Who's using E85 with what mods?

[drew416ex]

Just wondering who is using E85 and how you like it? Race gas just costs too much. What are your modes and what jetting are you running? Thanks!

[honda400ex2003]

Wheelie is one of the only guys that runs it on a 400 that i know of. He has bad alot of success with it. If you do some searching under his username you will find quite a bit. I cant remember if his name is capitalized or not so you will have to try it both ways. He said he runs quite a bit fatter and i believe he uses the dyno jet needle but i am not 100% sure. Im sure he will chime in to this also. steve

[Wheelie]

I'm using a 450r carb which limits how much E-85 I can run due to the needle. I can't get the mid-range fat enough to run straight E-85. One of these days I'll swap over to a FCR, which has an 'alcohol' needle available for it.


All I did to swap over to E-85 is change the jetting in the carb, I'm still running the 450r fuel line, OE needle valve and carb gaskets with no issues after over 18 months of running corn.

FYI--On gas my jetting was:

48 pilot, stock 450r needle on 4th notch from the top, 195-200 main with the A/F screw out 2.5 turns.

E-85 blend I currently run:

62 pilot, HRC needle on bottom notch and shimmed, 240-245 main (I have to drill my own jets, biggest keihin jet is a 230), and the A/F screw out 3.5 turns.

I picked up a noticeable amount of power from the swap. Throttle response is much improved, mid range torque is also better. The engine runs cooler, however, it takes longer to warm up. I have to let it idle for about 3-4 minutes before I can ride.


E-85 requires a cooler spark plug, run a DPR9z. The blends also change depending on the season, I recommend tuning your machine for the Fall/Spring blend and add a small bit of gasoline to the E-85 for the summer. It takes some playing with to get it right--not a big deal. I've also found that E-85 is VERY sensitive to engine heat, as it burns 100 degrees cooler in the combustion chamber than gasoline.

Don't tune by plug reading with E-85, it's nearly impossible as it cleans the plug very well--makes it easy to dial in timing. Tune by how the machine runs.


Sorry for the ramble, it's a great fuel, I love it. 2.35 gallon here and it's 105 octane. Don't believe all the false myths out there about this stuff, the only people that bad mouth it are the ones that don't know the facts and don't run it.


Hope this helps,

Jeremiah

[drew416ex]

Thanks for the help. Im running 110 and its 7.50 a gallon and E85 is 1.99. At the pump it says its 70% ethanol and 102 octane. Im running a 55 pilot and 200 main right now so I guess Ill have to buy some jets. Ive read about the alcohol needle but havnt found anyone that I can get it from. Any Ideas? What compression piston are you running with your setup?

[Wheelie]

I believe C&D can hook you up with a FCR needle.

Powroll lists the compression at 11.3:1.

Have you bumped the timing with either a rev box or a key? If not, the combination of E-85 and bumping the timing makes an incredible difference.

[drew416ex]

No I havnt messed with timing. What timing key are you using?

[Wheelie]

I cut my own and also sell them.

I use an OE Honda key and mill it. I'm running a 4 degree key that I milled in my stroker.