E85 Fuel Is Cool

E85 is getting more popular with enthusiasts

This past weekend, I was looking over a few Mustang message boards, and I came across something new; E70 fuel. One bulletin board member was talking about how he had just tuned his car on E70. Naturally, I have heard of E85, and I am sure 99% of America has as well—unless they have been living in a cave somewhere in Montana. It was, however, the first time I had ever heard of E70 fuel. I haven’t had time to fully research E70, but some quick information I found was that it is the winter-blend of E85. It is said to help cold starts in the winter weather thanks a higher gasoline content.

I really like the E85 kick that the Midwest seems to be on right now. The bad part is we don’t have access to E85 in the New York/New Jersey area. I believe the closest E85 station (according to www.E85fuel.com) is around 90 miles away from my house. If I lived in the Midwest, where the stations seem plentiful, I would most likely be messing around with the stuff. I would love to do more testing using E85 in the magazine, but until I can find a supply source within a reasonable distance, I don’t think it will happen anytime soon.

E85 has a lot of advantages for our hobby, namely the awesome octane rating. Depending on the mixture, the octane rating ranges from 96 to 105. It was as if the creators had boost and high compression Ford engines in mind when they designed the stuff. Because ethanol contains less energy content than gasoline, more volume is needed to make the same amount of horsepower. The fuel delivery system must be modified for cars that were not designed to run on E85. The corrosiveness of the ethanol will destroy the fuel lines and cause other problems. However, many Mustangs have been converted to run on E85, and do so quite regularly.

One of the neatest streetcars I have seen in the past few years was one that belongs to Dan Schoneck. He is probably more known for his prowess in the small tire Mustang wars in FFW and NMRA competition. When he is not competing with his mid 7-second ’03 Cobra, Dan is beating up on his 1984 Mustang GT. It has a 347ci engine with all the bells and whistles, and runs strictly on E85 fuel. A ProCharger F1R blower provides the boost to help this car generate nearly 1,000 rear wheel horsepower.

Each passing day, I hear of more people converting their Stang to be E85 compatible. The latest convert is a friend of mine out West who has a 2003 Cobra. It features a Hellion Beast kit, which includes a huge Turbonetics 91mm mid-frame turbo. Naturally, the engine is fully built and ready for anything he can throw at it. The car has made 1,034 rear wheel horsepower on race fuel. He is in the planning stages of converting the Cobra to be E85 compatible. He thinks he can make nearly the same horsepower as his car did when running on race fuel. The nice part about it, he can run around town with all of his power and not have to pay the $7 per gallon race fuel cost.