Which way should i go for Methanol or E85 ?

[Holden202T]

Ok i'm at a cross road...... please give me your opinions and feedback so i can maybe decide which way to go.

my car will be strictly drag racing only, not registered, so the amount of fuel it uses is not really an issue nor is cruise/ part throttle drivability (to a point)

engine is being built to suit methanol or E85 fuel as far as compression ratio is concerned

option 1

i already have full running carby setup using a holley 450 4 barrel with vaccum secondaries, this is fed by a methanol capable holley type fuel pump which can supply up to 14 psi, its got a regulator just before the carby and is adjustable to suit carby needs. fuel line from tank to regulator is 1/2 inch and then 5/16 from reg into carby.

carby filter sticks out of the bonnet and there is already a hole in the bonnet for this.

i think even with the extra needs of methanol / e85 this carby will do me but i believe it will need some changes to suit these fuels.

option 2

now with using the above fuel system i can fit a surge tank into the system and the current pump will feed it, i can then run a efi pump to the fuel rail (which i have a spare one of) and then the return line back into the surge tank then there are plenty of blocked off fittings on the fuel cell for return from surge tank, so theres no problems there at all.

using a delco on the 202 is easy and i have almost everything i need to do it already anyways so theres no problems there.

as i see it i will need to get some decent injectors to a. support alcohol and not shit themselves and b. have the capacity to flow what i need now and in the future (ie. forced induction)

probably should get a better fuel pressure regulator and also im not sure if the current one would live with alcohol .....

i then have the issue of a hole in the bonnet i need to fix.

so as i see it, theres dollars to be spent on efi and theres also dollars to prep the carby aswell ..... i'm fairly certain theres going to be a fair bit more dollars in the EFI but it also has much better ability to support my needs in the long term and is definately the best option for tuning.

on the other hand the carby is simple and proven to work well .....

will i see a worthwhile power difference between efi or carby ..... ?

please shedeth any light you may have and we'll see where this ends up!!

[delcowizzid]

you know me i had to vote efi just for simple adjustments on track day without rejetting the carby for weather etc and can tune in some extra traction if needed on cold days too

[antus]

EFI sounds like more fun If this is for the gemini another bonnet shouldnt be hard to find. Also you wont be the only one running methanol on these forums, although im not sure if thats a reason for or against

[v6bucket]

I think either will work great,I'm currently working with both. As to the fuel choice, E85 would be good to use as there is less maintenance but isn't widely available.

[Holden202T]

well i think either way methanol or e85 is just as hard for me to get but hopefully e85 will become more available as time goes on.

[Apples]

I get sick of flushing a oiling a methanol fuel system after using it.
And hate it even more when some one forgets to and you have to strip it all out and clean it.

Give me E85 and EFI any day over methanol mechanical injection, EFI or carby.
so now you know what I voted.

[Holden202T]

i know what methanol does to engines if its not rinsed out but what sort of effects does it have on the rest of the fuel system ?

[monaro308]

E85 is at a "chicken before the egg" stage at the moment.
no demand = no surpliers= no demand etc etc
I think there is one surplier here in melbourne at the moment.
Stainless steel fuel lines and different material used in the MRA units in the tanks to handle E85.
The stuff smells exactly like meth spirits.
Other companies are pushing E85 only fueled cars but GM is pushing flex fueled cars that can run E10-E85.
Another problem at the moment is the cost of buying land,growing sugar cane or in America's case Corn,harvesting
and making the stuff and then selling it.
Australia's problem is that its cheaper to import E85 than making it (at the moment) and then the chicken and the egg cycle begins again.
....so to answer your question......E85 will be the go....sooner rather than later.

[Holden202T]

what is an MRA unit ?

stainless steel is this needed as the e85 eats away at normal steel ?

the internet seems to show theres a handful of e85 pumps in Sydney so it is available to me ... and when i finally get on the track its going to be in Sydney anyways so yeah filling up wont be a huge hassle.

so what about normal fuel lines (ie. rubber hose) is there anything special needed in this area ? and what about alloy surge tanks and the earls fittings and such ?

by the way im the one person that voted carby cause i needed to vote so it comes up with the votes straight away and cause no one else did

[delcowizzid]

yeah you need alcohol safe fuel lines the stock petrol rubber will soon deteriorate real bad the guys in the us had issues with braided rubber lines at one stage with E85 i remember getting an email about it from someone over there pin hole leaks spraying fuel round the engine bay not nice