I heard that ethanol is like 90 cents per gal.  I know that there about a 1/3rd the energy that gasoline, so a bigger tank would be in order.  Would the ECU need to modified? What about the components in the fuel system?  Do they need to be changed?
   
 Personally I am tired of being jerked around by the volitile petrolium market.  I am thinking that E85 might offer more stability.  What do y'all think?
Jeff

Have a read.  http://www.autoindustries.com.au/ethanol.php/2005/11/00000005.html

I talked to Suzuki in OZ asking them about using ethanol in the G16 series engines and they recommended against it as some of the components used weren't specified with ethanol in mind. That doesn't mean to say it won't work but there are no guarantees. I'd say 5% is probably ok but you try it at ypur own risk.

Ethanol is perhaps 1/3 less energy, but not
1/3 of gasoline.  Air Fuel Ratio of gasoline at
a stotic mix is  14.7:1 , this is a weight ratio,
14.7 pounds of air to 1 pound of gasoline, where
ethanol is about 9:1 which would be 9 pounds
of air to 1 pound of ethanol. In the case of E-85
if I remember right, this would be a mixture of
85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.

I welcome an ethanol mix of fuel, ethanol is a higher
RON than even premium unleaded, but burns much
cleaner, Alcohol is also very forgiving in rich mixtures
which means under boost engines run very well, even
when over fueled, better for the engine and performance

To run E-85, most newer vehicles have the ability and
the fuel system that can handle an 85% alcohol fuel mix.

Older vehicles need to be upgraded to alcohol resistant
fuel lines, most fuel injectors are compatable with 100%
alcohol fuel, be it Ethanol or Methanol, otherwise you would
need to replace your injectors with ones that are compatable.

Wild

To run E-85, most newer vehicles have the ability and
the fuel system that can handle an 85% alcohol fuel mix.

Older vehicles need to be upgraded to alcohol resistant
fuel lines, most fuel injectors are compatable with 100%
alcohol fuel, be it Ethanol or Methanol, otherwise you would
need to replace your injectors with ones that are compatable.

Wild

Ok but what about the TrackKicks? Are they "new" enough? Are the injectors and fuel lines ok? or  the ECU?

You would have to check your owners manual,
my best guess is not for E-85, E-15 yes, but
to be safe, replace all your rubber fuel lines
with Alcohol spec stuff and you should be good
as long as the pressure regulator is also compatable

I live in Brasil and the standard gas station gasoline here comes with 25% alcohol( it has been 30%). I think they also do that in Japan. Now we have flex fuel engines that run on alcohol, gas and even natural gas.
I have a vitara( 94, 1.6 8v) and works well on that I am sure you will be able to run E85, you just have to change your gas filter!!!and eventualy your gas pump and tubes will need replacement.
I have tried to mixture more alcohol(70%alcohol and 30%gasoline) but it did not get economical, since fuel alcohol is getting expensive, but in a few months it will get cheaper so I will go on experimenting.
To get your car to run on 100% alcohol you wont need much, just a higher than 3 bar valve, and again eventualy new fuel pump, fuel lines and spark plugs, but to take advantage of alcohol you are going to need to increase the compress ratio and reprogram your ECU, you are also going to need a cold start gas line because in the cold days it won start with alcohol. Alcohol engines have more power but they have lower MPG. Do I have to say that turboalcohol engine rocks!!!
         If you want to know more just ask...
                         Gui

You would have to check your owners manual,
my best guess is not for E-85, E-15 yes, but
to be safe, replace all your rubber fuel lines
with Alcohol spec stuff and you should be good
as long as the pressure regulator is also compatable

I agree with this.  My 89 'kick jlx manual states it will run on gasahol but I believe it said nothing higher than 15%. 

IIRC polution controlled areas in the US (for Denver, the winter months) use 10-15% alcohol mix gasoline ('oxygenated fuels').  MTBF used to be in use as well, but I believe the cost of enviromental damage has made this obsolete.  For what it is worth, I see a mile or two per gallon drop in the winter months in my fuel mileage from this fuel. 

Also, an aquintance that ran an engine rebuilding shop showed me the red oxide colored surface of heads removed during the winter months (I don't know if these where iron heads).  So I wonder if their are any differences in how long the engines will run before rebuilds are necessary in 85% gasohol versus normal gasoline.

wow colorado man.  I moved to denver from pheonix last fall and have noticed a significant drop in mpg in my xl7.  I went home for Christmas and got about 18 mpg trough albequrqe (sp), but once in AZ I was back up to almost 21 mpg.  I was wondering what the deal was, but the high alchohol mixure in denver would explain.  thanx

In this post I read that the fuel pump would need to be replaced if runninjg e-85....WHY?

Would it be a 1 time deal, or would you have to do it on a regular basis?

I have a '92 16 valve in my kick.  What's the worst that could happen if I start putting e-85 in it?

90 cents you must live in a time warp in 1990. E is 2.50 here in minnesota still not worth it....

     I heard that ethanol is like 90 cents per gal.  I know that there about a 1/3rd the energy that gasoline, so a bigger tank would be in order.  Would the ECU need to modified? What about the components in the fuel system?  Do they need to be changed?
   
 Personally I am tired of being jerked around by the volitile petrolium market.  I am thinking that E85 might offer more stability.  What do y'all think?
Jeff

Short answer:  No

According to a Suzuki TSB, the maximum amount of ethanol permitted in a Suzuki Vehicle is 10 percent.

You might have better luck modifying your engine to run Propane or CNG.  That process would require fabbing a new intake (or maybe adapting a 1.3), deleting the EFI wiring harness (injectors and all) and then buying a Samurai kit from Gotpropane.com.  Even then you would be kind of on your own as the GotPropane kit is set up for the Samurai and would require a bit of adjusting.

More info on Ethanol and Propane is at Ack's FAQ (the link is in my sig).

I heard anything rubber that the E needs to pass through needs to be changed, as the E will dry it out quickly and deteriorate, because it is non-lubricating.(not sure if any of that is correct)  If the money was at hand for me, I'd be doing a diesel swap(using the Acme kit), and run biodiesel. A co-worker is making it and running a 50% mix right now in his VW, I could make it with him, but I'd be interested in 100% biodiesel. That could happen for me in a couple years. I don't see any E mixed in our fuel here in Nova Scotia, not sure why.

wow colorado man.  I moved to denver from pheonix last fall and have noticed a significant drop in mpg in my xl7.  I went home for Christmas and got about 18 mpg trough albequrqe (sp), but once in AZ I was back up to almost 21 mpg.  I was wondering what the deal was, but the high alchohol mixure in denver would explain.  thanx

I just got back from a trip to Denver and north from central AZ.  The standard grade of gasoline there is 85 octane vs the 87 here.  I got better mileage, and no pinging, with the middle grade of gas there with my '98 Sport.  Also, several years ago when I lived in the Phoenix area, I noticed that my mileage dropped about 10% in the winter when the winter mix was sold.

Ethanol is alcohol, not petroleum.  It eats away at the rubber in your fuel system.  So eventually everything that's rubber in our fuel system (read: most of it ) would have to be replaced simply to make it survive.

Now as mentioned before to make it run as well on ethanol as gasoline...internal components (pistons, cylinder heads) and recalibration of the computer to deal with the less energy available with ethanol.  You'll have to up your compression ratio.


Years ago I drove out to California in my '92 Chevy Blazer K1500 with a 350.  That thing got a reliable 19-20mpg on that trip (highway) EXCEPT for when we had gas in it from somewhere in the midwest-Illinios or Indiana.  Turned out we put E85 in it.  By the time we were in SoCal it ran great and was back up there in mpg but for the next couple tanks it was a noticeable loss of power and mpg.

I heard anything rubber that the E needs to pass through needs to be changed, as the E will dry it out quickly and deteriorate, because it is non-lubricating.(not sure if any of that is correct)  If the money was at hand for me, I'd be doing a diesel swap(using the Acme kit), and run biodiesel. A co-worker is making it and running a 50% mix right now in his VW, I could make it with him, but I'd be interested in 100% biodiesel. That could happen for me in a couple years. I don't see any E mixed in our fuel here in Nova Scotia, not sure why.