E85 on a very rarely driven cobra?

03cobrarocks

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Hello all, I am intrested in going e85 very soon especially after seeing how great some of the built motor cars seem to run on it. I just have a few concerns/questions hopefully someone doesnt mind answering. I found the answers to most awhile back but for the life of me cant find them agian.

My car is rarely driven especially right now due to there being an insane amount of construction work in the dfw and weather not being all that great.

Car sees maybe 10 to 15 miles each week on average so the fuel in the tank is probably only cycled out about once or twice a month if that and I never fill over 3/4. I have heard that e85 shouldnt sit in a car too long is this true?

Also I dont ever let my tank go bellow 1/4th because dont want to risk any uneeded stress on pumps and such. Should you almost always go close to empty before you fill back up with e85?

I have seen on here that you want to run a little thicker oil with e85 due to its thinning effects on the oil. I think I saw somewhere that 10w30 full synthetic amsoil or royal purple is the best?

Any other pieces of advice are appreciated
 
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Carbd86GT

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You don't want to leave E85 in the tank because it attracts water. This will cause obvious issues. If the car is in storage or a dry climate, then this may not be so much of an issue.

For oil, 10w30 synthetic should be just fine, either Amsoil or RP, both are good products.

Hope that clears some things up, let us know if you have any other questions.

Thanks.
 

03cobrarocks

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hmm ok cool.

Sorry if this question seems noob but will I be fine as long as its circulated and driven enough if I dont ever let it go below a 1/4? Or do I need to drive to almost empty before filling up with e85?

It stays in a garage for about a week maybe 2 weeks at a time without being driven.

I just got an oil change about 2 weeks ago and put 5w30 Royal Purple full synthetic... But since I am in texas could probably easily get away with 10w30 next time.
 

04sleeper

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You don't want to leave E85 in the tank because it attracts water.
Don't tell that to the MILLIONS of Flex Fuel cars on the road toady!
If that were the case, you would hear a lot more issues with this.

You are just fine leaving E85 in your tank. Todays modern fuel injected fuel systems are more than capable of running E85. I live in DFW and have been running it for years.

As far as oil, the only thing that is recommended is to change your oil on a sooner interval.

Example: If Ford's recommendation on E10 gasoline is 5000 miles, then they recommend changing it at 3000.

Hope this helps.
 

650cobra

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I left E-85 in my car last winter, the car sat from October-May. Took it out when the weather got nice, ran two tanks of fresh fuel through it, leaned out Number 2 cylinder....
Brought my injectors over to Boost lab, in Tampa FL.. Guess what?? number 2 failed horribly it was flowing at less than half of its full potential. There where a few others that were very poor, and maybe like 1 that was fair.. Even before I had them cleaned you could tap them gently upside down, and amber colored debris would fall out of them... But anyway Im thinking that I should have switched it over to pump gas and left it sit for the winter.. so i guess corn mold got the best of me haha
 

FromGTtoSVT

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this is a very informative thread

I live in the northeast and have always been interested in converting to E85. Considering my car sits from Nov - April this has made me reconsider my future plans
 

Carbd86GT

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Don't tell that to the MILLIONS of Flex Fuel cars on the road toady!
If that were the case, you would hear a lot more issues with this.

You are just fine leaving E85 in your tank. Todays modern fuel injected fuel systems are more than capable of running E85. I live in DFW and have been running it for years.

As far as oil, the only thing that is recommended is to change your oil on a sooner interval.

Example: If Ford's recommendation on E10 gasoline is 5000 miles, then they recommend changing it at 3000.

Hope this helps.

Flex fuel cars have WAY more advanced computers then a damn 03 Cobra. Flex fuel cars also get driven EVERY day, a full tank doesn't stay in them for more than 1 week typically. The fuel system won't rot like people think, but alcohol attracts and is miscible with water. C'mon bro, you know better than that ;-)
 

03cobrarocks

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thanks for the replies all!

Looks like I will be ok as long as I drive it at least every other week and change the oil a little more frequently.

650 and Fromgttosvt isnt it really bad to let your car sit for like a month or more at a time without driving it at least a few miles? I mean 5 to 6 months seems like a really long time for a properly running car to not move. I would think that alone would cuase issues, not sure though so figured I would ask

Perhaps when you mean sit you still go start it and drive it around the block, maybe I am taking it to litteraly but just checking.



Edi: I guess when I made this thread I forgot that some car enthusiast leave their car sitting for a long time... I should have made the thread title different lol
 
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07vert

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Its not a problem if you run it for a half hour once a week. It corrodes and "dries out" any rubber seals within the injectors. Turn the car on and have it get up to operating temp and then shut it off. What's so hard about that?
 

04sleeper

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Flex fuel cars have WAY more advanced computers then a damn 03 Cobra.
What does the computer have to do with leaving E85 in your tank?

Flex fuel cars also get driven EVERY day, a full tank doesn't stay in them for more than 1 week typically.
Is that in the manual on a FlexFuel car? No. There are plenty of cars up North that don't even drive their cars all winter and they are fine. Again, not an issue.

The fuel system won't rot like people think, but alcohol attracts and is miscible with water.
If you mean that the "Ethanol" IN the gasoline Is "Hygroscopic", then yes, you would be correct. But there is not much difference in FlexFuel cars actual fuel systems other than an Ethanol sensor that tells the tune how to properly achieve stoich. That has nothing to do with keeping moisture out of the fuel.

C'mon bro, you know better than that ;-)
I agree I do know better.
 

04sleeper

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I would like to add that, not only did I mimic exactly what the OP's driving habits were, but I also live in the same city!

I can only give you my "actual" first hand experience.

Hope this helps OP.
 

Carbd86GT

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What does the computer have to do with leaving E85 in your tank?
The computer has nothing to do with leaving fuel in the tank. I got his post mixed up with another member who was asking about mixing E85 and 91 octane to make 93 octane.


Is that in the manual on a FlexFuel car? No. There are plenty of cars up North that don't even drive their cars all winter and they are fine. Again, not an issue.
And how humid is it when the temps are below 32*? Yeah, it's not real humid, so there's VERY little water in the air to make it's way in to the fuel tank and settle/mix.


If you mean that the "Ethanol" IN the gasoline Is "Hygroscopic", then yes, you would be correct. But there is not much difference in FlexFuel cars actual fuel systems other than an Ethanol sensor that tells the tune how to properly achieve stoich. That has nothing to do with keeping moisture out of the fuel.
We both agree here, not sure why you're picking it apart? I guess because you wanted to use different words? I like to break it down into simpler terms for new people coming into the E85 world...


I agree I do know better.

Yes, you do know better than most members here, and that's why you're a helpful mod.
 

timbo3282

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Hello all, I am intrested in going e85 very soon especially after seeing how great some of the built motor cars seem to run on it. I just have a few concerns/questions hopefully someone doesnt mind answering. I found the answers to most awhile back but for the life of me cant find them agian.

My car is rarely driven especially right now due to there being an insane amount of construction work in the dfw and weather not being all that great.

Car sees maybe 10 to 15 miles each week on average so the fuel in the tank is probably only cycled out about once or twice a month if that and I never fill over 3/4. I have heard that e85 shouldnt sit in a car too long is this true?

Also I dont ever let my tank go bellow 1/4th because dont want to risk any uneeded stress on pumps and such. Should you almost always go close to empty before you fill back up with e85?

I have seen on here that you want to run a little thicker oil with e85 due to its thinning effects on the oil. I think I saw somewhere that 10w30 full synthetic amsoil or royal purple is the best?

Any other pieces of advice are appreciated

There are E85 stabilizers out there, the most important thing to do with E85 is keep the tank completely full when stored. The moisture in the air is what causes issues with E85 storage and by keeping the tank full there won't be much air in the tank to cause a problem. That and a decent stabilizer and you won't have issues.
 

forcefedcobra

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WAY more advanced computers then a damn 03 Cobra. C'mon bro, you know better than that ;-)

We both agree here, not sure why you're picking it apart? I guess because you wanted to use different words? I like to break it down into simpler terms for new people coming into the E85 world...

^^^^^^^^^^^the top statement might have a little to do with it^^^^^^
 

forcefedcobra

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I've had e85 in my tank for several years now. I do my best to keep the tank as full as possible and have not had any issues. Last year I MAYBE got to drive my car 200 miles. The year prior I maybe drove it 3000 miles. Including a 5 hour drive down to Dallas to hang with 04sleeper and Skarrew04svt at cars and coffee.
 

racerat

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My cobra has been on E85 for 2+ years now. I only drive it once every couple of months. No problems so far.
 

VenomSVT03

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I've been running e85 for about a year. I drive my car to work maybe a couple times a week, sometimes i dont drive it for a couple weeks. No bad experiences with it yet
 

03cobrarocks

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^ Holy balls I just noticed your compression and hp with the 2.9 whipple thats sick! How much psi?
 

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