5sfe performance mods Options

[ncampb]

I have a piggy back ECU installed that makes my Celica "flexfuel". It runs way better on E85 than pump gas.

This mod is great because it increases performance and saves me a bunch of money on fuel. E85 ethanol pumps are going up everywhere, and if you have one near you, I would consider this upgrade a necessity.

E85 is 105 octane. Thats why it will increase performance, even on a 5sfe with no mods. The owners manual "recommends" 91 octane so you know that higher octane is going to increase performance. The easiest way to increase performance is to increase fuel quality, and this mod will save you money at the same time.

[SlickRick]

Well first off as with anything in a car its a give and take. Your are not getting anyMORE power out of the engine it just is making more of its potential power(more performance would be true if it was a high compression motor). And unless u have made huge changes to the block, cooling and fuel system, u may be doing more harm then good. Dont get me wrong i would love 2 do this 2 my car. But E85 is ethanol mostly alcohol. Alcohol reacts differently with the metals and especially the rubber in your car. Alcohol can even weaken your seals AND aluminum components over time to the point of cracking very easily. Alcohol is naturally very hygroscopic (meaning it will pull moisture right out of the air) this means unless u plan on sealing or draining your gas tank every night u may end up with water in your fuel system. And the corrosion and seal issue is absolutely true I have seen it first hand. And u r forgetting that gas does have some petroleum in it. And as small as it is, it does provide a small amount of lubrication in the combustion chamber that E85 does not equal. This lubrication is taken into account when an OEM sets clearances. Honestly I am not trying 2 put u on the spot but i would not run E85 in a Celica, or any non-stock E85 engine, without making major adjustments first, your just asking for major trouble. And when it is all said and done you will only get about a 4% increase in MPG E85 needs 2 be about a $1 less a gallon to even substantiate a switch, unless your doing it just to pay more $$$ but help the environment!

[ncampb]

E85 needs 2 be about a $1 less a gallon to even substantiate a switch, unless your doing it just to pay more $$$ but help the environment!

Well of course its not worth it unless E85 is significantly cheaper in your area. At my station its $1.20 less than regular gas, so it saves me a lot of money. Before I got the ECU upgrade, I was running E85 on the car totally stock. Worked great to ethanol concentrations of about 50%-60%. At 85% on the stock ECU power was noticeably less, but putting a couple gallons of regular gas into the tank could fix that immediately.

About corrosion/lubrication issues, I think y'all might need to take some chemistry classes (I'm a chemical engineering major!). There are actually two types of ethanol, known as "aqueous ethanol" and "anhydrous ethanol".

Aqueous ethanol means the ethanol is in a solution with water. This is the kind of ethanol you can drink to get drunk. This is also the variety of ethanol that is sold as fuel in Brazil. In Brazil, ethanol fuel can contain up to 5% water. Aqueous ethanol is more corrosive than gasoline, and it does have the tendency to pull additional water molecules out of the air.

Anhydrous ethanol on the other hand has had all the water molecules removed. This is a very complex refining process because the last 2% of water is very hard to remove. Anhydrous ethanol is then stabilized by blending it with gasoline. The resulting mixture is called "gasohol", and can vary in ethanol concentrations from 10% ethanol (regular gasoline you can buy at the gas station) to 98% ethanol (the type of fuel used by Indy cars and Nascar).

Aqueous ethanol IS more corrosive and probably would destroy the fuel system, but this is not the type of fuel sold in the U.S. Anhydrous ethanol can be used though in any concentration. 85% ethanol/gasoline blend is not significantly more corrosive than a 10% ethanol/gasoline blend which all cars are guaranteed to be tolerant of. By removing the water and then mixing with gasoline, ethanol has different chemical properties than aqueous ethanol.