Ask your tuner if they are commanding it to dump fuel as soon as you transition from vacuum to boost. Otherwise, there is no free ride with E85 and if you are running pump E85 and not testing it/adjusting the timing for the % that comes out of the pump...you are living on borrowed time. Pump "E85" can legally be between E51 and E97 since there are no E ratings between those.
HPL no VII pcmo 5w30. 3.5k miles. Big turbo Fiesta ST 175k miles
- Thread starter Adambomb7777
- Start date
Euro xW-30/40 oils have a minimum HTHS of 3.5 cP, which is only a slightly higher than the HPL at 3.4 cP. A 5W-40 has a lot of VII and will shear-thin over an OCI, whereas the HPL won't thin at all. In fact, it will only get thicker as it oxidizes over a long OCI. The HPL is more suitable for long OCIs if you're concerned about the viscosity getting too low.
- Joined
- May 19, 2022
- Messages
- 82
I am aware not all e85 is created equal 100%. I don’t run straight e85, I blend it with 91 to make e30. I’ve wired in an ethanol content gauge so I’m always really close to 30%. There is enough leeway in the tune to accommodate for it.
It wouldn't hurt to run a 40 grade but you don't need to. If we were talking about common shelf oils, I would want to go up a grade to give some headroom for shearing and dilution. With the HPL No VII, the 5W-30 will do well.
Not sure why I put 98, I knew it had to be below 85 but thanks for the clarification. Point I was making is that people scatter motors thinking all pump E85 is actually E85 when it can be a much lower % of Ethanol. So if your engine doesn't manage knock on its own you can do some real damage.
Do you test your e85 for ethanol content? Here it varies from aprox 50% in the winter to 80% in the summer.
I would consider stepping up to a 5w40. What are you going to lose .25mpg?
PS really hard to read that oil report consider adding a partial screenshot with just the numbers so it doesnt get resized into tinyness.
Gauge makes that not necessary, it's the test.
So the car tells you the ethanol content?
He has an ethanol gauge/sensor so he has a continuous readout of what the e-content of the fuel is. Most folks running fixed e tunes run these to avoid having to test the fuel at the pump. Best is a flex tune so the tune just adjusts to whatever e blend you run. I run e blends, only about 20-25% so just make some assumptions and do it on volume but my tune is a 93 tune so not really critical...just use for extra knock resistance especially in winter when the gas blends are garbage.
Didnt know that was a thing... Pretty cool.
At least on the 3.5EB tunes I’ve seen, any tuner that offers a “flex tune” for varying ethanol levels comes right out and tells you that tune will make a good bit of power less than a fixed %, because they have to leave some safety margin since the ethanol sensor is not an immediate adjustment to a fixed number; there is a smoothing function to the response of the ethanol sensor so it’s not jumping wildly in response to variations.
In other words, even with an ethanol sensor or adaptive tune, make yourself very familiar with your specific tuner’s caveats when mixing pump ethanol and boost.
You misspelled "Subaru tuning drama"....hahaAt least on the 3.5EB tunes I’ve seen, any tuner that offers a “flex tune” for varying ethanol levels comes right out and tells you that tune will make a good bit of power less than a fixed %, because they have to leave some safety margin since the ethanol sensor is not an immediate adjustment to a fixed number; there is a smoothing function to the response of the ethanol sensor so it’s not jumping wildly in response to variations.
In other words, even with an ethanol sensor or adaptive tune, make yourself very familiar with your specific tuner’s caveats when mixing pump ethanol and boost.
If I was commenting on that, my short advice would be: if they’re not nationally known, there’s probably a good bet their tune isn’t quite as safe as it could be. Those small guys sometimes chase numbers over safety to try to generate more sales, to the detriment of the customer.
Same with the VWs, stick with established tuners and you're fine. Subarus are notorious for requiring tuning for all sorts of small mods (add an intake? OMG adjust tune) that on the VWs, aren't an issue so I'd expect ethanol is no different.
I see no need to switch to a xw40 if your using a solid oil like HPL. For reference i ran Amsoil SS 5w40 in my 360 ish hp fiesta on e50, with 3000 mile OCI’s. Was a weekend car, and when i drove the fiesta it was 10/10ths all the time.
He most likely uses an accesport as well, and you can observe the Octane Adjust Ratio. Once the ratio has hit -1.0 after a fill up from regular 91, your good to go and boost away. Accesport is super handy if you know what to watch for
- Joined
- May 19, 2022
- Messages
- 82
Yes I use a Cobb AP. Tuneplus did the current tune
I also have tunes from Dizzy and Tunewerks (Randy Robles)
I ended up with Jason/dizzy and he did a great job on my protunes. Not bad for being across the continental united states.
- Joined
- May 19, 2022
- Messages
- 82
Similar threads
