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E 85 upgrade

Please post if you find an answer.  I am toying with making my own alchohol.  That would really stretch the gas mileage.
 
Actually it reduces it, But I get what you mean...

`Seems no one called GM. I didn't, but ethanol isn't here in CA (yet) anyway.

 
Ok here is a dumb question how does one call GM?  Do they have a special line for off the wall questions like can I upgrade a non flexfuel engine to a flexfuel engine?  If so does anyone have that number?  I am willing to call.
 
SnowTrojan said:
http://www.rtc4afv.com/

Unfortunatly by the time I got back from refueling down in San Diego I'd need gas again.  In most states can you just get E85 at regular gas stations?  What is preventing stations here from pumping it?  I'm seriously considering just buying a gas station so I can put an E85 pump in it and bring the stuff to CA.  We're supposed to be the greenest and most progressive state in the nation, yet we're so behind in this regard.
 
Here is a link to a conversion kit which will fit all GM vehicles listed on the site. Avalanche is listed. It looks like a wiring kit and some logic. Not sure how the fuel lines, tank, and other parts are affected (or not) by the ethanol.

http://xcelplus.com/e85/e85informationcenter.htm

I am very interested, too, since I see E85 is a lot cheaper than gas when searching the web.
 
Yes to your ? of an upgrade but I doubt it is a good idea unless you will like to replace you engine in a few thousand miles. The new 05 and up Av's and many other Gm cars are all ready E-85 ready. All the Av's from 05 and up can burn e-85.
 
dhrivnak said:
Ok here is a dumb question how does one call GM?? Do they have a special line for off the wall questions like can I upgrade a non flexfuel engine to a flexfuel engine?? If so does anyone have that number?? I am willing to call.

The simplest way is to ask someone who works for GM...Which I did, because I do, and the Service Engineer said that there is not any kit available yet from SPO to provide a changeover for a non E85 vehicle. He mentioned what I already know... check the avalanche club site!


Hope this helps.

ciao for now
Rick
 
pontee94 said:
you can run 10% e85 in your truck

anyone with any modern U.S. spec car can do this, too, FWIW.

also, "10% e85" doesn't make sense.  Could make for a good math word problem though ;)
 
RichUF said:
anyone with any modern U.S. spec car can do this, too, FWIW.

also, "10% e85" doesn't make sense.? Could make for a good math word problem though ;)

Actually what he is talking about when saying 10% e85 I think is that in many places like Minnesota we have been running 10% ethanol for oh a good 15 years now with no problems. That is all you can buy in the midwest for the most part. There has been a state law in MN for many years now that all gas is oxygenated or 90% gas 10%  ethanol. If you tried to pump in a certain amount of E85 on top of the gas that you buy anyhow that already has 10% ethanol in it you would be way over the 10% ethanol content that is still safe for most vehicles and I think that is what you are getting at. As a side note we can buy non-oxegnated gas here in MN but it is hard to find. When you do find it the only grade available is super premium (92-93 oct) and there is a big sign on the pump that says "not for road use, for offorad vehicles and lawn mowers only". I fill up the Audi with this gas all the time and yes you can tell the difference. Just like E85, E10 has a performance hit.
 
what I thought the poster was intending to say:  "you can run 10% Ethanol in your truck" or "you can run E10 in your truck".

All I was suggesting was that "10% E85" was confusing.


http://www.e10unleaded.com/
 
sennister hit it right on the nose. MN uses 10% in its gas, with no noticable harm done to the motor. i really don't know what the effect would be to add another 10 on top of that.
 
Our engines do not have the sensor that tells the computer the % of alcohol.  Switching a engine from gas to E85 is not hard to do with tuning software but it would most likely require larger fuel injectors, since more E85 is needed that gasoline to maintain the correct fuel mixture but once it was tuned for E85 it would not run properly on gasoline.

I talked with a tuner in St Louis that said that he loved tuning a supercharged vehicle for E85 due to the higher octane but if it was done not to put gas in it.  E85 just isn't readily enough available enough for that to be feasible to me.

 
pontee94 said:
sennister hit it right on the nose. MN uses 10% in its gas, with no noticable harm done to the motor. i really don't know what the effect would be to add another 10 on top of that.

It would likely only effect your MPG, E10 or 10% ethanol is only a standard with a margin built in. You could dump a gallon of 190 proof Everclear (95% pure grain alcohol) in your tank with no ill effects except on your bank account.

Non E85 engines should be tuned to run optimally on E10 but with a tolerance since there is no way to guarantee the actual fuel mixture you buy is exactly 10% ethanol
 
Here's a list of site I put together about converting to E85.....

www.change2e85.com
www.flextek.com
www.e85inmycar.com
www.driveflexfuel.com
www.flexfuelus.com
www.milehidistilling.com
www.intelligentethanolsystems.com

And here's the site that Emery mentioned.  I wasn't able to get his link to work.
www.xcelplus.com
 
just throwing out some useless info.  I have a 05 flex and started running E85 in it as soon as mobile, alabama started selling it. now have a green station 1 mile from house they  sell E100 have been running 1/4 87 octane and 3/4 E100 with no problem except mileage drop. last 2 tanks were straight E100. Onstar contacted me almost immediately saying left side was way lean. and asking if I might know why.  :laugh:  I said yes. 115 octane runs great just worried I might burn a piston. we'll see.
 
Diablo Sports has a tuner to convert our AVY's to run on E85.  I don't understand how it works without the alcohol sensor, but they have it.  The only thing I don't want to do is figure out where all the non-compatible plastic parts are, and then switch them out for compatable versions.
 
Alcohol is more corrosive to engine parts than straight gasoline.  The 05's and above have some special lining in the fuel system that inhibits the corrosion.  (don't know if it stops it completely, but I know it at least slows it down).

I haven't put E85 in my AV yet, even though mine's an 05.  Don't have any stations in NJ that have it (yet).
 
I ran 1 tank of E-85 in our ?05 Avalanche. I won?t do it again unless it is priced per gallon so it would be affordable to use. The MPG went way down and so did the power. I went from around 13 to 14 in town to 9. We went on a trip with about half the thankful left and we were only getting around 13. When I filled it back up with gas, I watched the gas mileage increase as we were driving. It went from 13 to just over 19. I understand why it did it because of the less potential energy that the E-85 has VS. gasoline.

If the government or whoever wants us to use the E-85 then it needs to be priced so we can afford it. I drove by a gas station not too long ago that sells it and it was just a .10 cheaper then gas.
 
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