E85 and Self Blending Ethanol Fuels

[Ultraplasmo]

So I have been reading about people in the United States blending there own ethanol fuels at the pump. It seems that a surprising number of vehicles can run higher blends of ethanol than the government mandate allows so I thought I would give it a go. Really I've got nothing to lose, so when fueling up today with my usual P100 I mixed in some e85 sweetness first. After a little bit of driving I decided to add some more. The United servo attended thought it was all a bit strange. So to sum up the todays events:

I am currently running a much higher blend of self blended ethanol fuel. There is no performance impact - the car is not slower but does not feel notably faster either. Fuel economy impact is yet to be determined.

The ratios look like this:
p100 28 litres approx
e85 14 litres approx
Mix 42 litres approx

28 litres of p100 @ 10% ethanol blend gives 2.8 litres.
14 litres of e85 @ 85% ethanol blend gives 11.9 litres
2.8 litres plus 11.9 litres gives 14.7 litres (he he, how much boost I used to run in my old magna)

14.7 litres divided by 42 litres to work out the ratio gives 0.35, expressed as a percentage = 35%

I am running e35 in my Magna and it loves it!

42 litres mixed fuel minus 14.7 litres ethanol gives 27.3 litres of petrol
Interesting ratio there that the vehicle runs so well (at the moment) with just over one third of the total fuel content being ethanol. Looks like I can blend my own knock resistant fuel and not pay the price for P100.

E35, give it a go - if you dare!

[jimbo]

It will be interesting to see how your fuel system copes with the higher concentration of ethanol.

[Shamous69]

Nothing to lose? Except the health of your fuel system . I pick injectors to be the first to have a dummy spit, maybe not in the short term but down the track if you make this a permanent arrangement.
A dare I wouldn't take on, not in my Magnas anyway, trying to preserve their condition as much as possible. I don't even touch E10, it may run fine, no arguments to those who use it, but I do hate the stink that comes out the tailpipe.
You must have an abundance of funds aside to be able to take the punt . Keep us updated.

[Ultraplasmo]

Been running e10 (95RON) for the last 5+ years or so and had no problems yet so I was keen for some experimentation now that e85 is becoming more awailable. Some cars like it some don't. Some people just simply don't like the idea, I don't really care either way. I am going to run this for quite a while just to see what happens. Should be interesting. Next shot I will look at blending an e40 equivalent, though will probably hook up an AFR meter for that. As for nothing to lose Shamous69's response was 'my fuel system'. So as I was saying, I have nothing to lose Also, I actually don't expect anyone to take on my dare - it was somewhat of a facetious statement.
Already running a whole lot of advanced ignition timing - might try and squeeze in a few more degrees of advance. Now where's that 12mm open ended?

[WytWun]

Keep an eye on your fuel trims - with the stock ECU you don't want to hit the 25% limit as that could lead to lean running.

[Ultraplasmo]

Yeah going to get an AFR meter just for the sake of it. Will have a look at ratios and experiment with higher blends only then. Seems like the ECU has enough fudge factor at the moment for smooth normal operation which is really good.