Fuel Consumption with E85

[Black X]

So I picked up the VF on Friday and put a tank of E85 in it. I'm quite pleased to see that the cost is only marginally more than the Evo X with premium. I would say it should go down a little bit once I settle down and don't do as much spirited driving.

 

[zappaboy]

I have done about 2000kms using E85 and found that the car goes well with it but you do not do it to save money. With the increased consumption, the saving of about 20c/litre over E10 is about equal. It is more about the increased performance and cleaner for the environment, engine and sustainability. I have only tried Caltex Eflex which is either 70 to 85 % ethanol as there are no United Petrol stations near by which sell only 85% ethanol only.

 

[PIR4TE]

The stock tune is crap, it is not just a matter of where and how you drive the klms, get your car tuned for e85 and your 270rwkw V8 will cost you around 15¢ per klm versus PULP98 which costs 19¢. That's $40 a tank!
73l x $1.15/litre = $83.95 / 550k combined e85
73l x $1.70/litre = $124.10 / 650 combined PULP
My best run was 630k Sydney to Albury see this measured run from 1:00
[video=youtube_share;aX-uYag1yM8]http://youtu.be/aX-uYag1yM8[/video]
Saves money, kills knock, burns clean, makes sense.

 

[Black X]

Well I have a couple of United stations on the way to work and used those. The performance was noticeably better than whatever crap was in it when I picked it up on Friday.

 

[PIR4TE]

Yes mate, in engineering mode you can get a read of the ethanol level (or use an OBD reader), and because it's winter, unfortunately the best ethanol content I've had since end of Autumn is 70% United, 60% Caltex.
See the reason is obviously not the price of ethanol (which is now next to nothing from Sorghum out at Dalby) but commercial risk associated with Service Company's storage and delivery at lower dewpoints due to colder weather (adds to the complexity of anhydrous supply).
Because of its burn properties our car won't start near the snow-line or across the Hay Plain (less than 11ºC) with 85% - it will eventually start, run badly for about 15 minutes then go like the clappers - unless overnight ambient is significantly less than freezing when the normally harmless 1-2% moisture creates micro icicle gremlins at points throughout the fuel supply.
Spring is coming, United servos with high turnover will be above 80% within a couple of weeks, book your car in to have it tuned for e85 then, as opposed to e58 from Caltex at the moment!

 

[Jingle Bells]

Hi Black X,
How did you go with the large black grill removal...can it be removed??????
Do not run your VF on E85....I have a VY "S" with 157,000 K's....and the motor is still intact and has never been touched...I have always used 95 Octane for 10 years of original ownership...the injectors have never been cleaned....still waiting on my VF SV6.
Cheers,
J.B.

 

[Sandman]

Do not run your VF on E85....

On what grounds do you make this comment? Considering the VF range was designed with E85 in mind.

 

[PIR4TE]

Hi Black X,
How did you go with the large black grill removal...can it be removed??????
Do not run your VF on E85....I have a VY "S" with 157,000 K's....and the motor is still intact and has never been touched...I have always used 95 Octane for 10 years of original ownership...the injectors have never been cleaned....still waiting on my VF SV6.
Cheers,
J.B.

Jingle Bells I don't know how or why you would (even if you could) run your petrol engine on e85, but the L77 is designed for it, and goes much better and cheaper than without it.
As for longevity, Black X has the same engine as me, I have done 135,000 K's...and not only is the motor still intact but goes 45% better than when I bought it a couple of years ago.
Sure I let her breathe better, in that regard she has been 'touched', but I never picked her locks and cracked her open...
I always use e85 or P100 when I can for the past two years of ownership...original injectors have never been cleaned nor plugs replaced...because ethanol cleans everything and it didn't need to!
Take a look at this video, what you see is not possible without ethanol...it shows asymmetrical afr and thermal discrepancies per cylinder beyond pulling spark plugs.
[video=youtube_share;ONekASBfHD4]http://youtu.be/ONekASBfHD4[/video]
Injector spray pattern and air flow becomes apparent because ethanol is like Mr Sheen keeping internals spick and span all the way out the quad tips.
Black X your engine loves alcohol, give her a nip of the good stuff when you can and she'll love you long time without a need to touch her.

 

[one_and_only2004]

Jingle bells doesn't know **** - go hard on e85 my friend.

 

[Jingle Bells]

On what grounds do you make this comment? Considering the VF range was designed with E85 in mind.

Look around you...lower MPG...sorry Km's/100...the injectors will gum up...from my experience always go with the high octane petrol...I never ran my '78 Hz Monaro on standard fuel...always used super...do not let these hair brain schemes posted here influence you....always do the right thing from the start...even if holden say you can use E85...its only a cover up by them to save the enviroment...in the long run it still costs the same...as you have to fill up more often...I will bet london to a brick on that the sugar farmers do not use E85 to harvest their crop....for me to put E85 in my car it would have to be a fuel shortage...anyway the the holden motor running on E85 is still in its infancy....will the Bathurst 1000 be using E85....WAKE UP!