My C63 experience with E85
 

So Dave from Eurocharged asked me to share my experience with their flex fuel kit due to all the pm's they were getting. I'm more than happy to considering how helpful they've been with their products since I got the car.
So ordering the kit was easy. They shipped it the next day and 4 days later it showed up.
Installation took only an hour and a half. I'm all thumbs when it comes to tools even though I was a mechanic in the Navy. Still I think anyone that is a little bit mechanically inclined could probably install it just fine, just follow their install video.
Car started up just fine. The first tank I ran ended up being a 50/50 mix of 91 and E85. Just listening to the car it sounded exactly the same with no issues. After that tank I've just been filling up with E85 and have gone through a couple of tanks. The car is my daily driver at the moment and before I was filling up with 91 once a week. If I drive sensibly I can make a tank of E85 last just as long but if I drive the car the way I want all the time I can actually see the gas needle go down before my very eyes. The only drawback I found so far is that the car starts a little harder on cold days if I have nothing but E85 in the tank. I live in Southern California so cold is anything below 60F for us.
Now performance wise. So my car has a bunch of little mods that give me phantom butt dyno numbers. Underdrive crank pulley, ROW air boxes with AFE dry filters, secondary cat delete, 180F thermostat, Eurocharged V6 tune, etc. Switching to E85 has been the single most effective mod I've installed on the car yet. The car has so much more torque than it did before. On fresh PSS tires the car would spin the tires while shifting into third which it had never done before. i don't have any before and after dyno info but you will definitely notice how the car performs on a tank of E85. The plan now is I'm going to the Socal Lounge dyno day at World Motorsports next month to see the cars actual numbers and then send the info to Eurocharged and see if its worth tweaking my tune some more.
So between the increased power, saving $10 every tank on gas, and the ease of installation, this has become my favorite mod to the car yet. Shoot me any question you got, I'm sure I missed something.

Great to hear it's working out for you. Did you run into any problems or issues with the install or afterwards? Any tips, tricks for those who are looking at picking up the kit?

Sounds great glad I bought one waiting on my kit very excited.

I wouldn't call it a problem but a surprise... after I disconnected the fuel hose about 5 minutes later as I was unplugging the fuel injectors I had a geyser of gas spray out of the fuel rail from where the hose was previously connected. I don't understand where the fuel could of been trapped and why that much still existed in the fuel rail after I disconnected it but still it happened. So just be careful while working in an area where you could possibly get sprayed.

Thanks for the review. Sounds like an awesome mod.
Look forward to the dyno numbers.

Sounds exciting. Below 60F tho...its always -15 in WI lol.

Great review, thanks for posting it up. Wish I lived/worked near an E85 station - sounds like an awesome mod. Keeping it on my wishlist haha

http://www.ngkntk.com.br/automotivo/...in-the-winter/

For what it's worth, this is addressed and is a bit of a "comes with the territory" type of thing. I completely understand if it's too big of a hassle though :)

Thanks

Dave

Thanks for the review.

Looking forward to reading more in future about some numbers. I wonder what a stock C63 puts down on that dyno. I'm guessing it's a Dyno Dynamics or similar (just Googled World Motorsports and it seems like it has a 'heartbreaker' which will read lower than the usual dynojet numbers that we're used to over here).

Adding my experience to this thred...

I hesitated on getting this kit because I didn't have any E85 gas stations near by. I finally found one close by and decided to purchase the kit. Dave was very helpful and answered all my questions. The kit came in very quickly.

The installation was done by none other then Harry at Bergen Imports. I spoke to him before the purchase and he assured me that it is a great kit to make power abd he also stated that anything Eurocharged made, he approves of. Installation went smooth. Picked the car up two days after and the car was fine. Initial start up was a little rough but im guessing that was due to the car adjusting to the kit.

Since thn, my start ups have been fine. I was finally able to fill a whole tank of E85. The power is incredible. If I had to compare it to anything, it would be to getting a stock C63 tuned for the first time and feeling all that power. I haven't dyno'd the car just yet but ir feels great.

Car runs very smoothly now. It's quiter at idling and shifts a little smoother at WOT. Gas mileage is the same if you drive normal but if you go crazy, the car eats up that E85. Since E85 is about $1 less than 93 here in NYC, it's still fine with me.

Overall Im very happy with the kit. Daves customer service has been great and he randomly checks in with me which assures me that I made the right choice. He also didn't try to sell my his tune when I got the kit and told me my OE tune will be just fine. I appreciated that.

In this run are the following.

OE tune
AFE Filters
ROW Airboxes
ARH headers catless
This tank had 1/4 E85 and 3/4 93 octane. I was almost on empty so still not full E85. Also had two passangers with me!

Have you guys tried running petrol one week then e85 another week?
I'm interested on how this affect the car when switching two types of fuel on a regular basis.

Looking forward to a video of the optimal E85 mix :y

(car pulls nice and strong though :) )

I did. My first week had a almost full E85, then I had to fill up with 93. Once I emptied out the 93, I filled up with E85. No issues at all. Car seems to respond really well to it.

Anyone running full E85 notice any difference in temps?

The only difference in temps I noticed was the other day I drove with the cruise control on for about a half hour and oil temp got down to 200F during that time. Before that though I had a 180F thermostat installed and still didn't see really much of a change. I think if you are worried about engine temps this has to be test on a track during the summer to see what it takes to get it into limp mode.

waiting for some numbers to start coming in.If we can see minimum of 25whp this might be a really good option for people that don't want to run a full exhaust system.

I'm debating if it's worth it for me as I'm at a point where I need more traction to be able to use first and second gear.

my car needs a limited slip differential first

In the last few years I've seen some amazing E85 gains documented locally on forced induction cars. I've never seen anything on an N/A motor though...not yet...so this is exciting. It's still harder than it should be to find E85 where I live but, IMHO, better fuel and better tires will always be the most cost effective and least invasive way to extract additional performance out of any car.

Is it the higher octane rating of E85 that allows the stock tune to run more timing or does it have to do with something less direct like cooler EGT's...or is it something else, a combo, none of the above, etc?

Higher octane, flame speed, mostly a combo :) Yes, F/I cars see massive gains by simply switching fuel. But we have been really impressed by N/A/

Thanks!

Dave

25whp is an easy pickup ;)

if you don't get at least that, there is something wrong with your car - :rolf:

Sounds like you need some Sticky Mickeys :naughty:

Thanks

Dave

Hey Dave,

call me skeptical but can you explain how we can gain 25whp on e85 without adjusting the tune for added timing to make those claims?

I have about 30 pulls on my car and had custom renntech tuning in Miami and now on custom OE tuning and on my 3rd 93+ file that is litteraly at the limit without headers and my latest run is 446whp.

I have a custom 104/c16 map that will get me maybe 8-10whp from what my tuner said and that is with pushing the timing and with RACE gas that is at the molecular level mixed with oxygen to add power.

race gas makes power without changing the timing because there is a crap load of o2 added in.

can you explain how e85 will make power over a well tuned car without the benefit of the added o2 in the gas.

I just don't see my car picking up 25whp without running race gas along with e85 and a tune for it.

Everyone is skeptical, which is to be expected so no worries.

I posted the graph before, but the first car we ever put it on ('12 C63 Sedan) was making about what you are now, with what I imagine is the same setup (Tune, ROW) added the controller and picked up 30whp/30wtq.

That car has making almost your exact same power before adding the flex system... 447/404.

Get a kit and you will see for yourself :) You'll be easily making longtube power with no longtubes. You'll never have to buy C16 again. The fuel savings alone will make the kit pay for itself!

Thanks

Dave

I'm going to PM you

Dave, I was reading your posts on the E85 Kit for our cars and was wondering where and how much is the kit going to costs? I got a pricing from Dylan and was kind of confused because it came with upgraded injectors/etc. I thought I recalled seeing a post where we could use stock injectors with your tune. Just trying to clarify on what is and is not needed. Thanks!

So - Because we had so few injectors come back for core, we decided to scrap the core program all together, too much hassle, and I didn't want to keep buying used injectors if I was never gonna get cores back. No more cores will be asked for, and it's no longer an option.

I'm not upset at all, just didn't count on so many people wanting to keep their stocks. That is based on the buckets of M113k Stock injectors I have lying around.

SO! I now send brand new Bosch 550cc (if needed) with the deciding factor being longtube headers. If you **HAVE** longtubes, you need injectors. If you **DON'T HAVE** longtubes, you can run your stocks.

If you EVER PLAN on getting longtubes, just replace your injectors now... Spray pattern is better with the new injectors, not to mention they are brand new, and all perfectly flowmatched when sent out. You engine will run smoother and better.

Kit is $1,500 shipped, and injectors are $480 shipped. Gains are a little different for each car, but count on at least 25whp without headers, and closer to 35whp if you already have headers (assuming your car is already in good running condition and you maintain it well, doesn't have worn out plugs, or a leaking intake manifold.)

Call the shop for any questions! 512-777-2799, Eurocharged ATX

Thanks!

Dave