E85 conversion

[3.8Lwagon]

I am looking into converting my 2000 Durtec over to be able to run e85. I know i have to see what the fuel lines are made from to see if they have to be changed. I could have FPS make a new tune to run only e85 or gas. but how could it read what % of E i am using (for between E85 tanks and gas tanks). I have heard that the FFV vulcans has a sensor to read the fuel. Does anyone know if the adjustment tables in are in the PCM and the sensor is just missing on non FFV bulls?

Any if any one is woundering why i want to convert to be able to run E85. I want to buy an AMERICAN product made by americans insted of paying OPEC.

 

[silverknight]

hey man... .
1. this is v8 area...
2. from what i know its not possible
3. u would need injectors, prolly a diff fuel pump, lines, and other stuff

 

[3.8Lwagon]

well, the reason why i posted here is bc there are guy here that know more about the PCM (doug and shoz123) then on TCCA.
I was counting on needing bigger injectors and maybe a bigger fuel pump, which doug could do the programing for.

 

[SHOZ123]

Changing the car over to E85 is like changing a pig into a cow. Way too much work needed. But some people have used the E85 in other cars successfully, at least for a while.....

 

[greenbeanmtx]

I sell gm vehicles and own one (see sig). Mine is E85 compatible and alot of the cars i sell are. I have ran E85 once and wont do so again till they significantly lower the cost of the fuel. Why you ask? My truck got about 5 mpg less with E85 than it does with conventional unleaded gas. I know im supposed to promote e85 and all but the only advantage i see is that we dont have to rely on the towel heads over seas quite as much. If they go mainstream with the stuff and its a dollar less a gallon or something then ill try it again. Otherwise im sticking to the normal gas. Its a waste of your time to do this unless you just buy a car thats already compatible with it.

 

[Rockledge]

In addition to changing over the fuel lines, you'd need the PCM and flex fuel sensor assembly from a FFV Taurus and you'd need to complete the circuit properly between the two (assuming the non-FFV '00 harness is not equipped for it). And if I'm not mistaken, the fuel pump assembly is indeed different and even the fuel pressure specs are slightly different between the two. There is also the issue of fuel injectors; they are bigger on the FFV engine than they are on the regular gasoline engine.

 

[wood_e]

Ethanol in general is a joke. Until they can get it to perform as well as gas in cars I try to avoid it at all costs. On my SHO I got about 3mpg less using 10% ethanol gas. The savings at the pump don't equalize out in the end.

 

[wuzzzer]

http://www.e85fuel.com/e85101/faqs/conversion.php

And I quote:

"Technically speaking, converting a vehicle that was designed to operate on unleaded gasoline only to operate on another form of fuel is a violation of the federal law and the offender may be subject to significant penalties. No aftermarket conversion company has taken the initiative to certify an E85 kit that would allow a gasoline vehicle to operate on 85 percent ethanol."

"The differences in fuel injector size, air-fuel ratio, PCM calibrations, material composition of the fuel lines, pumps and tanks are just a few of the components that contribute to making an E85 conversion extremely complex."

And come on, guys, let's keep the prejudicial comments to a minimum, ok?

 

[3.8Lwagon]

I was counting on needing the bigger injectors and the fuel line issue.
As long as it would pass the sniffer test i don't care about eh EPA. I am sure the exhaust willn't be any worse.

There is a big bennifit to E85. The Octange is 106. i will still be able to have a decent amount of boost with the stock 11:1 compresssion of the duratec.

my main problem is the fuel sensor and if the tables are part of the ECU on non FFV taurus. I am hopeing that ford got cheep and just didn't pay some one to delete them.

 

[Rockledge]

Like I said, your going to need the PCM from the FFV Taurus.

 

[LOUDSHO92]

It also has much less energy per gallon as compared to gasoline.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Folks, it's time to clamp down on the amount of non-V8 SHO disccussion taking place in the V8 sections of the forum, as well as the non-SHO topics.

In the future, topics like this need to take place in the General Discussion section of the forum, or over at the TCCA.

Thanks in advance for your continued cooperation!