E85 best practices

Hi all

I have a track car that runs ethanol 85 only and as this is a hydroscopic fuel what is the best way to store the vehicle inbetween meets (could be 4 month breaks or longer at times). For now I have drain the tank as much as I could by removing the feed line and pumping into a storage container where I’ll just use sparingly in lawnmower each top up. But the concern I have is still with the fuel inside the tank and lines, will this cause me issues later on. I will be getting a flex fuel sensor later on but in the mean time I’m stuck with e85 only.

thanks in advance

I also use E85 but afrer each event a flush the entire fuel system with regular pump fuel and store it for months too.

Thanks Georg are you able to run the reg fuel throu or do you just let the fuel pump run for a while then drain fully again before e85 fill up ?

I have special pump installed in the fuel tank just for changing fuels and not overheating high performance pump when running almost dry from the tank.

Brendan,

My experience is I've been better off leaving the fuel in the car, tank full, rather than draining it. When you drain it air gets in, corrosion occurs far more quickly. As long as the entire fuel system is ethanol compatible and the car isn't in a very humid environment, you should be fine a few months at a time. I've let one of my cars go over a year without issues. I do use Klotz Uplon additive for lubrication and some protection as well.

If in a very humid environment, then I wouldn't let it sit as long, but I'm less concerned by a little water than I am about any air getting in based on results I've seen from vehicles, and also with injectors removed from vehicles. Injectors pulled from cars that ran E85 can have issues within days when removed from the fuel system and exposed to air.

Once you get the car running flex fuel you might as well pump the e85 out, pump gas in, run the engine for a few minutes, then park it.