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Ever since E85 fuel showed up, it has always been poised to outperform other types of fuels, especially in the aspect of horsepower gains. But E85 is scarce; there are regions where you won’t find a single fuel station that has E85 gas; hence, some people resort to “methanol injection” as an alternative.
Methanol injection is a safe practice argued to deliver up to 60% power increase than regular gas. It keeps becoming a popular practice as E85 gas is yet to be steadily available in fuel stations.
But between methanol injection and E85, which is better? This methanol injection vs e85 fuel comparison explains everything you should know!
What is Methanol Injection?
Methanol injection is not new; it is a practice that has been around since the 1940s. However, it is more popular today because so many other “power adders” are coming out daily.
Well, the main purpose of adding meth into gasoline engines is to increase cooling, decrease detonation, and of course, increase horsepower and torque.
When you hear of methanol injection, most times, it refers to adding an atomized blend of water and methanol fuel into a gasoline engine; however, some people add only methanol in small amounts (without blending it with water) into their vehicle’s engine.
Of course, adding methanol into the fuel your car’s engine uses to run has advantages and disadvantages. Adding too much meth into a gasoline engine can cause severe damage.
What is E85?
E85 simply refers to a type of fuel with 85% ethanol content and 15% hydrocarbon (usually unleaded gasoline). This fuel is tested to be eco-friendlier than regular gasoline and can apparently trigger horsepower/torque gains on cars specified for the fuel.
Before running E85 fuel on your vehicle, it is important to confirm if your car is a “Flex-Fuel Vehicle (FFV).” Only FFVs are expected to run E85; running this fuel on regular gasoline engines would wreck the engine due to the high concentration of Ethanol.
Notwithstanding, some drivers fine-tune their gasoline engines to run E85 – by adding flex-fuel-compatible components, including ethanol sensors.
Again, E85 gas has its advantages and disadvantages. Hereunder is a concise comparison of methanol injection and E85, which promises better performance?
Methanol Injection Vs E85: Differences
Compared with methanol injection, pump E85 seems to deliver better overall performance, including increasing horsepower and torque. But then, here is how these alternative fuels compare individually.
1. Availability
Ethanol gas (E85) is scarce – you may not find it in some regions at all. But methanol can be pretty much found easily – you could even buy a gallon from stores that sell alcohol or auto “power adders.”
The scarcity of E85 gas is one of the reasons people keep seeking alternative fuels for their flex-fuel engines and “tweaked” gasoline engines.
2. Compatibility With Gasoline Engines
E85 is not naturally compatible with regular gasoline engines. If you put E85 gas into a gasoline engine, the engine would still run, but there are higher chances that the engine would break down sooner than anyone can predict.
On the other hand, you can add methanol to your gasoline engine, even without tweaking it; but it is advisable to tune up your gasoline engine before using meth fuel. In terms of compatibility, methanol fuel is more compatible with gasoline engines than E85.
3. Price
Talking about the price per gallon (PPG), methanol fuel remains the cheapest fuel you can get anywhere. It is cheaper than E85 fuel and regular gasoline. Well, E85 is actually not expensive; it is cheaper than regular gas but not as cheap as meth.
But then, meth and E85 gas do not improve fuel economy, so you’d buy more gallons of either of these fuels than you’d buy gasoline – riding the same distance at an average speed.
4. Eco-Friendliness
All renewable fuels are environmentally friendly as they do not produce bad emissions as regular/premium gas. If you care more about keeping your environment safer, E85 is the best gas to use.
5. Performance
Here is the main thing – this is where every driver’s concern is drawn to. Between methanol injection and running 100% E85 gas, which promises a better/improved performance? Well, first off, both Ethanol and methanol are alcohols but with different chemical structures.
Both can cool down the engine to a great extent and contain a higher oxygen ratio. Meth and Ethanol also have higher heat latency than gasoline, which means that both fuels use more energy than gasoline.
This is why meth and E85 gas force you to fill your tank more frequently than you would if you’re running gasoline.
Methanol injection is tested to increase power up to 60% by introducing more oxygen and keeping the engine cooler.
On the other hand, E85 increases power and torque and keeps the engine cool. Ultimately, these two alternative fuels deliver almost similar performance; the choice is up to you.
Summary
So, our methanol injection vs E85 comparison summarizes that both fuels can trigger an increase in torque and horsepower. In addition, they keep the engine cooler, introduce more oxygen, and give you more power to ride.
Methanol fuels are mostly used in racing cars, but they’re still good to put in conventional cars. If you have a regular gasoline engine and would want to run flex fuels on it, you’d need to purchase a conversion kit for the type of flex fuel you wish to use and then tweak the engine.
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