Im looking into getting a e85 tune for my truck with out buying the x-cal. Does anyone know of a company that will tune the computer if you send it to them. I did it with my sonoma but that company only does GM so does anyone know of something like this for fords?

 

I do this partly for a living, not on rangers though.

I can offer you a TON of E85 tuning tips.

Are you n/a?

 

you will also need different fuel lines to run E85 i cant remember might need different injectors

 

Im alreadt A FFV so I run e85 now. Im just looking to get a tune for it becuase i think it would help a ton.

 

Yes im n/a and really? what kind of tips do you have? how much differece do you think it will make?

 

I have a corn-fed tune for my car and I used the stock lines. I know it is not a ranger but many, many vehicles have no problems running the E85. (at least short term)

 

So do you have the ability to tune a Ranger? Not just for E85 but for anything?

 

yo dude tune my truck!!!! i can bring it next weekend LOL

 

First, I'm going to assume you are framiliar with some ecu-tuning "common sense" kinda things..

Compared to a gas-tune....

- E85 makes slightly more power in 80F weather than pump gas makes in 50F weather with essentially the same tune.
- A few times now, I've seen the knock count rise up to 3 in the midrange where its usually quiet pump gas, but then in the higher rpms where pump gas usually gives me trouble, the E85 runs are completely knock free.
- Its not like race gas where timing can be liberally increased. It has to be that E85 has much more stable burn characteristics.
- The main advantage i see besides adding timing over pump is the cooling effect..

I am running a pretty substantial amount more timing on E85 then I was on pump gas..I have also found that running it richer allows more timing for me, so I am tuned to about 11.3-11.4 now where as I was hitting knock on the same ign map running ~11.7.. Part of the reason it makes good power is because it's highly oxygenated. It means you can use a lot more fuel. Which means more power. Remember gasoline's lambda is 14.7 afr, E85 is ~9.8. That's 1.5 times the fuel. 1.5 more fuel will make more energy even though unit per unit ethanol has lower energy content than regular gasoline. We want several things out of fuel - fast burn and detonation resistance being the most important ones. High oxygenation and cooling are other very good qualities. All those make power. E85 exceeds gasoline in all those. The more I mess with E85, the more I get the feeling that its possible to hit MBT with no knock. I have fiddled around with economy tuning on E85, and I am still learning, but amazingly I have gotten results like 16: or 17:1 with little load (just cruising) and run 40* of timing at cruise!)

The thing about E85 that SUCKS is that the winter and summer mixes are NOT the same - I have heard this is because it can actually be E70 (15% less) sometimes. Of course all of my tuning work is done on "unnaturally" aspirated machines. If you really want to get a monster-bang out of any small engine E85 is a huge winner.

 

I don't have the software for my truck. I never saw the point of trying to tune it because for what I do the stock ecu is WAY to limited. I really want to take out my 3.0 and build a 2.3 and use an AEM EMS on it. I get them really cheap plus they are the best. I just represented AEM at the NAIAS last week for a whopping 7 days.

 

E85 is great if you have the engine built and tuned for it.

Great post Jp7!

People get the idea the E85 sucks because the only experience they have with it is putting it into the tank of a vehicle with a low compression NA engine meant to run 87 with minimal timing changes.

Higher compression (or more boost in jp's case), more advanced timing, and better AF ratios make E85 look like a blessing. I am in 100% support of ethanol fuel research in algae and kelp fermentation. Of course, the current main crop which supplies ethanol, corn, is out of the question because we simply do not have the land mass to meet a reasonable demand.

 

Im sorry guys but Im kind of a rookie at tunning. I understand the higher octane means you can increase the timing. So whats the best way to go about tunning my computer? Should I buy the software and try my hand at it? Or should I leave this to someone with a little experience.

 

I have honestly never tried finding good software for getting into the ranger's brain. My truck is stock (powertrain) and I don't intend on modifying it (because I don't want it to be fast) - thats why I bought a car that was pretty much meant to be tuned. My truck only has lighting, sound and comfort mods - It's a luxury vehicle for me. They sell handheld tuners for your truck, but i think it is totally useless to be doing any kind of hand tuning without:

1 - Capability to log
2 - Capability to measure AFR (not NB sensor either)

Otherwise it is pretty much "ok lets play pin the tail on the donkey"

I am very supportive of your want to learn, but if you don't understand why you should have 1 & 2 above I suggest you buy this first:

http://www.amazon.com/Modify-Managem...3189484&sr=8-1

I have been working on ECU's for 12 years and I still have alot to learn.

 

whats you can do is my stock 3.0 ford ranger edge has the flex fluel in it stock. what you can get is the injectors and other parts for my stock 3.0 and put it in yours. thats the easiest way to do it. i think. i live in florida and just love e-85 in my truck

 

Sorry, E85 DOES NOT make more power than regular gasoline. You need MORE E85 than gasoline, this is why MPG drops when you used E85, and this is also why FFVs have larger injectors. However, the timing can be advanced slightly with E85, due to the octane being higher with E85. With the corrosive nature of E85, a lot of the fuel components on a FFV are stainless.

For the OP, with the FFV, Ford gives you an E85 tune for free!!

 

My truck is also a factoy FFV i was refurring to a performance or economy tune. E85 has a much higher octane so with the right tune it will make more power. I just cant justify buying a X-cal to play around with it and test.

 

Don't throw your money away, the FACTORY E-85 tune already advances the timing, and opens the injectors up longer, when you use E-85 to take advantage of the higher octane.

 

Dont dig up my old thread becuase you have no idea what your talking about

 

Son, did you know a different timing table is used when the PCM detects E-85? Matter of fact, a different fuel table is used too.
Gasoline stoich is 14.7, E-85 stoich is 9.765 .

If you don't know what a DPFE sensor is: https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...ad.php?t=76364

You wouldn't know what a timing table is.

 

I love how you go into my posts and try to start a fight.

93 octane tune vs E85 Tune - E85 makes more power and torque hands down. I can advance the hell out of my timing, and run way more boost. It's like cheating.