This is very valuable information living in the midwest with cheap and plentiful flex fuel options, thanks!
Had a flex fuel vehicle and I always put 91 in after 2nd to 4th tank and changed the oil at 2,500 miles. I didn't do alot of short trips with but kept on top of the issues discussed.
Thanks for this video! That's horrible and is an E85 nightmare. My E85 rules: - Don't let it sit for long periods. - Do oil more frequent oil changes. - Don't do lots of short journeys, cold starts will also contaminate the oil way faster. - Do longer trips to let oil come up to temperature and evaporate any water contamination. - Use flex sensor if possible and run some 93/98 petrol through from time to time. - Use a decent Ethanol stabilizer/additive to help protect against corrosion.
@@Eduardo_Espinoza Ethanol content analyser/sensor. Runs inline with the fuel rail befor the injectors so the ECU can measure the content of ethanol and update the ECU in real time. This means you can run any blend of petrol and/or ethanol at any given time.
@Richard Smith yep You should run your vehicle after changing fuels long enough for that sensor ecm can adjust properly. Marvel mystery oil also helps if you don't run unladed
Fantastic info! The content of your video here shows many years of experience. Easy to understand and practical information that can be applied to many different situations. Thanks guys 🙂
Up here in the PNW we have a lot of natural condensation most of the year so I've always got my cars hot and rip on it a little bit everyday to keep it clean. Plus it's fun and that's why it's built. I run 92 oct gas 22psi on 5 degrees of timing. Love this channel.
Awesome info. I have always been a big proponent of letting an engine come up to full temperature even if just doing shorty trips regardless of what kind of fuel.
Awesome and hard lesson learned. Very informative to see the engine internals and diagnosis what happened. I love having E85/Flex Fuel in my turbocharged S2K but will be more careful and aware after seeing this video. Thanks for everything, guys!
Another epic video sir! Thanks to the green deal I am planning to get two separate maps to run e85 and 93 for my subie and this video will definitely help me in the future 👍🏾
Great information. Your humility is admirable and you have acquired the expertise you have by always being willing to learn something new. One of the best life skills I think.
Very helpful thankyou I am struggling with e85 issues and this is great help to stop my next motor from blowing. A bit late for me but a learning curve thanks
You mean the constant, never ending Smile that he has as he talk? Kinda gets annoying because he facial expression just never changes. He’s Happy the entire time. It’s not…. Normal to be this happy and smile constantly. Ugh, drives me crazy. 😖😒😑
Oh ya, I also had a 2004 wrx that I was making 404hp for most of it's life, on E85. I sold that car at 192k on it with still the stock motor. I might be able to blame E85 for the 3 transmissions I blew up. But I sold that car with the stock 2.0 motor. Bought the car brand new in 2004. Started running E at about 60k.
That I you for this, it was very informative. The whole time I was thinking why not just let it warm up, it only takes about 10 minutes, and then you finally said it at the end. I think that’s honestly the best advice, you probably don’t need to go on too long of trips if the engine gets up to temp before you drive.
Awesome so helpful, i always try to get my car to full temp even before pulling out of the driveway but this just goes to show how important it is. Thx!
good to hear, thanks for your experience! I'm very happy to never run for any less than 15 minutes, but generally nothing less than 30 minutes. My engines are always properly warmed any time they're fired up.
For my Evo, I only use E85 during track days and go straight back to 98 after that, otherwise it fouls spark plugs, injectors and even rusts the exhaust. The condensation issue with E85 can't really be fixed unless you use it up regularly and drive decent distances weekly, it needs heat to boil away the condensation. C16 race fuel is the best I've used - clean and zero detonation, but E85 is much cheaper.
On my older vehicles I still run conventional oil for this reason. handles moisture better. I did a video about converting my old cars over to 0-w40 synthetic but I dont think they make enough oil temperature to burn off the moisture. My modern cars oil temps go over 220F easy so there is no problems. Im going to monitor my Hondas oil temps this summer and see what I got and go from there.
I thank you for the education on E85. I just got a Dodge Grand Caravan GT on flexflue so I needed to know how often to use gasoline. I heard it was a 50/50 mix. Your advice is every third tank. I'm going to do that, I just want better so I don't have issues. Again I appreciate your videos so much. Wiley
I've ran E85 for years on my Evo and STI. Definitely run some regular gas once in a while if you're mostly running ethanol. My current car is built for FlexFuel, but I still run regular pump gas and change the oil often. Great video!!
We run E100 here in Brazil. Ethanol delivers better power due to higher octane rating. But we know it is harsher on the engine, it needs to be ready to deal with ethanol. It is recommended here to run a full gasoline (our gas means E25 actually) tank from time to time to help clean the engine. But tuners just change the engine to be E100 only, running more turbo pressure or, if it is a NA engine, modifying the header to run a higher compression ratio.
I run e98 in the best mountains of the US (colorado) were like 5300 feet elevation. The one time I put "gas" (91 octane) in the car it blew up cuz it ran lean around a corner (shop owner was incompetent but his kids built some great cars.) Didn't have a surge tank like I was told, bobs your uncle. Hasta la vista baby. Sionara sucka.. fun car, 730wheel
Im glad I saw this video. I didnt realize you should run a specific oil. I have a lot of research to do. I always run Bradd Penn fot the high zinc and phosphorus. I know its designed for blow by when I built my gsx on 93.... but now that we have e85 in our area I built my evo x on e85 and used the same oil with no research
Always good info coming from this channel for imports and domestics. Not sure why anyone would leave questionable comments with the amount of useful knowledge that's always shared here.
Not sure. What I heard is that E85 would cause this condition if anyone drove in mainly cold start mode driving conditions, never fully allowing their engine to warm up.
My experience with small engine powersports has taught me even regular pump gas containing 10-15% ethanol will cause similar results with nasty oily gunk on pistons from PCV/crankcase evaporation & oil wash. Carbureted applications it's extremely noticeable, especially if you tune a little rich for safety. Not the worst part but more of a PITA is how fuel will evaporate inside the carb and the ethanol won't leaving a gummy residue that'll clog jet needle chambers, choke jets, pilot/slow jets etc.. Few reasons I run Non Ethanol premium in my bikes all the time and cars when I can.
Thank you for this informative video! I have a 2018 Focus ST that I have been trying to find away to run E-85 However, this has shown I don’t drive it NEAR enough to convert to E-85! I am a pastor and live right next door the church, my wife and do all our errands and traveling in her car so my car is rarely driven. Thanks again.
Great video, I don't have E85 available to me but I've always made it a point to let my car fully warm up when I can, even if I'm going 2 miles down the road to fill up the gas for the work week or whatever I'll take a route that brings me in a circle around town that it can get nice and hot on but not take too much time.
This is why I have a flex tune for my car. My commute is sometimes short, and I try to at least let the engine run for a while to get rid of moisture. I try not to run e85 all the time because of the need for more frequent oil changes and the build up of moisture. I try to run 93 every 3rd to 4th tank of e85 because from my understanding it eats up the gunk that can form from the e85.
Thank you for all the useful and priceless information. I've been a commercial driver for thirty years. The current transportation company I work for, and the two previous companies are in the livery business (Transporting people). All three have a number of flex fuel vehicles that can burn E85 fuel or regular gasoline. At the insistence of the owners and their mechanics, we, the drivers, filled the fuel tanks with 87 octane gasoline exclusively. No problems. I am about to purchase a nice, mint condition, used minivan that has the flex fuel system that can burn either E85 or regular gasoline. I will fill the tank with 87 octane ONLY. Also, the oil and filter will be changed frequently. Thank you very much. I have great respect for your knowledge and how you explain things.
Hey you made me sub cause I like your straight forward results proven honesty! Considering the cost of quality oil for a car makes using E85 more costly and for the average owner whom neglects their car it could cost them big time. And for guys who store their cars more than they drive them they better take heed to your advice.
Absolutely right, even the garage kept cars need a long drive every once in a while to burn off the moisture and liquefy the sludge. Motor flushes at each and every oil change would be a wise practice on these low mile, low use engines. I try to take my cars for a long (1 hour plus) freeway drive before doing the oil change to get everything hot and hopefully drained out of the oil pan. I have used routine motor flushes and Seafoam in the crankcase of badly neglected vehicles to un-stick rings and noisy lifters with great results and improvements.
I wanted to comment and say how much I love this video. You always come through with great content! By the way, huge shoutout and thanks for responding to my messages back in November about how I should be rebuilding my EJ205. It's been an incredible 2300 kilometres since then, and my engine is running better than ever, all thanks to your guidance. Keep up the excellent work! 👍🔥
@@baelm In my case all of my pistons were burning oil, it had some piston slap and I eventually (somehow) broke one of the camshafts. These happened probably due to a bad previous engine rebuild. I had a lot of questions in my mind regarding if I should do a forged or a stock rebuild for a daily. As you know, forged engines have piston slap when it's cold as well, and I don't quite like that. I just can't get used to it. Reliability and longevity was what I desired the most and I didn't know which build would be more suitable in this case. Mike advised me to go with a stock rebuild, and that I could upgrade the oil pump to 11mm for a daily. I followed his advice with the stock rebuild, but I got the 12mm oil pump instead. I don't have any issues so far, but I'm genuinely curious about how long this engine will last because I redline it every time I drive it x)
@@Gentleman1337 thanks for sharing what he told you, pretty sure i have piston slap as well but if i had to replace the whole long block i would wand to go for a 207 if possible
Thank you sir for this information. A lot of people are using e85 for pushing max hp. This might help them get the better of both fuels. Good advice and wake decision to follow your research. Again. Thank you.
I run e85 about 90 percent of the time on my brz. I haven’t had issues and that’s because I’m very crazy about my maintenance and making sure my car is warmed up. I think that’s what has help me with my car. I do use royal purple as well.
Wondering if you could do a video on the use of water methanol injection? I've been running a Snow system for a couple of years and I've noticed more catch can liquid, similar to a milkshake, since installing it. Love your content... I always learn something from you. Thanks! 🤘🏁
That is one of the reasons why I enjoy your videos so much - no BS! :) I truly appreciate that you're willing to admit that you don' t know everything and can make mistakes. I had heard horror stories of potential build-up that ethanol can create (take this as RUMOR because I have nothing to substantiate it) on the fuel injectors causing poor spray patterns, and over time, clogging the injectors. Is there any validity to this?
I'm curious how many total miles on the engine? I was surprised when you said it had oil changes every 2000 miles, this video was a major eye opener for me. I will pay even closer attention to the oil of my occasionally-driven cars.
Great video, thanks for sharing, detailed and really informative. Makes me thankful that I live in a place where I can get 94 AKI gasoline with a RON of 101 😊
Good things to know, thanks for the heads up! I don't think I have much to worry about for my track day car since I'm constantly changing the oil, maybe I should look at some of those fuel stabilizers that are suppose to keep the amount of water absorbed in the alcohol to a minimum.
I am grateful for this video. I was considering running flex fuel in my 2010 Triton 3v due to the cost differential ($5.40 vs $2.99). Almost all if the driving is short distances, and the engines lubrication issues are well known. I'll try it for long trips, but stick to regular gas for everyday. I winder if some of the poor reputation of the Triton is from flex fuel use leading to failed roller rockers.
"I get in to a situation where I think I know everything but obviously I don't" I never imagined this guy admitting this so easily, since I think he knows everything.
Can confirm this with carbon build on a engine that I built and was running E85, the tuner I used at the time (many years back now before I started tuning myself) tuned it with excessively low lambda/AFR with pretty mediocre timing advance for no good reason and didnt tune anything regarding the transient fueling as intended. Basically washing the oil film off the cylinder walls and all that. The piston crowns were completely covered in sticky carbon crud as well as parts of the piston ring land. That engine was filthy inside after just 5000km with two oil changes and a lot of longer drives. A lot can be avoided with proper tuning and stop using excessive AFRs/lambdas except for those short drives which are the worst and always will be bad. Now doing everything myself I havent experienced this type of carbon build anymore.
Evo8 ethanol 100% of the time. Oil changes very very frequently. Fic2150s cleaned yearly by fic. Warm up is very important. Ive never seen oil or a pan sludge like that even on my own car thats wild. Ive been using amsoil zrod in mine for like 8 years on the same motor. My oil pan has never looked like that so i wonder if there was some kind of reaction from the oil you used. I havent been in my car for about 6 months and its going into the shop for yearly services il pull my pan and see if i have anything similar. Good info in this video though
Cool vid. Theres a famous garage owner in Brazil called ADG from High Torque, he points out the same thing, E85 (quite popular in Brazil) is cool for performance, but for original gas engines and direct injection it gunks a lot of moving parts such as injectors and contaminates oil.
I considered trying out the flex fuel setup with an under the table tune from a friend, after using my tgv wiring to connect to the ecu. Things have to be done “differently “ now since the shift in Cobb’s direction. And “Smeedia” is a big proponent for E85, and has so far shown no residual damage like this. But he also rotates his project vehicles way too soon to expose this fatal flaw with E85. Thank you for all your posts and honest appraisal of the Subaru platform. You have been amazing with your knowledge base and experience. I honestly don’t trust half of what is posted online, and the other half is researched in depth further if relevant to my situation. But when you talk about any subject, I can honestly take it to the bank. Thank you. And I’ve now decided against E85. It’s an added expense that isn’t really needed, and certainly not worth the risk. On another subject though, I’d like to ask your opinion of the “cylinder 4 cooling mod”. There are a lot of opposing opinions on the subject. The creator of “get-a-dom” has gone into extensive detail in his reasoning for his implementation of this mod and is convincing in his defense. But there are other builders that are telling Subaru turbo enthusiasts not to waste their time and money. And have gone as far as to say that it has negative effect on the engine. It’s my intention to keep my installed mod for prevention and longevity on both my daily, and my project car. Having you weigh in on this would set my mind, and I’m sure many, many others at ease too. I’m of the opinion that it is a plus. But as I’ve said, I hold your opinion canon for this platform. Thanks again for the posts on this subject.
Good stuff. I suspect this is one of the reasons Ford recommends running a tank of gasoline at least once per oil change in the flex fuel F-150 5.0 engines. Although this video has me questioning whether that is frequent enough. In my case it's not really a concern because I end up switching fuels more frequently than that just because of variations in cost and availability.
@@justingill5256 I have the Omega tune in my 2017 as well. Very pleased with it. The transmission tuning that's part of it also makes the truck more fun to drive. E85 isn't available everywhere around here, so I switch back and forth a lot just because of what's convenient.
@Jay Slabotsky 3.31 gears 21gt ported mani with cai, getting 49 mph out of 1st gear 87 mph out 2nd. Gen 3 with 3.31 gears gt ported with omega x tune is getting 49 mph out of 1st on a damn 10 speed 😯
I think somehow i could play your videos at night as an educational lullaby and even if i slept thru half of it, id still wake up 50% smarter and more rested. 😂 all seriousness love these presentations. We are all learning, hopefully until our time is done here! Cheers🎉 thanks for the great videos!
Sir, I want to thank you very much for your videos, Your knowledge is incredible the way you explain everything with your calm and positive attitude is awesome : )
That was some amazing slug. I will note with ethanol being hydroscopic it will pick up more water when it's humid out. I always warm up my e85 cars after it rains or they like to give me hard starts if I don't
