No More Caltex E85 (E-Flex) In Sa?

[DaveB]

Went to fill up this morning, and the E-Flex pumps were taped off. Spoke to the guy behind the counter and he said that Caltex are no longer bringing in stock of E85. He said that a couple of servo's still have a few weeks' stock, and then that's it.

Anyone else heard this news? He suggested partitioning Caltex to keep E85 in SA.

So if this is true... then the only place left is United. For me, the closest is probably the Adelaide airport station (which I hope is 24 hours... might not be). Unfortunately, my tuner says the United mix is higher ethanol content (about E80-E85 compared to Caltex E60-E70 ish). This is good for power, but probably means a retune. Or a calculated mix with some added '98.

Nistune do flex-fuel sensors now, but that looks like costing another $2,500-3000 because a lot of re-tuning is required.

Anybody else running E85?

[Beregron]

I thought there was one closer to me but I was wrong....

Caltex down Seaford way does not,nor did it ever as far as i know, stock E85.

Not sure of the nearest United to me but it is very annoying not to have the option

[TCO]

Haven't seen any E85 at the united's down south, being Adelaide it wouldn't surprise me if the airport was the closest one.

For me, the closest is probably the Adelaide airport station (which I hope is 24 hours... might not be).

The airport one is 24h (or was...)

[Beregron]

Yep Airport is closest one for me also and it still shows as being 24 hrs.

Calling it my closest is a contradiction in terms tho... it's roughly 35-40 mins away

[DaveB]

At least it's 24 hours but yeah, 20 minutes for me too. Trouble for me is that my stagea is tuned for E85. I've got a '98 map but it's only for low boost, and there's a bit of messing around required to get it on the ECU because my consult port is on the blink at the moment.

I think I also need to get a retune to use the United E85 since it's properly 80-85% instead of about 60% (E-Flex) which my tune was done on.

[scotty nm35]

Just add the approximate percentage of petrol and you will be fine, err on the side of rich and you will be more than safe enough. (your cold start will probably improve )

A wideband is a good idea for these situations, my new WB kit only cost $130us...

Shame the Caltex boffins are shutting it down, but I guess it just isn't viable for them now that United are in on it.

[DaveB]

I had considered doing my own in-tank mix of 98 and E85 too... when you say to err on the side of "rich", do you mean err on the side of more 98 (lower % ethanol) or more E85 (higher % ethanol)?

The issue I think with the United E85 is too much ethanol means it will effectively lean out, as the burn ratio would actually call for more fuel, so I need to add some 98 to reduce the overall ethanol percentage probably to about 75% (to be safe)?

By my rough calculations (I'm terrible at maths), if 51 litres (ethanol content) / 60 litres (rough tank capacity) = 85% (united mix), then 45L / 60L = 75%... so I add about 6 litres of 98 and then fill the rest with E85.

Sound OK?

I think a wideband O2 sensor sounds like a good idea, and Nistune supports that now (although I'm mainly worried about the high load/max boost/max revs type scenarios). Where have you got your sensor installed, is it mounted permanently?

[scotty nm35]

6L would be ok. I used to add that much anyway in winter just to help with chilly cold starts. 10L of 98 would work fine too. It isn't too critical, ethanol gives you a fair safety margin, and the chance you will foul plugs is minimal.

The wideband is standalone, you don't need to plug it into the Nistune. I use mine for road tuning and to make sure the mixtures are ok.

[DaveB]

Thanks Scott