E-85 Engine Pictures

[Wheelie]

Last time I went to the track, I heard what I thought was spark knock, come to find out the head gasket was starting to leak on the front-left side (when sitting on the machine). I'll blame the stock head studs, over 11:1 compression and 4 degrees of timing advance is fairly aggressive for stock studs.

Since this will be my 4th year running on corn, I decided this would be a great opportunity to see what the piston and combustion chamber looked like after 3 full seasons of riding and countless gallons of corn (I converted it in early Feb 09' IIRC).

Overall this engine has 6 full seasons on it, it was built by me in March of 06'. There is no carbon to speak of, intake port looks like brand new and the cross hatches are still visible in the cylinder--no wear to speak of. I use no additives with E-85 for upper cylinder lubrication, so I was curious to see if any wear was visible.

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s213/Theyak777/DSCF0312-1.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s213/Theyak777/DSCF0311-1.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s213/Theyak777/DSCF0314-1.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s213/Theyak777/DSCF0313-1.jpg


Stock head studs are still in place. No GT Thunder studs.......yet. I'll see if the gasket goes again.

[tri5ron]

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[D3structive]

Did you figure out what the average cost per gallon is for corn meal vs pump? I'm just curious

[Wheelie]

I haven't broken down the cost. With the current state of tune on my machine, pump gas is not an option. 50/50 Race gas, pump gas would be a minimum.

I have a 6 gallon gas can. Figure $7/gal for race gas (haven't bought race gas since 2008--so my figure may be off), $4/gal for premium. That'd be $33 to fill up a 6 gallon can.

My E-85 blend changes with the seasons, so I'll choose summer blend for my math. 5 gallons of E-85 at 3.25/gallon, and 1 gallon premium at $4. That's $20.25 to fill up the same 6 gallon can. Granted I burn through more corn than gasoline, so that offsets some of the cost (I have to drill my own main jets, Keihin doesn't make one big enough for me, I also have a 245 I made as well).

E-85 I can buy 24/7-365 at any station that takes debit/credit cards. Race gas has to be bought during business hours.

Keep in mind that E-85 is 105 octane and has great cooling properties which is probably part of the reason the stock head studs have held up so well. Not to mention E-85 increases horsepower and torque, most dynos show 5-12% increase from the fuel swap alone.

[Wheelie]

The lower left corner of the 2nd picture shows the 'grey' residue from the leaky head gasket.

[ajw2685]

Have you had any corrosion issues with the ethanol eating rubber?

Do you drain the carb after each ride?

I am really interested in E85 but have a few questions before I swap.

[Wheelie]

I never drain the carburetor or fuel tank when I store it, sometimes I store it with a 1/2 tank to see if it draws any water. Never does, it has sat for 6 months at a time untouched, intentionally to present worst case scenario. It has never had a drop of water in the fuel system.

All fuel components are stock. Fuel line, accelerator pump, fuel cap, tank, float bowl o-ring all have absolutely zero issues. Nothing has hardened, swelled, or malformed in any way in over 3 years. There has been absolutely zero corrosion in the carburetor, in fact the inside of the carburetor looks a lot better with ethanol in it than it ever did with gas. Spotless, looks new, even after storage.

However, I have had the needle valve stick or not seat properly 3 or 4 times throughout the 3+ years, usually after long storage. The needle valve is the one that came with carburetor when I bought it used. I have a new one on the shelf I'm going to install next weekend.

I've never used any storing aids like stabil or upper cylinder lubricants with E-85. It's stored the same way it comes out of the pump.

[audioworks04]

Thats pretty amazing that its that clean and hasnt had any storage issue. Im getting really sick of trying to find 110 around here. Maybe you could give us a write up of a kind of how to on E and link it from this thread.

[Wheelie]

It's simple to swap. Pick a season blend you want to tune for, I recommend Spring/Fall blend. That way you can run it straight most of the year and add a touch of gasoline in the summer. No need for constant tuning this way.

Install a colder plug, I run a DPR9Z (I think that's the number).

Re-jet. 30% richer on the pilot circuit, 25% on the main would be a good starting point. Install a more aggressive needle.

That's what I did for the swap.