Can the Fiesta ST Run on E85
1 - 15 of 15 Posts
Joined
·
908 Posts
I read about E85 in a 3.5 Ecoboost. It had huge torque but it ran out of steam before 4,000 rpm I think with less HP than gas. I think the lower specific energy of the fuel combined with the limits of the stock fuel pump is what spoiled the power.
If there is ever an Ecoboost with an oversized fuel pump it might work well.
If there is ever an Ecoboost with an oversized fuel pump it might work well.
Joined
·
59 Posts
first post. im interested in this car. waiting to see one in person. have a 2.0 2003 WRX tuned using access port and access tuner race by me to produce 300 hp at the wheels on e85. it has less energy than gasoline at the same volume but higher octane, around 105 and it cools the motor so its anti-knock effect is greater than its octane improvement. on my car (and similar) you need larger injectors and a bigger fuel pump. i run a slightly bigger turbo, a slightly bigger intercooler and a turbo back cobb exhaust. you need a wideband o2 sensor also.you simply deliver more fuel to the car to produce the power. btw, stock new my car had 225 hp at the crank. estimates for the at-the-crank hp for my wrx are around 350 to 390 hp. the motor itself has not been touched and this is considered a moderate level of tune on this car. my guess is the fiesta st will be good for a minimum of 300hp at the crank with supporting mods (replacement of exhaust, perhaps a bigger turbo, intercooler and perhaps bigger injectors/fuel pump).
one of the reasons i am interested in this car is because cobb will support it aftermarket. whether or not the injectors and pump need to be upgraded on this car depends on whether or not the current hardware can support increased fuel delivery. an e85 tune is something i am very intrested in. on my WRX i have two tunes and change them out depending on whether i am running e85 or high-test. i use the access port to change tunes on the fly.
i wish this car was available with AWD and i wish the focus st motor was a simple drop in...
oh geez.....who let the guy with the camera in 
. The bit referencing E85.....that section was regarding the 1.6 ecoboost in general which is used across model lines. In other vehicle applications, it is calibrated to run E85 but we didn't do this for the ST. I suspect all the hardware would be ok but you're on your own cal-wise.
. The bit referencing E85.....that section was regarding the 1.6 ecoboost in general which is used across model lines. In other vehicle applications, it is calibrated to run E85 but we didn't do this for the ST. I suspect all the hardware would be ok but you're on your own cal-wise.
Joined
·
581 Posts
oh, so you're the Tim in Bryan's interview vids? Hmmm. Sweet. you're about to be bombarded by questions...
Joined
·
1,033 Posts
Since race gas is a pain to get, I have thought long and hard about E85. Oddly, I have a few closer pump options for E85. My 91 octane map is happy, but I need to run 100 octane to get great results on the more aggressive 93 octane map (sure to change with the upcoming update!). I ran into a number of Subaru guys doing this over at Sean Church's shop, but as already pointed out, this is a very different application here.
I ran this past some of my very accomplished tuner friends, and it appears this isn't the best idea for our particular application. It's early yet, who knows? The direct injection Mazda guys have enjoyed success with a mix of E85 and 91 octane, up to 50%. More than that, and they started to see problems with fouling up hardware.
Tim's comments encourage me that we'd be better off with our "rated hardware", but then I think about the other practical issues. I suppose we could convince Cobb to make a program for E85. I'm worried about it, but I'd be willing to try it. I'm game to try a 50/50 mix.
Has anyone else looked into this recently? This is also a good project for the good people at FSWERKS -- when they dig their way out of their Focus ST projects!
I ran this past some of my very accomplished tuner friends, and it appears this isn't the best idea for our particular application. It's early yet, who knows? The direct injection Mazda guys have enjoyed success with a mix of E85 and 91 octane, up to 50%. More than that, and they started to see problems with fouling up hardware.
Tim's comments encourage me that we'd be better off with our "rated hardware", but then I think about the other practical issues. I suppose we could convince Cobb to make a program for E85. I'm worried about it, but I'd be willing to try it. I'm game to try a 50/50 mix.
Has anyone else looked into this recently? This is also a good project for the good people at FSWERKS -- when they dig their way out of their Focus ST projects!
Joined
·
59 Posts
i doubt you will see e85 tunes off the shelf from cobb. not sure if they would consider doing one if it was tuned in one of their shops. the subaru e85 movement started with individuals experimenting. by the time i did it there was a ton of 'how-to's on the net. for my car it meant making sure the stoic oxygen to fuel was the same as gas. this was done with an aftermarket wideband logging along with the access port software (access tuner race). on my car you fooled the ecu by making it think the injectors were smaller which made them pulse longer to maintain the correct stoic.Since race gas is a pain to get, I have thought long and hard about E85. Oddly, I have a few closer pump options for E85. My 91 octane map is happy, but I need to run 100 octane to get great results on the more aggressive 93 octane map (sure to change with the upcoming update!). I ran into a number of Subaru guys doing this over at Sean Church's shop, but as already pointed out, this is a very different application here.
I ran this past some of my very accomplished tuner friends, and it appears this isn't the best idea for our particular application. It's early yet, who knows? The direct injection Mazda guys have enjoyed success with a mix of E85 and 91 octane, up to 50%. More than that, and they started to see problems with fouling up hardware.
Tim's comments encourage me that we'd be better off with our "rated hardware", but then I think about the other practical issues. I suppose we could convince Cobb to make a program for E85. I'm worried about it, but I'd be willing to try it. I'm game to try a 50/50 mix.
Has anyone else looked into this recently? This is also a good project for the good people at FSWERKS -- when they dig their way out of their Focus ST projects!
part of the process required bigger injectors and fuel pump. easy to install on a WRX. on a DI machine the issues may be more complex and difficult to deal with. There is talk i the corvette world already of providing modified cam shafts with bigger lobes for the pump. there is huge market with vettes, with Fiestas, who knows.
assuming you had the money, im sure you could find a tuner to 'experiment' for you including custom cams, different pumps, bigger injectors and tuning. my investigation into the turbo indicates its almost maxed so im pretty sure that is one item that will need to be upgraded if you want a bit more significant power.
e85 gets a good bit of bad mouthing in some circles but it is the go to stuff for power in a forced induction car. its better than any 100 octane race gas that you get at the pump. Its probably as good as most mid level race gas costing 20 bucks a gallon. its future though is uncertain. there is a n abundance of oil in the country now being fracked. so we'll see...
Joined
·
1,033 Posts
Thank you for that. We'll find out together how this plays out!
Joined
·
178 Posts
We made 801whp @36psi on a 2.5L, using E85 (2000cc port injection). Way more power than we could with 93. I love the stuff. And E100
Joined
·
1,033 Posts
That's nuts!We made 801whp @36psi on a 2.5L, using E85 (2000cc port injection). Way more power than we could with 93. I love the stuff. And E100
How did it hold up? Did the rest of the drivetrain appreciate the power?
Joined
·
59 Posts
folks are taking the GTR, upgrading its 3.8 twin turbo motor, running e85 and getting in excess of 1000hp out of a streetable car that has performance equal to a bugatti veyron except for top end.We made 801whp @36psi on a 2.5L, using E85 (2000cc port injection). Way more power than we could with 93. I love the stuff. And E100
1 - 15 of 15 Posts
