[s-cars] E85 fuel

[Robert Myers]

In short - no.

 From a FAQ at the site below:


Can a vehicle be converted to operate on E85?

Response:

This is a common question that is asked of the National Ethanol Vehicle 
Coalition.  Unfortunately, there is no simple answer.  In the strictest 
sense, yes, a vehicle that was designed to operate on unleaded gasoline 
only could be converted to operate on E85.  Realistically, no, a vehicle 
cannot be converted to operate on E85.  Here's why!

During the 1980s and early 1990s, many small companies were formed that 
were altering gasoline powered vehicles to operate on other forms of fuels 
such as propane, compressed natural gas, 85% ethanol, and 85% 
methanol.  The marketing program of these conversion company's was based on 
the premise that it was cheaper to operate a vehicle on alternative 
fuels.  However, the vehicles being converted were engineered, designed and 
built to operate on unleaded only.  Shortly after the emergence of the 
"conversion firms" the U.S. EPA determined that when converted from 
gasoline to another form of fuel, the exhaust emissions from these 
converted vehicles were often much "dirtier" than prior to conversion.  The 
use of alternative fuels in the transportation sector has been built around 
the objectives of using cleaner, non-gasoline based components.

Based on the federal authority provided to the EPA through the Clean Air 
Act Amendments of 1990, the EPA implemented regulations that required the 
exhaust emissions from vehicles converted to run on alternative fuels  be 
"as clean as the exhaust emissions of the original gasoline 
equipment."  That is, if Ford Motor Company manufactured a vehicle to meet 
federal emissions standards on gasoline, a company converting that vehicle 
to operate on propane, must be able to certify that the emissions from the 
converted vehicle was a good as the original.  A process to certify such 
aftermarket equipment was initiated and  ultimately, few if any conversion 
kits were able to qualify.

Today, 99.9% of the vehicles that are capable of operating on alternative 
transportation fuels are produced by the original equipment manufacturers 
such as Ford, Honda, General Motors, and DaimlerChrysler.  Engineers from 
these companies are able to design and build vehicles that meet the EPA 
exhaust emission standards.  These companies also are required to warranty 
the exhaust emissions from these vehicles for 10 years of 100,000 miles, 
something very few conversion companies are able to accomplish.

Is it possible to convert a vehicle that was designed for gasoline to 
operate on E85?  Yes.  However, there are no conversion or aftermarket 
parts that have been certified by the EPA as meeting the standards to 
maintain clean exhaust emissions.  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% ethanol.

The differences in engine size, fuel injector size, air-fuel ratio, PCM 
calibrations, OBD, material composition of fuel lines, fuel pumps, and fuel 
tanks, and other part issues among the millions of vehicles on the nation's 
highways, all contribute to making an E85 conversion extremely 
complex.  Additionally, the production of vehicles from the original 
equipment manufactures that are capable of operating on unleaded gasoline 
or E85, (ie. Flexible fuel vehicle) at no additional cost over the gasoline 
only model, provide little incentive for a conversion company to undertake 
the very expensive and time consuming task of aftermarket certification.


At 12:09 PM 6/29/2005, chris chambers wrote:

>Can we run E85 fuel in our UrS4's?
>
>Anybody have any knowledge of this fuel, it's 105 octane.
>I'm starting to read more here:
>
>http://www.e85fuel.com/index.php
>
>
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