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An audiophile and petrolhead's journal: Buckle up!
May 24, 2013 at 4:31 AM Post #3,197 of 9,499
E85 is 85% ethanol, it's >100 octane. What I buy is tested at 103.
 
May 24, 2013 at 4:41 AM Post #3,198 of 9,499
According to:-
 
Quote:Wikipedia

Octane and performance

48px-Ambox_globe_content.svg.png

The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. [size=smaller](December 2011)[/size]


E85 fuel dispenser at a regular gasoline station.


Alcohol fuels reach their peak torqu a bit more quickly than gasoline does, so any vehicle that receives a very basic conversion to be able to run on E85 will be very slightly faster on E85.[citation needed]
As more effort is put into maximizing an engine to take advantage of E85's higher "octane", engines achieve greater power advantages. One car that has higher power on ethanol is the Koenigsegg CCXR, which on ethanol is the third-most powerful production car, with 20% more hp on E85 than on gasoline. According to the manufacturer, this is due to the cooling properties of ethanol.E85 has an octane rating higher than that of regular gasoline's typical rating of 87, or premium gasoline's 91-93. This allows it to be used in higher-compression engines, which tend to produce more power per unit of displacement than their gasoline counterparts. The Renewable Fuels Foundation states in its Changes in Gasoline IV manual, "There is no requirement to post octane on an E85 dispenser. If a retailer chooses to post octane, they should be aware that the often cited 105 octane is incorrect. This number was derived by using ethanol’s blending octane value in gasoline. This is not the proper way to calculate the octane of E85. Ethanol’s true octane value should be used to calculate E85’s octane value. This results in an octane range of 94-96 (R+M)/2. These calculations have been confirmed by actual-octane engine tests." [12]
Examples of this mis-citation can be found at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association titled "E85 Facts"[13] which cites a range of 100-105, and a document at the Texas State Energy Conservation Office titled "Ethanol",[14] which cites a 113 rating.
Use of E85 in an engine designed specifically for gasoline would result in a loss of the potential efficiency that it is possible to gain with this fuel. Use of gasoline in an engine with a high enough compression ratio to use E85 efficiently would likely result in catastrophic failure due to engine detonation, as the octane rating of gasoline is not high enough to withstand the greater compression ratios in use in an engine specifically designed to run on E85. (However, Flex Fuel Vehicles are designed to run on any mixture of gasoline and ethanol, from pure gasoline to E85, and avoid this problem.) Using E85 in a gasoline engine has the drawback of achieving lower fuel economy, as more fuel is needed per unit air (stoichiometric ratio) to run the engine in comparison with gasoline. The additional ethanol required for a stoichiometric fuel ratio helps compensate for lack of energy provided by ethanol's lower heating value (LHV), which is lower than the LHV of gasoline.
Some vehicles can actually be converted to use E85 despite not being specifically built for it. Because of the lower heating value E85 has a cooler intake charge—which, coupled with its high stability level from its high octane rating—has also been used as a "power adder" in turbocharged performance vehicles. These modifications have not only resulted in lower GHG emissions, but also resulted in 10-12% power and torque increase at the wheels. Because of its low price (less than $2.00/gal in some places) and high availability in certain areas people have started to turn to using it in place of high-end racing fuels, which typically cost over $10.00/gal.
E85 consumes more fuel in flex-fuel type vehicles when the vehicle uses the same compression ratio for both E85 and gasoline, because of its lower stoichiometric fuel ratio and lower heating value. European car maker Saab, now defunct, produced a flex-fuel version of their 9-5 sedan, which consumes the same amount of fuel whether running E85 or gasoline.[15]
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May 24, 2013 at 4:52 AM Post #3,199 of 9,499
Quote:
magick man said:
It appears the Nissan Skyline I was looking at is a scam of some sort. I told him if he brought the car to me I'd buy it for the price he wanted, provided it's in the condition he stated. Well, then he said he needed a deposit, so I agreed to place 50% in escrow, but that wasn't good enough. He wanted me to send $20k via Western Union. I was born at night, but it wasn't last night. I declined, but told him I'd keep the offer on the table if he changed his mind. He contacts me again saying the escrow was fine, but he'd need $3000 for "travel expenses" to deliver the car. I told him that was unreasonable, but I'd gladly reimburse him $1500 for his time and trouble, once he arrived with it (whether I bought it or not). That wasn't good enough either. He fired back, demanding $3000, plus the money in escrow, or the deal was off and he was selling to someone else who was willing to pay half of the price of the car, up front. See? That's the back-breaker. Why wouldn't he just go with the guy who was offering to send him the cash immediately, instead of still trying to wring $3000 from me? I went ahead and forwarded the entire conversation to my lawyer, he'll deal with it.
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R34s are a dime a dozen..... go for a more trust worthy guy 
 
May 24, 2013 at 5:13 AM Post #3,200 of 9,499
May 24, 2013 at 1:11 PM Post #3,203 of 9,499
Yep, I'm looking at 5 different R34s and an R32 that are all here legally, so there are tons of options. The RHD to LHD conversion isn't a huge deal, it seems.

Also, back to what we do best, this Exige looks like a good candidate:




Babbity rabbity update: she's fine and off formula, really likes burrowing in the pocket of my wife's housecoat. She's been feeding her pellet supplements and fresh vegetables, so she's thriving and seemingly quite happy. Right now it's still living in the guinea pig habitat in my wife's art room and seems to like it well enough, it has a nest (a small flower pot filled with grass and fur) and room to move around, and my wife sets her loose in the room to wander. Of course we keep the cats away, but the dogs pretty much ignore her. Yeah, it's name really is Babbity, Babs for short.
 
May 24, 2013 at 1:31 PM Post #3,204 of 9,499
They can be litter-box trained, as I understand it...now how big (and how many) are your cats? Will the rabbit ever be big enough to hold its own against them?
 
The Exige, I'm assuming has been in an accident, unless that one can steer each wheel independently.....lol. But on the whole it looks pretty intact, at least on the outside. A car that light with that kind of power should be tons of fun on a tight road course.
 
May 24, 2013 at 2:46 PM Post #3,205 of 9,499
The cats? Well, two are over 12 lbs and the third is 10, they're big cats. I don't believe the rabbit will ever be big enough to effectively fight back. The main issue is our bengal, he's the hunter and the one who caught her in the first place.
 
May 25, 2013 at 1:37 AM Post #3,206 of 9,499
The little Golf R is a hoot, a real sleeper. It went from 5.5s 0-6 to sub 4. We're going to upgrade the suspension with ECS coilovers, adj sway bars, and adj dampers. It really zips right along, we may make some adjustments to the front spoiler, but the brakes are still very effective. The BMW intercooler we shoehorned in really does the trick, it's over 2x the size of the old one. That's going to be a great little low profile DD to add to the herd. :)

That Evo is mental, at full boost it's nearly undrivable on the street, the lag is unreal. The TC is always engaging, throwing your HP out the window. Also, I like good engine noise, but this sounds like a banshee in a blender, more annoying than exciting (and tons of wastegate noise). Cut the boost back by half and it's a much more balanced car and more fun to drive. The ride is also as hard as a rock, but it's setup for a track, so that's understandable. I think I'll like this one a lot more when I can get it to a place where I can completely cut it loose.

Finally, the `67 vette is pretty well done, but only half done. The chassis is fine, but it doesn't have nearly the suspension or brakes to handle near 850bhp (which is what it reads on our dyno), but the wheels are large enough to accommodate larger rotors/calipers and we have better shocks on hand. Very fast car, great V8 sound, and comfortable to boot.
 
May 25, 2013 at 1:52 AM Post #3,207 of 9,499
So what's your most powerful naturally aspirated car? You have some insanely powerful cars with forced induction, and modern engine management has made those  much more livable day-to-day than they used to be, but there is something to be said for a big honking NA motor in a car.
 
May 25, 2013 at 2:07 AM Post #3,208 of 9,499
It's either the `69 Camaro (540ci M&S) we just bought or the `70 cuda (528ci hemi), they're both NA and each make ~750bhp on pump gas.


Speaking of racing and great finishes... just wow. :eek:


[VIDEO]http://youtu.be/Wp1klmtsWQA[/VIDEO]
 
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