So far seems like this site is dead. But here it goes. Ok so im a diy'r and im cheap. But just wondering. Id love to switch to e85 on my r53. Ive actually tried it once but ran like crap. I tried it in my 750i and it actually ran ok and im in the process of tuning my built late model camaro for e85. They say it takes ruffly 20-25% more e85 than regular gas to run. So what if you changed the stock injectors for some that are ruffly 20-25% bigger. Say 380s with a 255 pump. Do you think i could get away without a tune ?? Lol. Any thoughts ?

 

Since the R53 is boosted it is recommended to run hi-octane fuel. I would not even go to E85. But if you are going to go that route, your idea is OK, but you left out one important thing. The computer will have to be modified to control the higher flow injectors to allow them to flow more fuel (all the time and in all conditions).

Good luck with the mods.

 

Getting a E85 tune as well as the injectors and fuel pump would be the best route.

 

E85 is around 110 octane. Its been proved many times that it will make more power than pump even on NA cars.

 

Yes, E85 or methanol WILL make more power, but it does so by cramming more BTU's into the chamber for each revolution (via more fuel). At a given boost, you are limited with how much air you can cram into a cylinder, but because the stoichiometric ratio of E85 is about 5:1 vs. 12.5:1 (by weight) for gasoline you can mix a lot more E85 with the same amount of compressed air than you can with gasoline. That means more BTU's in the chamber, and more power. But to do so you will need much larger injectors, plus sensors that can read that fuel ratio properly and a tune that will pull it all together.

Just putting E85 (or even nitromethane) in the tank of a R53 with a pulley will not make more power. More likely detonation will destroy the engine, because the R53's knock sensor & computer will not be able to retard the ignition enough to prevent detonation. Also note that the correct stoichiometric ratio under light load vs. full load is hugely different between E85 and gas. That means that just plugging-in 700cc injectors is not going to yield a drivable result.

 

Yeah - Unfortunately there hasn't been much activity on the NAM R53 as there used to be.
However; Good question and thanks @TypeR53 ....I continue to learn something everytime I visit this site.
I think the replies to your post/thread also helped me to understand better as well.

 

[QUOTE=Mini_Crazy;4625089]Yes, E85 or methanol WILL make more power, but it does so by cramming more BTU's into the chamber for each revolution (via more fuel). At a given boost, you are limited with how much air you can cram into a cylinder, but because the stoichiometric ratio of E85 is about 5:1 vs. 12.5:1 (by weight) for gasoline you can mix a lot more E85 with the same amount of compressed air than you can with gasoline. That means more BTU's in the chamber, and more power. But to do so you will need much larger injectors, plus sensors that can read that fuel ratio properly and a tune that will pull it all together.

Just putting E85 (or even nitromethane) in the tank of a R53 with a pulley will not make more power. More likely detonation will destroy the engine, because the R53's knock sensor & computer will not be able to retard the ignition enough to prevent detonation. Also note that the correct stoichiometric ratio under light load vs. full load is hugely different between E85 and gas. That means that just plugging-in 700cc injectors is not going to yield a drivable result.[/QUOTE

With no disrespect you talk like you know what your talking about but i can tell you dont and havnt had any real world experience with e85. Retard the timing so theres no detonation ? Really ? Lol. But thank you for the reply.

 

If you run lean, the engine will ping/detonate. . . statement of fact. Because the Siemens ECU doesn’t know about E85, it’s only solution will be to “pull” timing, which will not stop detonation due to a lean condition. Just changing injectors to run E85 will likely get the OP's Mini to run similar to his earlier attempt: "like crap", by his own description.

The amount of methanol in E85 at the pump can range from 50% to 85%, a HUGE range. Variability link: https://www.caranddriver.com/researc...at-is-e85-gas/ Do our R53 Mini’s have a way to a way to compensate for this HUGE variable from fill-up to fill-up? No.

Flex fuel vehicles have both the sensor and a computer that can vary fuel curves & ignition to cover anything between 0% to 100% methanol. The R53 has neither the sensor, nor the computer capable of doing so. By comparison, if the OP's Camaro is 2016 or later, it can be converted easily, because its computer already supports E85 mapping: (Reference).

Can a street-driven R53 be converted to run E85? Absolutely, with an aftermarket ECU but not cheaply, which was the OP’s primary criteria. What does it take?: A common combination for the R53 requires a Link ECU, 1000cc injectors, flex fuel sensor, and a high flow fuel pump, not to mention a dyno tune that will tie it all together.