When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I made this post original on the 997 forum but I think I may have posted it in the incorrect location. Please let me know if this is the right forum thread I should be in, if not - please let me know.
First off - I’m new here and new to the Porsche world. I purchase my 997 Turbo about 3 months ago with some mild upgrade. I’m blown away by how effortlessly the car performs.
My list of mods consist of the following:
63.5mm turbos
1100cc Bosch Injectors
convertrd to e85
do88 intercoolers
do88 turbo inlet tubes
protomotive ecm & tcm tuning
DSC controller
The car was runing amazing and I was very pleased with its performance. I dont want to add any more power than want it already makes. I recently installed the intercoolers and turbo inlet tubes (last week) along with doing rotors and pads and a few other small things.
Yesterday I trailered my car from Louisiana to Georgia. The first thing I did was locate my nearest e85 fuel station. After arriving I see that it has two options for e85 at the Exxon, well the price wasn’t the same, so I walked inside and they informed me which the correct pump was for the e85 although both were labeled e85 even though on price was $1.73 and the other was $2.16. I was told to use the $1.73 selection. After leaving the fuel station I drive the car about 15 miles before I noticed a miss or a lag in response/power. It was normal under a normal driving style. When I applied 60+ throttle percentage I noticed a very apparent lack in power or loss of fuel potentially. It was very strange and I figured I just got bad fuel. I only put 10 gallons of fuel in the car, I drove it roughly 100 miles today and it ran normal at times when under 60% or more throttle but at other times the power would pull and reduce mid pull with the car. So I found another fuel station and I filled it up with 13 gallons of E85 from an Exxon that showed me e85 and e50. I choose the e85 and I drove about 40 miles since fill up and if is still doing the same intermittent or reduced power feeling when i step into it. I replaced my fuel filter last week, it has maybe 150 miles on it .
I prob just need to get a data log and see what’s going on ?any help would be very appricated as I’m not really sure what it could be.
Need a data log for sure. If the E85 was contimated or substantially lower than E85 and your car was tuned for E60+, it’ll pull timing fairly substantially. I would have been totally weirded out by two E pumps with different prices and “strengths” though and wouldn’t have gotten from that station had I been able to help it.
I was able to make a few pulls at peak boost before filling up. After intercoolers, the turbos reached peak boost in 1/2 the time that it took before so you could tell it was doing it’s job. The shop that installed everything was able to do a test drive and confirm all the boots were intact. I will try to rig up a pressure tester to see if it’s leaking down anywhere.
pump e85 isnt regulated as strictly as octane fuel is. if your going to run ethanol fuel on a regular basis you should install a e85 fuel analyzer in the return fuel line and hook a gauge up in the cabin. this way you can see what the actual ethanol content is. unless you have the ability to adjust files for e content its best to stay at a e60 file so lower content e fill ups wont affect the car
I filled up from another Exxon fuel station with their e85 pump fuel and the car seems to run the same. So I ended up just driving it for 140 miles while I was home visiting family for Christmas and I located a raceway fuel station which I put 13 gallons of e85 and I noticed very big difference in drivability after about 20 miles. Everything seems to be back to normal and running as normal. I’m just going to stay away from the Exxon fuel stations.
pump e85 isnt regulated as strictly as octane fuel is. if your going to run ethanol fuel on a regular basis you should install a e85 fuel analyzer in the return fuel line and hook a gauge up in the cabin. this way you can see what the actual ethanol content is. unless you have the ability to adjust files for e content its best to stay at a e60 file so lower content e fill ups wont affect the car
Noted. That’s a really good idea. I will likely do that.
pump e85 isnt regulated as strictly as octane fuel is. if your going to run ethanol fuel on a regular basis you should install a e85 fuel analyzer in the return fuel line and hook a gauge up in the cabin. this way you can see what the actual ethanol content is. unless you have the ability to adjust files for e content its best to stay at a e60 file so lower content e fill ups wont affect the car
+34636478
You need to be running an ethanol gauge somewhere. I have mine in the frunk I am also flex fuel because of the syvecs stand alone. I dont need the gauge but I always check after I fill up.
Also they could have a leaking tank or not sealed right causing the e85 to have a high water content
pump e85 isnt regulated as strictly as octane fuel is. if your going to run ethanol fuel on a regular basis you should install a e85 fuel analyzer in the return fuel line and hook a gauge up in the cabin. this way you can see what the actual ethanol content is. unless you have the ability to adjust files for e content its best to stay at a e60 file so lower content e fill ups wont affect the car
Regarding E85, I spoke to a Sunoco Rep at a speed shop a while back about pump E85 (Given he was trying to sell their motorsport E85 that was guaranteed 85% ethanol and the remainder being 93 octane) and he said about the best you can hope for is about 65% ethanol and it can be as low as 40% to 45% and that the other "15%" (i.e. 35% - 60%) is going to be bottom of the barrel lowest octane/cheapest gasoline they have.
E85 has a minimum requirement of E51, I believe. E85 originally was 85% ethanol and 15% regular gas and additives. Then it became "Flex Fuel" where E85 can be less than that 85%. Even true E85 will only be E83 due to how it is made. The worst part is due to early "Flex Fuel" and cold starting issues they changed what is used in it's production. But if you are getting high content of ethanol you probably wont have any issues. Also be aware that come winter they change to a mixture that due to vapor pressure issues with cold start, they change the butane content to raise the vapor pressure and solve that issue.
Not sure what "bottom of the barrel" ethonal is. Sounds like he is trying to sell you something. You said he was a Sunoco rep? Hmmmm lol
Testing pump E85 is just smart. Think of it as insurance. You can use an in-line sensor that works well. But water content can throw that off as well. The test tube kits are your best bet to verify what you are getting by phase separation. It isn't ideal as you have to play with getting gas in a small tube. But it separates the regular fuel from the ethanol and water. In the Chicagoland area we have a lot of E85 and performance cars running it. There are sites where people report quite often what they are seeing when they fill up. So it is a nice resource to us for sure.
Being new to pump E85 sucks. Unless you have people to tell you known good E85 stations you have to test, test, and test all on your own. And one bad batch can cause a whole lot of headaches if not cause damage.
E85 is AMAZING! Anyone who has driven a boosted car tuned on 93 and tuned on E85 you know how it is. Learn as much as you can about E85 and use it wisely. And enjoy! lol
E85 has a minimum requirement of E51, I believe. E85 originally was 85% ethanol and 15% regular gas and additives. Then it became "Flex Fuel" where E85 can be less than that 85%. Even true E85 will only be E83 due to how it is made. The worst part is due to early "Flex Fuel" and cold starting issues they changed what is used in it's production. But if you are getting high content of ethanol you probably wont have any issues. Also be aware that come winter they change to a mixture that due to vapor pressure issues with cold start, they change the butane content to raise the vapor pressure and solve that issue.
Not sure what "bottom of the barrel" ethonal is. Sounds like he is trying to sell you something. You said he was a Sunoco rep? Hmmmm lol
Testing pump E85 is just smart. Think of it as insurance. You can use an in-line sensor that works well. But water content can throw that off as well. The test tube kits are your best bet to verify what you are getting by phase separation. It isn't ideal as you have to play with getting gas in a small tube. But it separates the regular fuel from the ethanol and water. In the Chicagoland area we have a lot of E85 and performance cars running it. There are sites where people report quite often what they are seeing when they fill up. So it is a nice resource to us for sure.
Being new to pump E85 sucks. Unless you have people to tell you known good E85 stations you have to test, test, and test all on your own. And one bad batch can cause a whole lot of headaches if not cause damage.
E85 is AMAZING! Anyone who has driven a boosted car tuned on 93 and tuned on E85 you know how it is. Learn as much as you can about E85 and use it wisely. And enjoy! lol
If you reread my post you'll see I said the Sunoco Rep stated the none ethanol portion of E85 was the bottom of the barrel low octane "gasoline". Not sure where you pulled "ethanol" out of, possibly thin air.
ethanol just depends on where its made from. in tn we have thortons fuel stations which on a regular basis have e85 that reads e80. speedway fules rarely see above e70. and winter blends typically will be about e50 since the heavier fuel can be a monster to run in the winter when below 50* ethanol stops atomizing and becomes much harder to start and run. and if you want the blast ignite racing has ethanol fuels up to e115. the ignite e98 is a monster fuel that runs beyond belief for power
Testing pump E85 is just smart. Think of it as insurance. You can use an in-line sensor that works well. But water content can throw that off as well. The test tube kits are your best bet to verify what you are getting by phase separation. It isn't ideal as you have to play with getting gas in a small tube. But it separates the regular fuel from the ethanol and water. In the Chicagoland area we have a lot of E85 and performance cars running it. There are sites where people report quite often what they are seeing when they fill up. So it is a nice resource to us for sure.
using a tube testor really doesnt work well since its only testing a very small sample of a potential 500 gal tank. your basically testing whats in the hose. inline analyzer only test whats in the tank and you already have it in the car. the only way to absolutely know what the content of the fuel is would be to buy it in 55 gal barrels then test the barrel. ignite fuels has the most consistent fuel on the market
12-23-2018, 11:06 PM
997.1 Turbo - E85 (bad fuel?)
