burning mogas with ethanol in my turbo 2.5

[eddie]

My RAF is a normal aspirated 2.5 subaru with a turbocharger set a 6 lbs of boost.it is a very simple and reliable setup and gives me 230HP.Until today I as using 100 LL AV-gas,the price was the main reason to switch fuel,I am saving $2.00 a gal this way. I was concerned about changing for all of the normal ethanol reasons plus with the increased boost i was worrying about detonation. On takeoff the RPM was the same as with av-gas and there was no problems at all,after the flight i pulled the plugs and check for detontion and if the mixture needed adjusted, the plugs looked good for detonation,tempature range was good and the mixture was slightly rich.
so far everything looks OK.My fuel tank is the plastic one and should no cause problems,if any adverse things start to happen I will post those problems as they occur. Best regards,eddie....

[GraemeClarke]

There is a very interesting Article in The New Zwaland Automobile association magazine which I tried to post. They compared 10% ethanol mix with mineral 91 octane. The summary was the the mix has less energy, so the mineral gave about 10% more milage. This resulted in the mix being more expensive. In the USA situation this would depend on the costs of the different types. From a flying point of veiw, it means you are going to get less range for a given volume of feul.
Graeme

[mark treidel]

I burn mo-gas in my 912ULS most all the time. On some X-country trips I've had to fill up with 100LL. There is a notable difference in that I get better 'mileage' with the mo-gas.
I normally burn 3.5 gph and with 100LL, a distinct 1/2 gph more each time. There is about a $2.50 difference between the two in our area at this time which makes mo-gas the fuel of choice for the concerned wallet.

[eddie]

thats good to know,i read that I would lose about 3% in power and mileage,I know for a fact that I get the same RPM at wide open throttle,and that was at density of 8,500 ft. thanks for your input. eddie...

[Obormot]

how about E85 fuel?

[eddie]

i believe that E85 is 85% alcohol,i would never try to burn that much alcohol content in my engine,10% is the maximium amount. best regards,eddie

[Obormot]

i have big experience in using ethanol and E85, if it is interesting - will share.

for your application i think best way of conversion - adjustable fuel pressure regulator.

http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=73061

also not recommended to use aluminium in fuel system (fuel rail, tank)

[Brent Drake]

I'd be more concerned about alcohol dissolving my fuel tank. Most tanks will not take that type of fuel.

[eddie]

I ran into a little problem this morning,the plugs looked like they were getting soot on the ring,so i made the mixture a little lean,it started fine but would not accelerate to a higher RPM,i made sure that it was warmed up but still no
acceleration. went back into the hanger and richen the mixture slightly more than the
av-gas settings on the fuel map,starts and runs just fine.I think the mo-gas burns dirter than the av-gas and the slight soot threw me off.I had read on the internet that mo-gas would run leaner, and they were right. Also there is no way I would run E85 in any thing,E10 is bad enough. Best regards,eddie.....

[Obormot]

E85 burns very clean, almost no soot at spark plugs, valves and pistons at any modes.
and much cooler, temperature of exhaust is much lower, than on usual gasoline.

more ethanol in fuel - reacher mixture, not leaner.

as i know, ethanol will react with aluminium only if it will contain big % of water and if aluminium surface will be damaged not in the air, but under layer of fuel.
and as i know, usual aluminium automotive fuel system parts works with E85 without problems, but of course plastic or stainless steel is better.