step by step converting an evo or most cars to E85

[st-evo-9*corn fed-8urvet*]

ok so as some of you may know i have a 2006 mitsubishi evo and i am currently converting it to run on e85

so b4 i go threw with this write up i got to give a warning

WARNING!!!!!

this write up isnt for most automobiles and shouldnt be tryed on your own car unless u know how to prep your specific car for this conversion! motorgen.com and i are not responsible for what happens to your car if you decide to follow my write up.

so far cars im sure that can follow this conversion to the T are evo's, sti's, and most japanese forced induction cars made after the early 90's. but remember this is EVO specific.

***PART-1 (the back story)
For the past year evo enthusiast in the U.S. have been bitching about gas priced and a few decided to do something about it! so they converted to crack juice or E85 which is available in various parts of CA.

***PART-2 (the findings)
e85 can be tuned to gain larges amount of power from an evo being as how its equivilent to 105-110 octane. the evo's fuel system can fully handle it for the long term. all that needs to be done for an evo to run on e85 is to get larger injectors, larger fuel pump, a monitoring system for Air/Fuel ration and Lamda, and a tuning system to tune and adjust the timing and injectors and someone who knows wtf there doing lol

the following results are what have come out of already converted evo's

1st evo = completely stock except for the turned up boost to 30psi bigger injectors, fuel pump and the re-tune.
b4 e85 262HP.....after e85 354HP
b4 miles per tank 220.... after 215mpt

2nd evo = bolt ons, no cam, 660cc (63lb) injector, fuel pump, boost turned up to 28psi tune
b4 e85 325hp.....after e85 399hp
b4 mpt 230...after 270mpt

3rd evo = bolt ons 1000cc (95lb) injectors, fuel pump, no cams, boosting 31psi, tune
b4 e85 332HP.....after e85 410HP
b4 mpt 220..... after 260mpt (as u can see the last 2 evo's took a little time with there mpg tune)



to say the least this was a big hit,

e85 lowers exhaust gas temp's
Average evo egt = 1,200F
E85 evo egt = 600F

it let the evo run all the timing/fuel it wanted while still being cheaper then 91oct and a hell of alot cheaper then 100oct or C16 and having the the benifits of different fuels in 1 ie. = lots of oxygen, cheap, high octane, cooling properties etc

***PART-3 (e85 min. requirements on an evo)

-255lph walbro fuel pump *industry stadard for evo's under 800HP*

-some way of adjusting boost, whether its a manual boost controller ($50) and electronic boost controller ($400) or ecu controlled boost ($100 for hardware)

-a boost gauge *make sure it reads high b/c ur gonna need it too lol*

-bigger injectors- stock evo injectors are 550cc (52lbs) u will need -
720c-820cc (69lbs-78lbs) this is if u dont wanna run mega high boost and are on a buget and ur gonna stick with the stock turbo. these injectors will be maxed the fuck out though..they will be running at 100% duty cycle at WOT.

820cc-1000cc (78lbs-95lbs) this will give u plenty of head room for tuning and injector life with lower duty cycles with a stock turbo and the 1000cc set up will do u good up to a garret gt35 at low boost.

-afr monitoring system that can be calibrated, most air fuel ratio monitoring systems are calibrated for normal gas products....ie (91oct, 100oct, leaded gas like 115oct) but the wideband O2 sensor that reads your afr will have to be calibrated for e85 b/c it has different burn characteristics then gasoline.
* also on a side if u can get ur mind around how lambda works and how reading it works ive heard that lambda is a much easier way of tuning for alterative fuels b/c it reads a more constant variable (i forgot what lol) then the afr.

-some logging software to read ur cars knock/load/injector duty cycler/rpm etc....

-and then something to tune the car with be it laptop software for the stock ecu, a piggy back, or stand alone engine management system.

lastly u gotta know how to tune or have a tuner who knows his shit on hand lol!



***PART-4 (my car)

2006 mitsu lancer evo9 gsr (5speed)

my mods:
K&n drop in panel filter
manual boost controller set at 23-24psi *stock evo's are 18-19psi*
lower intercooler pipe
buschur front mount intercooler
APS blow off valve
ported throttle body 65mm
HKS 272 duration intake mivec cam
HKS 272 duration exhaust cam
turbo back catless exhaust
-megan O2 housing
-HKS 2.5" downpipe
-custom 2.5" str8 pipe
-WORKS 3" catback
walbro 255lph fuel pump
denso 720cc injectors

**on a dynojet on 91octane i made 321hp and 310tq kinda low for an evo but i told the tuner to stay safe

***the tuning program i use reads HP more like a mustang dyno and it read my HP to be at 286HP and 275tq


HOW i MONITOR THINGS

-the afr is monitored by my zeitronix wideband o2 sensor *a very good piece of equipment*

-im gonna log my cars knock/load, read hp/tq etc with a program called evoscan. this is a very good evo based program and should be an evo standard...also to read ur car your gonna need a tractrix cable to read off ur obd2 port onto ur laptop.

-and to tune the car im using a program called ecu flash. which is specificly made for evo's, sti's, eclipse's, wrx's. which reads my ecu and lets me tweek whatever i want in the car ie.timing, fuel, antilag, launch control, speed govenor and much more and then flash the changed results into my car and run it :-)

***PART-5 (how to tune for e85)

the brief short story for all general cars is that e85 takes a little more to pop the way gas does which is y everyone rants and bitches about e85 getting worst milage. but when it does pop it fuckin pops and cools while it pops which is y it has a 105-110octane rating. when in reality there flex cars, or none tuned cars arent set up timing wise or fuel delivery amount wize for optimum e85 performance. so when a normal car uses e85 the engine dumps lots of fuel into it b/c it doesnt know wtf is going on kinda like when u had sex for the first time and ur girlfriend did that whole crying thing afterwards. and with flex fuel cars there ecu's are made to try and find and happy median in timing and fuel delivery to run on 87oct, and run on e85 so they still get better milage on e85 but there stock tune isnt fully optimizing the potential of e85 to get its best mpg.

ok so once you have added fuel, the most e85 u add the more u can add timing and boost...so once the fuel is done u have plenty of room to play with boost and timing and add all u want lol until u hit knock then back off a degree or so lol.

after that enjoy all that new found HP

***more evo specific version coming soon***

PART-6 (my results :-D!!!)

well im filling up my 2 55gal containers with e85 in L.A. tomarrow or thursday. i live in rancho cucamonga so im not to local to a station lol. and then imma tune my car thursday night after i get off work............so to be continued.

[Vettezuki]

This is awesome info.:hail:

One of many questions to come I'm sure. Alcohol is very hygroscopic (takes on water). How do you plan to store the E85 so that this problem is mitigated . . . or are you just going to burn 110 gallons every couple weeks? :smack: Do you need a license or permit to get that much fuel? Ok, that was two questions.

[st-evo-9*corn fed-8urvet*]

This is awesome info.:hail:

One of many questions to come I'm sure. Alcohol is very hygroscopic (takes on water). How do you plan to store the E85 so that this problem is mitigated . . . or are you just going to burn 110 gallons every couple weeks? :smack: Do you need a license or permit to get that much fuel? Ok, that was two questions.

im going to use it as my daily driving fuel the 110 gallons should last me about 1.5 - 2 months give or take the occasional long distance booty call or beach trip!

and as for keeping that much fuel...well ya its really not at all legal if my sources are correct. what im actually doing if taking 11 5gallon containers with me to the e85 station and fill them up and then come home dump them in 1 drum and make a second trip and fill up the second drum. im keeping the 2 drums in a shed in my backyard and im going to cover them with all sorts of shit to keep the heat away from them in there lol. and when ever i need to fill up i just pump out e85 into one of my 5gal vp racing fuel containers and put it iin my car the same way u see race cars fuel up evo's only have a 13gal fuel tank so 3 trip to the back yard isnt that bad. i dont really go to far from home anyways just work, partys, car meets, and booty calls lol i live a simple life.

oh ya also i forgot to add **what if i run out of e85?*

well with the flashing/tuning software i have u can save all the tunes and tweeks uve ever made to ur car on your laptops hard drive....i have 100's or tunes lol but ill just switch back to my 91 tune if i ever find myself needing 91

also in the software i have there is an option to have a map switching mode to where i hook up a relay switch from an un-used ecu pin slot in my ecu, and tell the program that when this switch is in the on possition my ecu will be reading a 91 map ive loaded in there and when the switch is off it reads an e85 tune i put in there.........in other words ive loaded to tunes into my stock ecu and im able to choose which one i want the car to use at the flip of a switch.

GOD I LOVE THE EVO!!!

for what all u V8 guys have and love about ur big, loud, manly sounding, and powerful your engines are the evo matches with how indept its stock technology is and the unmatched abuse this 25 year old engine can take as far as boosting it to the moon and back.


oh ya and on a last note if u pop my hood it looks like a stock evo!! its gonna be a stock looking and sounding (if i wanted i can tune out the cam lopeyness ) 410+hp to the wheels evo that passes smog, has stock quick spool/throttle response from the factory turbo = no lag like bigger turbo's

god if i havent sold u on a damn evo yet idk what the hell would lol!!! j/k im a one off nerd at heart that loves to mess with technology and as u can all see ive gotten to expand that threw my car which is y i love it! and for those that do read threw all this, thank you for taking the time out of your day to share in my passion and letting me teach you a few things about the real import/evo/car enthusiast scene. that its not all hondas with big wings, and bigger ego's, bad paint jobs, sterios, and fart cans!!!

[st-evo-9*corn fed-8urvet*]

This is awesome info.:hail:

Do you need a license or permit to get that much fuel? Ok, that was two questions.

i believe legaly u can only have 5 gallons of fuel in storage at a residence, or maybe its that the fuel can only be kept in 5 gallon containers i forgot? lol but its something like that!

oh and to keep water out of my drums i was thinking about putting those little keep dry packets they have in beef jerky bags on the screw off cap of my drum to keep moister out lol!! kinda nerdy i know but hell it will probably work

[Vettezuki]

. . .
oh and to keep water out of my drums i was thinking about putting those little keep dry packets they have in beef jerky bags on the screw off cap of my drum to keep moister out lol!! kinda nerdy i know but hell it will probably work

I'm no scientologist, but I don't think this is going to work the way you hope. Those little descant bags are intended for moderating the humidity in very small amounts of atmosphere (jerky bag, etc.). As a 55 gal drum is drawn down, you'll have liters and liters of atmosphere with considerable ammounts water vapor sitting right above your alcohol mixture which will just love to take on that water. I'm not sure what the right way to do it is, but I'd consider coming up with a vacuum pump and seal with a gauge. Each time you fill up, close it up and suck ALL the air out.

There's also a material you can soak an alcohol/water mixture in and all the water stays in the material. You just have to dry it out when your done, but it's infinitely reusable.

[st-evo-9*corn fed-8urvet*]

I'm no scientologist, but I don't think this is going to work the way you hope. Those little descant bags are intended for moderating the humidity in very small amounts of atmosphere (jerky bag, etc.). As a 55 gal drum is drawn down, you'll have liters and liters of atmosphere with considerable ammounts water vapor sitting right above your alcohol mixture which will just love to take on that water. I'm not sure what the right way to do it is, but I'd consider coming up with a vacuum pump and seal with a gauge. Each time you fill up, close it up and suck ALL the air out.

There's also a material you can soak an alcohol/water mixture in and all the water stays in the material. You just have to dry it out when your done, but it's infinitely reusable.

holy hell man!! u have to tell me where i can get this material at?

ive i drive to work everyday and have a little fun on the weekends i average out to a tank and a half which = 20 gal so a drum will be emptied in 2 1/2 weeks give or take. im not sure if thats long enough for this atmospheric water absorbtion action to really take a large enough tole on the e85 in the drum for my car to notice if i give it a slightly pulled back tune. whats ur opinion on that time frame?

[Vettezuki]

holy hell man!! u have to tell me where i can get this material at?

ive i drive to work everyday and have a little fun on the weekends i average out to a tank and a half which = 20 gal so a drum will be emptied in 2 1/2 weeks give or take. im not sure if thats long enough for this atmospheric water absorbtion action to really take a large enough tole on the e85 in the drum for my car to notice if i give it a slightly pulled back tune. whats ur opinion on that time frame?



Taken from:
http://running_on_alcohol.tripod.com/id26.html

" A molecular sieve is just zeolite: link to information about the manufacturer we use is shown here. Buy Type 3A in 10lb bags (looks like a small pea gravel) it is only a couple of bucks and it works very well to dehydrate the ethanol. We mix about 5lbs in a 5 gallon can and let it sit with the ethanol overnight and pour the dehydrated ethanol through a screen, into another can the next day. To get the water out of the zeolite we just broil it on the backyard grill - it is reusable indefinitely."

http://www.thomasregister.com/olc/60852852/m_sieve.htm


My guess, and it's just a guess is that because we live in a desert with relatively constant low-humidity (though it is definitely higher then when I was a kid growing up), and we're only talking about storing E85 in closed drums for up to about 6 weeks, I wouldn't expect that much trouble especially in the summer.

The reality must be very complex and for that you'd have to consult with a real chemist and/or petro-chemical engineer for advice. Of course, the first pull off the drums will obviously be the best and the last would be the worst.

[st-evo-9*corn fed-8urvet*]

if i where to use that guys example of using 5lbs of this stuff for every 5 gallons.
in a 55 gal drum imma have to use 55lbs and how the hell am i gonna get it out? by drum is a closed head not an open head so the biggest opening i got is a 2'' one up top? o dear!!

and as for the first drops being the best and the last being the worst ya i knew all that milarky! lol i need to do some more reseach and see if i can find its absorbtion rate.... for now the best thing i got going for me is to log my car via laptop for the first 2 drums and monitor how my car reacts to the older e85. im guessing the worst the fuel gets....my car will start seeing less power, it might stall the engine a few times at idel or even while driving, i would imagine my car would start seeing more consistant knocking and may even sputter during acceleration.

and the worst case scenerio of all would be that so much water has collected in the e85 that it doesnt evaporate out anymore from the combustion and stays in my cylinder collecting and it would make me blow something in my engine......kinda like how if ur intake sucked in a good amount of water and ut head gasket blows out, or your ,piston shoots out the side of your engine.

im not sure if it will get that bad....that is pretty damn extreme. but like i said i need to keep monitoring my car to see if the fuel is good.

or just invest in a fuel testing kit/mechine............damn this is sounding more expensive then i hoped well we shall see!

im getting tuned tonight.

truth be told i think if i use it on a consistant basis like i plan to it shouldnt be that bad and ill probably just end up with some knock toward the mid to bottom of the second drum.

[Vettezuki]

Maybe you could use a specific gravity test like home brewers use to determine the alcohol content of their beer. :huh: Also, you could pump out the fuel you need the day before you need it into 5 gal buckets. You have to dry out the stuff after use anyway, you can't just leave it in the drums, it would become water-logged eventually and therefore useless.

[st-evo-9*corn fed-8urvet*]

Maybe you could use a specific gravity test like home brewers use to determine the alcohol content of their beer. :huh: Also, you could pump out the fuel you need the day before you need it into 5 gal buckets. You have to dry out the stuff after use anyway, you can't just leave it in the drums, it would become water-logged eventually and therefore useless.

ya thats what i was thinking about doing!! now i just need to find out how to order things on that site!!

[st-evo-9*corn fed-8urvet*]

TUNING ALMOST DONE!!! but i got sweet results already!!!

my car is at 425HP and 400TQ and pulls like a fuckin freight train!!!

im also boosting 28psi on the stock evo 9 turbo

ive been up tuning from midnight to now ad its getting hot so im gonna continue my tuning at night again.

but the car can take a tone more timing and im getting no consistant knock..i just get 1 count of knock every know and then at random rpms i think this is do to the bumpy roads near my house and the fact that i probably still hade about a quart or so of 91 octane still in my tank when i started filling up with e85 so everytime it hits i think it makes a tad bit of know whenever it gets sucked it well im off to sleep im damn tired and feel like a tweeker :bigthumbsup:

[Vettezuki]

TUNING ALMOST DONE!!! but i got sweet results already!!!

my car is at 425HP and 400TQ and pulls like a fuckin freight train!!!

im also boosting 28psi on the stock evo 9 turbo

ive been up tuning from midnight to now ad its getting hot so im gonna continue my tuning at night again.

but the car can take a tone more timing and im getting no consistant knock..i just get 1 count of knock every know and then at random rpms i think this is do to the bumpy roads near my house and the fact that i probably still hade about a quart or so of 91 octane still in my tank when i started filling up with e85 so everytime it hits i think it makes a tad bit of know whenever it gets sucked it well im off to sleep im damn tired and feel like a tweeker :bigthumbsup:


Tweaker. That's awesome. :bananallama: Where are your numbers coming from? Do you have a dyno in your garage?:rolling: Do you think you'll be going to Fonatana tomorrow? And finally, at those power/torque numbers are you concerned about the clutch/trans?

[st-evo-9*corn fed-8urvet*]

Tweaker. That's awesome. :bananallama: Where are your numbers coming from? Do you have a dyno in your garage?:rolling: Do you think you'll be going to Fonatana tomorrow? And finally, at those power/torque numbers are you concerned about the clutch/trans?


lol im awake again and tweeking my car even more!!!! and yes im going to fontana tomarrow im gonna run a low boost safe tune, and an all out u shouldnt run this shit everyday tune lol!!!

and at this HP the stock clutch will go out soon expecially if i launch lol

but as for the trans stock evo trans can take alot the evo trans and drive train are probably the least touched parts on an evo until u get to 600-700hp on an evo 8 (the helixical slip dif will blow up) and 800hp on an evo9 (your first gear will usually go out form launching)

[Vettezuki]

lol im awake again and tweeking my car even more!!!! and yes im going to fontana tomarrow im gonna run a low boost safe tune, and an all out u shouldnt run this shit everyday tune lol!!!

and at this HP the stock clutch will go out soon expecially if i launch lol

but as for the trans stock evo trans can take alot the evo trans and drive train are probably the least touched parts on an evo until u get to 600-700hp on an evo 8 (the helixical slip dif will blow up) and 800hp on an evo9 (your first gear will usually go out form launching)

Wow. So the Evo trans is definitely stouter than the the STi trans??? Those guys seem to break them all the time. Are there any beefy aftermarket clutches you could install for your application? I remember an episode on Top Gear where they were talking about an FQ400? and they said it was just a bit too much, the clutch had to be replaced like every 5,000 miles. One thing I like about Vettes (and other domestics) you can thrash the piss out of them and it's just fine. But I ain't gonna lie, your project is awesome. :hail: I wanna ride.

[st-evo-9*corn fed-8urvet*]

Wow. So the Evo trans is definitely stouter than the the STi trans??? Those guys seem to break them all the time. Are there any beefy aftermarket clutches you could install for your application? I remember an episode on Top Gear where they were talking about an FQ400? and they said it was just a bit too much, the clutch had to be replaced like every 5,000 miles. One thing I like about Vettes (and other domestics) you can thrash the piss out of them and it's just fine. But I ain't gonna lie, your project is awesome. :hail: I wanna ride.

well i live in rancho cucamonga literally down the street from cali speedway just take cherry north past the 210 till u get to a residential area.

and ill give u a ride anytime. and i reall yneed a helmet if im going to cali speedway now :-( damnit i dont have one!!

oh ya and evo trans are way better then the sti ive met so many broken sti trans and even more wrx with messed up trans. and as for an end all clutch

it would be the exedy twin plate clutch or the exedy triple plate clutch.
on my 04 evo i hade a twin plate installed right b4 it got totalled and i launched on a bike at my redline and it caught at my rev limiter ive never felt such a grabbing force in my life! and i took the bike till half way up 2nd gear!! not to bad considering i was only making 295hp on my old evo.

but ya any stock evo clutches suck ass!!!! end of story.

well imma go drop a duece, fill my car with moonshine, and then head out so if you wanna meet up with me out there pm me for my phone number. or just look for my out there.

i have the silver evo9 with a messed up bumper *sum bitch rear ended me on monday* and the bbs evo MR rims with a shit load of break dust on them. and i have pink tuning technologies stickers on my front and back windshield.