Running a car on ethanol?

Many cars run on a mix of Unleaded and Ethanol without modification - it's a common fuel type in other countries. I used almost exclusively E10 fuel in Australia in normal cars.
 
Reality Bites said:
I see E85 has 85% gas and 15% ethanol already. Would your guestimate be 10% of E85 and the rest unleaded?
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I thought it was the other way round?

My understanding:
That E85 is 85% Ethanol & 15% gasoline, so the engine should be designed (or modified) for it (or a Flexfuel engine). Some people reckon it's OK in a modern standard engine.
That E10 is 10% Ethanol & 90% gasoline, and any engine can take this without modification.
That E100 is 100% Ethanol, and the engine should definitely be designed for it.
 
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From what I can see E10 is 10% Ethanol and is 'safe' for most cars whereas E85 is 85% Ethanol and is only suitable in more modern cars.
 
my bad.....read it the wrong way round.

So if i used around 10% E85 in my tank.....it shouldnt damage it? Looking into the mods required to run on it.....some say it's only a remap.
 
Reality Bites said:
E85 is RON105
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Octane rating has nothing whatsoever to do with the energy content of fuel.

Ethanol contains less energy than petrol per unit volume, but because the stoichiometric ratio is lower you have to burn quite a bit more more of it so you end up with more power(and quite a bit worse fuel consumption).

Ethanol causes problems with fuel lines in older cars, it attacks the flexible rubber and plastic hoses.
 
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[TW]Fox;14753993 said:
As I thought - and surely your mix of mostly petrol with a bit of Ethanol will be closer to this than it will to E85.
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well i'm not sure what a safe mix would be......heard mixes from 10-25%+ with normal unleaded.

Like i said, just looking at the pro's and cons.......i've heard the right mix and map can give you performance benefits, just seeing if it's worth while.
 
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