Converting to E85

[DiMora]

I want to switch to The Corn. I used SEARCH, but need more info.

2006 GT with TVS blower.

What I have:

GT500 fuel pumps
Kenne Bell Dual BAP
ID 1000 injectors on the way

What do I need to do mechanically? Any hose swaps? Are the GT500 pumps fine with E85?

Obviously I'll get a tune. (actually two tunes...one for 93 octane emergencies and one for E85).

 

[dysan]

What I ran when I still had my mod motor in the car was GT500 pumps, single 40amp BAP, removed the check valve from the pump assembly, -8 AN ptfe teflon lines, Fore stainless element fuel filter, Bosch 1000cc injectors and the AN to fuel rail quick disconnect adapter. Never had any fueling issues with that setup.

 

[BruceH]

GT500 pumps, single 40 amp bap, 8 gauge power wire, 970cc Bosch injectors, stock lines and rails. I was able to support 699rwhp (actual, not corrected) with E85 and 19psi.

GT500 pumps don't have any compatibility issues with E85, neither do the stock fuel lines.

The dual bap might be hard on the pumps and fpdms. IIRC it pumps out 20 volts all the time. I always thought of it as a solution to a problem that didn't exist.

 

[Marble]

So I have basically the same set up. GT500 pumps, ID1000s and a dual BAP. I can just switch to E85 after I'm tuned for it?

The thing that sucks about my situation is there are no pumps here. But race fuel is $25 per gallon. I have an empty barrel so I could just trade that in for a barrel of E85, get a pump which is like $70 and run E85 all of the time. Seems cheaper than $120+ for a weekend of racing, fuel only.

The car is not DD so I don't have to worry about long road trips.

 

[JUSTA3V]

If you are doing the barrel thing...just remember the 30 percent more burn rule with e85. You will be surprised how fast you empty a 55 gallon drum.

 

[Marble]

I think I could do that. I only go through maybe 20 gallons a month now and there is a place where I live that will deliver the barrels.

Plus I think I'll make a little more power lol. And that's always good.

 

[BruceH]

So I have basically the same set up. GT500 pumps, ID1000s and a dual BAP. I can just switch to E85 after I'm tuned for it?

The thing that sucks about my situation is there are no pumps here. But race fuel is $25 per gallon. I have an empty barrel so I could just trade that in for a barrel of E85, get a pump which is like $70 and run E85 all of the time. Seems cheaper than $120+ for a weekend of racing, fuel only.

The car is not DD so I don't have to worry about long road trips.

Yes, provided you don't max out the pumps. IIRC my duty cycle was very high, like around 95%. It was more than the smart people say it should be.

I think they sell E85 in Sacramento. Not sure how far that is for you but if it's within a few hours you could fill barrels yourself. If blender pumps are available you could use E50. It's still going to have great anti detonation properties and it won't max out the fuel system as much as E85 will.

I'm sure you know changing back to whatever fuel is as easy as changing the tune.

 

[DiMora]

Thanks...so PTFE Teflon lines are not required nor are aftermarket fuel rails with -AN fittings...and I can use the GT500 pumps without modification (check valve removal). I can also use an OEM style fuel filter?

Probably won't target more then 650 RWHP, but Bruce's data suggests I may have headroom for up to 700 or so with the BAP.

 

[BruceH]

Thanks...so PTFE Teflon lines are not required nor are aftermarket fuel rails with -AN fittings...and I can use the GT500 pumps without modification (check valve removal). I can also use an OEM style fuel filter?

Probably won't target more then 650 RWHP, but Bruce's data suggests I may have headroom for up to 700 or so with the BAP.

I didn't do the check valve removal. I'm sure I could of gotten more out of it by doing that and replacing the fuel line. Without a bap but with an 8 gauge power wire and 80lb injectors a previous motor managed 599rwhp with E85. Without the upgraded power wire it (gt500 pumps) would only support 575rhwp before the fuel system was maxed with E85.

I have a -08 ptfe line made up that goes from the rail to the first disconnect in the fuel line near the fender. It's yours if you want it, just let me know. I never used it, just assembled and did a pressure test. The fittings aren't in perfect cosmetic shape but everything passed a pressure test with the ends plugged up.

 

[DiMora]

Thanks Bruce; PM sent.

 

[NoviBlownGT]

I went that route and upgraded to dw300 pumps. I ended up just pulling the GT500 system and going with a Fore return setup. Never got on the dyno with the dw300s on e85.

 

[702GT]

IMO any rubber fuel lines on the car have to go if you're going to run E85. I forgot to swap out my fuel rail cross-over line and it sprung a leak one day out of nowhere. When I swapped it out I notice it was getting eaten from the inside, little particles of rubber in the line. I'm almost positive I'll be rebuilding/cleaning my injectors very soon.

 

[BruceH]

IMO any rubber fuel lines on the car have to go if you're going to run E85. I forgot to swap out my fuel rail cross-over line and it sprung a leak one day out of nowhere. When I swapped it out I notice it was getting eaten from the inside, little particles of rubber in the line. I'm almost positive I'll be rebuilding/cleaning my injectors very soon.

The stock line isn't rubber inside, it's hard plastic. If it was an aftermarket line was it carb certified fuel injection line? The parts counter guys don't always know the difference between cheap "fuel line" and the much more expensive "fuel injection" rated hose.

It's also fairly important to install it properly over the stock rail barbs. It's quite possible to damage the inside of the line during install.

It's good to hear you found it before a fire happened. A friend of mine had a similar situation except he was using pump gas. His ended up causing a fire under the hood.

 

[Marble]

I'm making a little less than 600 on MS109 which is 105 octane iirc. That is through a 4r70w with a locking converter. I can't spin the blower any faster and the only other thing I can really do make more power as it sits now is replace the heads. Maybe a different intake but it's pretty much maxed out.

My E85 spot will deliver the fuel as I need it and they are local.

I think when all the sports slow down with my kids, probably this summer, I might switch it over.

I'm in the process of planning a switch to a twin turbo set up. I know I'll need more fuel for that so I may just switch to the fore system.

 

[BruceH]

I'm making a little less than 600 on MS109 which is 105 octane iirc. That is through a 4r70w with a locking converter. I can't spin the blower any faster and the only other thing I can really do make more power as it sits now is replace the heads. Maybe a different intake but it's pretty much maxed out.

My E85 spot will deliver the fuel as I need it and they are local.

I think when all the sports slow down with my kids, probably this summer, I might switch it over.

I'm in the process of planning a switch to a twin turbo set up. I know I'll need more fuel for that so I may just switch to the fore system.

You should see a good bump in power just from E85. I saw an increase of about 45rwhp peak with my Whipple setup. This was without increasing the spark advance from the 17 degrees at wot we were using for 92 octane. All that had been changed in the base tune was the fuel stoich. Even more power was obtained once the tune was finalized for E85. IIRC we saw the most power with 23 degrees of spark advance at wot in the higher rpms. We never saw detonation and did try more spark advance but it just didn't equate to more power.

 

[my07silvergt]

Sorry to bring this back from the dead but I'm doing a pump upgrade on my gt500 hat, is the dw300m going to work? I think there's a number on the side of the pump that is 141215, is this the correct pump?

 

[JeremyH]

Sorry to bring this back from the dead but I'm doing a pump upgrade on my gt500 hat, is the dw300m going to work? I think there's a number on the side of the pump that is 141215, is this the correct pump?

Yes the dw300m are a direct fit swap on the hat. All you need is the pumps, their small filters socks are crappy and break easy so I would clean and resuse the stock dual filter sock on the gt500 hat. You don't need any other install materials for the gt500 hat as they swap right on.