Do OEM's put different bearings in flex fuel capable units?
Do OEM's use different oils for flex fuel vehicles?
Not that I'm aware of. From what I have seen e85 has become a crutch for amature engine builders and tooners to blame for carnage as a result of their "skills"
I agree with the crutch statement, but can a flexfuel vehicle with typically under 350 crank hp, most of which aren't driven hard or for that matter religiously ran on E85 really be compared to our cars?
Lets look at the facts of stock flexfuel vehicles vs built cars using E85 for power (now that the E85 fuel system deterioration arguments are over).
WHP
Flexfuel: sub 350whp (usually)
Racers: most are over 500whp, some nearing or surpassing the 4 digit milestone
Abuse
Flexfuel: very little, chances are someone buying E85 thinks they are saving themselves a few dollars (even though we know this isn't true since it burns faster even in flexfuel vehicles) since it is cheaper, thus they probably wont be beating on the car. More then likely these people will be limping their stock commuter around to be more efficient.
Racers: maximum abuse, most of us that plan on running it will be doing so full time (stations permitting) and trying to get the most power out of it with the benefits of cooling and octane that it provides.
Timing
Flexfuel: very conservative like most factory vehicles
Racers: most of us run the most timing we can get away with on 93, those on E85 are pushing their cars to amounts of timing similar to C16 race gas, but permanently!
etc. we can list the differences for days, between us revving the motors out higher, leaner AFRs, more timing, cooling down in between track passes, more abuse, 2-6 times the whp, % of time driven on E85, non daily driven cars sitting longer allowing the fuel to absorb water, etc etc etc.
Again, I'm not bashing you or starting an internet war. I completely agree with the crutch statement, but we should look at all the facts that contribute to E85 engine failure/oil dilution in our cars vs run of the mill flexfuel vehicles.
Lets get to the bottom of this before I buy a set of 160lb injectors this Spring for my E85 tune!
:beer: