E85 Ethanol in Your BMW: Pro’s and Con’s of Ethanol. A quick Google search will reveal that there is no shortage of disputes relating to making use of ethanol fuel. However, most short articles focus on the sustainability and expediency of ethanol fuels. Although sustainability is necessary to think about, the genuine concern is whether or not higher ethanol mixes increase engine durability and performance in the long-lasting.
What is E85 Ethanol Fuel?
Before diving into the genuine question, I will start by offering some background on ethanol (e85) fuel. E85 describes an 85% ethanol to 15% gasoline mix; most ethanol fuels are corn-based, and as such, E85 is thought about to be a sustainable fuel. As the upcoming effects of global-warming loom around the corner, the United States federal government passed a mandate to need increasing amounts of ethanol in gasoline. Gas in the U.S. contains roughly 10% ethanol, and 90% gasoline; simply put, the gas that you fill with at the pump is E10. Ethanol is considered an eco-friendly fuel the argument versus e85 is the heavy demand it puts on water, soil, and food-supply.
E85 Ethanol Effects on Horsepower and Engine Longevity
Enough with the technical gibberish; what does this mean in regards to engine performance and longevity? E85 requires about 30% more fuel for combustion, which suggests internal cylinder temperatures will be minimized. Because air is denser at cooler temperature levels e85 will enable more air particles in each cylinder, resulting in an increase in horse power. This is only one advantage of cooler cylinder burning temperatures.
Heat is what puts stress on engine internals, so less heat will minimize the tension inside the cylinder. In addition, since e85 is harder to burn it will in fact minimize the possibility of engine knocks, pings, and misfires. This allows you to target more aggressive cylinder timing, which will likewise increase engine performance.
E85 Ethanol Impacts on Fuel Economy
BMW is among the most environmentally friendly and sustainable automobile makers in the world. For the true car lover, this is just an additional benefit as the majority of lovers buy a BMW for one reason, to own the “Ultimate Driving Machine”. At first glimpse, it would appear as if ethanol would reduce power output because the British Thermal Systems (BTU) score is less than that of gasoline.
A higher BTU score suggests that gasoline develops more energy per molecule as compared to ethanol. However, e85 requires a greater quantity of fuel (more molecules) to reach stoichiometric combustion, which indicates the general BTU ranking for each burn cycle is higher than that of gasoline. To put this just, e85 has a higher octane score than gasoline. On the disadvantage, more fuel is needed for each burn cycle, so e85 will really lower your fuel economy.
What You Required to Know Before Running E85 on Your BMW
Prior to running e85 mixtures here are a few things to think about:
-Does your BMW have direct injection? Given that e85 requires 30% more fuel for each burn cycle, your fueling system need to can providing enough fuel. Direct Injection is capable of providing more fuel. The alternative option here is choosing a phase 2 or phase 3 LPFP. On your stock N54 LPFP, you can deal with as much as about 40% E85 combined with 60% of 93 octane pump gas. With a stage 2 or 3 LPFP, you can run 100% E85 which produces even more power and is actually cheaper!
-Does your BMW have stainless steel fuel lines? There are also arguments on whether e85 will break down fuel lines, seals, etc. To be on the safe side, I would advise having stainless-steel lines and injectors. Most newer, turbocharged, direct-injected BMW engines include stainless steel lines and injectors that will not be affected by ethanol.
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-Do you have aftermarket software? Your ECU/DME will likewise require to be able to flow more fuel. A stock BMW DME will have the ability to run mixtures around E20 with no issues. Aftermarket software and tuning will permit most direct injected BMW’s to run around E40 fuel before the low-pressure fuel pump can not stream any more fuel.
As a fair warning, as soon as you begin running e85 there is almost no going back! Within months of using E85 I might tell my engine was running stronger, healthier, and cooler. E85 has excellent performance benefits, there is much more to it than simply putting E85 in the tank and anticipating your car to perform much better. To anybody thinking about running E85 I would suggest doing a lot more research and guaranteeing you have the appropriate fueling system, modifications, etc prior to fueling up with e85.
