In 2012 Erik  M. came to Z Car Garage with his bonestock G35 Coupe. With 100k miles on the odometer Erik was confronted with every enthusiast’s  dilemma: sell it off or keep it? Z’s and G’s are hard to let go and Erik chose to modify his car so we gave him the ZCG essentials: JWT POP charger intake, Motordyne plenum spacer, Bassani cat-back exhaust system, JWT clutch/flywheel, Koni shocks, and Hotchkis sway bars:

Here is the stock exhaust vs the sweet sounding Bassani system:

JWT intake, JWT heavy duty clutch and flywheel (a prudent upgrade for future power mods!)

Stock vs Koni dampers plus Hotchkis sways:

We also performed full 90k services and Erik was off enjoying his G…until he came back for a Stoptech Sport Kit to improve braking. Early last year he stopped by ZCG to consult with Rob on Forced Induction…Erik wanted boost and it would be in the form of a Vortech V-3 supercharger kit!

The build started in Fall ’13, with upgrades like an oil cooler, 900cc Bosch injectors, Aeromotive 340 fuel pump and everything powdercoated satin black-Erik wanted things low profile. This Vortech build was far from ordinary as we planned to run E85 (ethanol) to make more power. What’s the deal with E85?  Tuners have been using this “alternative” fuel for years  to extract power from forced induction setups. Specifically, E85 has an octane rating approaching 105; a significant jump from your typical 91-octane premium pump gas, but for about the same price. This higher octane rating allows wider tuning capabilities,  increasing power and reducing the chance of detonation with high compression or boosted applications.

Here are few key benefits of E85:

1. The higher autoignition temperature of Ethanol (689 degrees F, compared to gasoline’s 475 degrees F) enables E85 to be more knock-resistant and handle more boost or higher compression.
2. E85 initiates a cooler intake charge, allowing for higher boost pressure.
3. E85’s higher resistance to detonation (autoignition) allows tuners to implement more aggressive ignition timing, for improved combustion efficiency.
4. E85 can actually be cheaper to run than gasoline, especially compared to high-octane race gas. As I write this, 100 octane is $7.65 and 91 octane is 4.09 compared to E85 which is 3.72.

Running E85 is straightforward but critical components are needed as well as tuning. First, E85 requires larger injectors to compensate for 40-50% increase in fuel demand. Second, an aftermarket ECU allows tuning of fuel/timing maps. We used 900c injectors, a Haltech ECU and Flex Fuel Sensor from Zeitronix:

Playing with ethanol-to-gasoline mixtures or periodically switching from gasoline to E85 requires changes in fuel pressures. Switching over isn’t a simple run-to-the-pump-and-fill scenario and that’s the beauty of the Haltech…Erik can run 91 octane, E85, E70, E30 etc. without worrying about manually adjusting timing and A/F!

Erik keeps tabs on engine and air/fuel vitals with a gauge display from Zeitronix. We mounted it stealthily in place of the OEM retractable unit:

So does E85 really make a difference? The answer is a resounding YES! The G35 baseline dyno’d at 249hp/226tq and the Vortech helped increase power to 422hp/342tq to the wheels on 91 octane:

With the Haltech and E85, were able to extract 30hp/26tq at the same boost level! Final numbers are 462hp/368tq:

We think Erik loves the newfound power…he already took his G35 to the Wednesday Night Fun Drags at Sears Point recently with great results.  Before and after the Vortech/E85.  Erik ran a 14.6@97mph vs 13.6@111mph:

With some drag radials and urethane differential bushings Erik is hoping to cure wheel hop issues and dip into the 12’s! Maybe even lower as he plans to do a high compression built engine…of course using E85!

Enjoy the Ride Erik!