[GOTMH8N]

Hey guys

When is it too cold to run 30-40% E85 mix in these cars?

[drfrink24]

Originally Posted by GOTMH8N

Hey guys

When is it too cold to run 30-40% E85 mix in these cars?

It's likely e70 already in your area, keep that in mind. I'd say at those lower mixtures, never.

[GOTMH8N]

ok good stuff! Thanks

[Gugs]

Its bad at like 20 degrees nothing to worry about until its really cold.

My car starts better in the mornings being 50s- before I can even release the button car is on,
usually it take a second blip then start.

Yea i feel like the mix started changing early september around me.

[Carl Morris]

Yeah, I've been having minor issues with straight E85 the last few days with temps in the 30s (slow starting, fuel pressure starting to fall off at higher air mass flows), but I'd think that even at 50/50 that would all go away. I ran 30% mixes in my Mitsubishi in below zero temps a few years ago and it was fine.

[blisstik]

Is e70 the lowest mixture they use on cold weather? Why would it be bad to run it in cold weather?

[KaiserN54]

Originally Posted by GOTMH8N

Hey guys

When is it too cold to run 30-40% E85 mix in these cars?

I am far from a cheerleader, but this why (living in NE Ohio) I opted for the flexfuel sensor- don't see any reason why I can't run E85 year round if my tune is auto adjusting for changes in ethanol content, right?

[Gugs]

Our cars arent oem flex fuel vehicles. When it gets too cold the e85 becomes thicker and in turn the fuel pumps have problems priming and injectors have a hard time spraying. Problem also is our push start ignition. You could potentially blow the starter cause it will keep trying to start endlessly but cant. That imo is the only real problem. You run the risk of your car not starting initially and causing premature wear on starter. If this happens push the button. Dont just sit there while it attempts to pump fuel that isnt present.

[GOTMH8N]

thanks for the info guys! I just filled a 3/4 tank today in preparation for some E85

[David1]

Originally Posted by Gugs

Our cars arent oem flex fuel vehicles. When it gets too cold the e85 becomes thicker and in turn the fuel pumps have problems priming and injectors have a hard time spraying. Problem also is our push start ignition. You could potentially blow the starter cause it will keep trying to start endlessly but cant. That imo is the only real problem. You run the risk of your car not starting initially and causing premature wear on starter. If this happens push the button. Dont just sit there while it attempts to pump fuel that isnt present.

No, no, and No on that. The starter will only run for a preprogramed cycle and stop. There is no priming problem. It gets hard to start in the cold with high amounts of e85 because the car can not spray enough fuel when cold. The ECU does not know you have E85 in there until the car starts.

[Wedge1967]

BrianMN had me increase the OL Fueling table for the startup rpm / load value when I was running 100% e85. He probably has more experience with e85 than any other member on this forum so as temps drop you may want to increase the table values to handle the additional demand for fuel at startup.