I have looked and all of the threads are from about 10 years ago. I bought another Mini which is very heavily modified and I'm just trying to inch a little bit more out of it and one of the last modification is e85. Know back to the questions, from what was said in the old threads I more than likely need lines and a fuel pump to support the extra e85. The Mini is also running meth if that affects anything. Thank You for your feedback in advance.

 

1. make sure the fuel lines are rated for ethanol. The hardlines are likely going to be ok if they aren't aluminum, it's the rubber lines that tend to be more of an issue.
2. make sure the injectors are ethanol rated.
3. make sure the fuel pump is ethanol rated.
4. get a tune.

If you want the ability to switch between ethanol and regular pump gas, get a flex fuel sensor, install that inline. Wire that to an aftermarket ECU/piggyback, and call it good.

 

The car has a vipec ecu. Do you know what lines our MINI come with whether they are rubber or hardlines. Ill contact Jan since i know he has built cars that run on e85 with the flexfuel sensor.

 

bigger injectors and tune , fuel pump will support it and the degradation of fuel lines from e85 was mainly a slander campaign against e85. E85 is only going to have less detnation and higher hp capabilities as well as runs cooler than gas when burned and passing through the intake, Even Google agrees for once. E85 rated lol basically that means just make sure your fuel pump and fuel injectors can flow the correct amount since e85 requires far more flow. Hense the crap mileage on it.. i used to do e85 but once the price 2x on it it became useless other than to use it for race fuel racing.. the price to mileage is crazy bad buuuuut it will make more power than 93oct buuuuuuut it comes with the b.s of planning trips and stuff around e85 availability unless you install a flex fuel sensor and your ecu is compatible with that too. If not for the price increase and lack of availability I'd too be running e85.

 

Take whatever minimanadam says very cautiously, as he's not exactly...smart. "Hense", lol.

As a comparison between gasoline and E85 -- E85 will corrode aluminum moreso than regular 91 (source: http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get...FULLTEXT01.pdf). It also attracts water (source: https://www.nmma.org/lib/docs/nmma/g...tion_Paper.doc).

This isn't as much of an issue as it is with anodized aluminum, but no one is anodizing aluminum fuel lines.
There's also an increase in rubber degradation with ethanol. Rubber is used in injector seals and fuel pumps. This is why it's said to make sure those components are ethanol rated.

Could you run what you have and be ok, sure... for a time being. You could force E85 thru your regular injectors, just have to bump up the fuel flow by roughly 30% and hope you haven't maxed out your injectors / pump.

but, for people who aren't building dumpster fires (like minimanadam is prone to building), it's best to build it correct from the beginning, then you don't have to worry about issues later on.

 

This!

Build it right the first time.

Don't forget the filtration too; ethanol tends to unstick all the gross sediment from the fuel tank and clogs up the injectors quickly. Some people recommend an injector lubricant - throw in a can every couple tanks- while other's recommend throwing in a tank of 91 or 93 every 3-4 fill-ups to keep the injectors happy.

 

double post

 

Would seafoam work as well?
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I'm planning on getting a bytetronik tuner, it has the option to switch fuel types so would I still need a flex fuel sensor?
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I would say yes, you still need the flex fuel sensor. Even if you run the tank as low as possible on one fuel before switching, you will have some mixing and the ECU needs to know the ethanol content. Additionally, unless you will be filling your tank with a reliable fuel source like drums from VP Racing, ethanol content at different stations can vary, so your ECU would need to know the actual ethanol content.