I have a pretty good idea of which way I'm going to swing towards 93 > E85, but what are your thoughts on having a DD that runs E85? I already know the shitty gas mileage, but is it that significant? Would it be worth it to sacrifice the lost in MPG for the performance that it gives you? Another factor is the scattered amount of stations that have E85. I commute from Gwinnett to Marietta and Downtown. I know a couple stations on my commute to downtown and there is one really near my house as well. Just trying to figure out what I want to do before I get tuned. I have the supporting mods to run E85 if I choose to do so. I've gotten mixed answers from friends, just wondering what you guys think. Discuss...
That's good to hear! I've just seen some charts on the turbo on a 2.0 and it's hitting low 300 on pump so that's what made me turn to E85. If I can run low boost and hit my target, then I'm willing to take the hit on it and run E85 and there is always more overhead if I want to make more power.
HAHA true. If anything I'll just enjoy the benefits of 93 pump and move to E85 after this car isn't my DD
We don't have enough e85 pumps in our area to make it worth it in my opinion. You would be searching for gas stations more than having fun with the car. That said...I wish we had more of them.
Do you have a stock 5 speed? I know torque, not HP kills transmissions, but isn't 320 whp pushing it for a stock 5 speed on a DD?
Yea it's a stock 5 spd. I know torque is gonna kill my transmission, but I don't drive hard at all. I just like the feeling of having that power HAHA. That's why I want to run the least amount of boost (conservative tune) and still hit my goal.
I wouldnt bother...especially for DD. It is such a PITA on my car because I only get like 150 miles to the tank on E85
HAHA those numbers are not very pleasant. Isn't E85 cheaper as well? Probably not cheap enough to run it over 93 huh?
I'm running E85 daily and get about 15mpg to the gallon average mixed driving. If you are doing the rush our BS each day your mileage will be worse. Usually, I average about 200-210 miles on a tank, and on a long road trip to Charlote, I got 270miles to the tank with cruise control on at 75-80mph mostly. I like the idea of a higher margin for safety, when properly tuned. I agree though, it doesn't make a ton of sense to run 300whp on E85, since it can be done easily and safely on pump.
Yea I understand. I mean I would LOVE LOVE to take my turbo to it's full potential, but unfortunately my transmission will just not tolerate that. I have to tune around my tranny and not my mods HAHA. I hate it, but I just cannot afford to upgrade my transmission. Not even run the RA gear sets atm. If it wasn't for my 5 speed I would run E85 no questions asked.
my two cents. i tuned my car myself and i can run e85 or 93. i find the cost to be close. it takes more e85 but its cheaper per gallon than 93. i have enough 15 and 20 gallon drums to store 100 gallons of e85. i have an out building. i also have a honda fit that i take 10 miles to the nearest pump to fill up two or three drums. not to mention that the fit is a 2nd car so if i want to do some distance and not spend money i use it. i do find that on the interstate, i get decent mileage on e85. for me it was fun tuning for e85. i simply switch the map using my cobb v2 if i run 93 which i do sometimes. on a 5 speed regardless you are pressing it at over 300 whp. time for a sti 6 speed. bottom line e85 is cheap race gas. i was paying 6+ dollars for leaded race gas in the 80s for a custom built 240z turbo. and the octane in e85 is better and it cools too. e85 cleans the motor a bit and makes it run cooler, especially in the summer. it does come with its on headaches, primary of which is finding pumps. for me its not an issue. i store a ton, can convert with a simple switch or drive my other car. going for big power? e85 ftw.
Cheap race gas for the same price as running 93 octane. The only downside is the need for bigger fuel system (injectors and a 255 should be fine for your application). I daily drove mine on E85 for 2+ years and never had an issue. I had 3 tunes. 93 octane, summer blend and winter blend. Definitely need to run a Lc-1 and gauge and keep track of your air fuels around the time blends change though. Some stations change blends in the winter, some do not...just seems to be luck of the draw.
HTA68 is a bad choice. Blouch Evo 3 16g will make 300 on pump gas. 320 is a little stretch but can be done but the HTA68 is going to be laggy on a 2.0L and have poor street manners. I'd give up 20 hp for low end streetability any day.
Also I dunno about in Atlanta but here e85 is only 10 cents cheaper than 93. Not worth it for 320 hp if you ask me.
Not at all. 350 hp on my WRX for 98,000 miles with almost 500 drag launches before mine gave up on me.
My tranny is close to 80k and my car made 367whp and 337wtq. With the right trans fluid and clean shifts not over loading the gears you should be ok. This is hypothetically speaking of course if your trans has been well taken care off. When i called rallispec about the RA and STI RA gears they told me that they themselves did not reccomend the gears for over 350whp applications. Ur only "safe" options would be a sti 6spd or ppg gears. As far as e85, if you are not driving a race car forget it. 93 all day. If you want to have safe higher power, then you shouldnt be in the game (from my now second bad experience). Safe just doesnt exist in the world of modifying and tuning. Most people do have great results but its all hit or miss.
And yet people have blown them with stock power again and again (Andy rebuilds them all the time!). It all depends on how you drive them. All it takes is one bad launch. They don't call them the glass transmissions for nothing!