by Fran Pepi
Racing is getting to be even more expensive in this recent economic climate that was caused, in my opinion, by greedy corporations, liberal politicians and people living beyond their means. Sorry, but I had to get my thoughts in there! For myself personally, I am having a hard time paying for my racing hobby, especially without a sponsor. I try to save money wherever I can and fuel is a big expense and a wallet buster to say the least. Currently (2009) I am paying $8.79 per gallon for VP C-10 and have been looking for an alternative. I was thinking of going back to AV gas like I ran years ago which was always $2 to $3 a gallon cheaper.
A different fuel which is becoming more readily available is E85. This fuel is a combination of Ethanol (85%) and Gasoline (15%). At my home track there are a handful of racers running this fuel and it’s a quarter of the cost of race gas. As of the time of this article, E85 is about $2/gallon! The only problem is that there are only a couple of stations offering it in the Buffalo area. I have been doing a bit of research on it and found a pretty cool website called Raceone85.com. They sell kits to convert Holley 4150’s and 4500’s over to E85. The motor will need about 30% more fuel than it does on gas and this may require upgrading the fuel system. One of the guys I race with, Ron Wentland, runs it and also does carb modifications for E85. He said a lot of the kit s are not just an easy bolt on. The main body has to have the right size boosters. Some are ok and some will need new boosters. It seems that the older carbs are better suited for modification. He recommends getting another core to modify so you don’t ruin a good gas carb. You can also purchase a complete carburetor from a variety of sources. Obviously there is a learning curve to get the combination setup and running properly. In an upcoming article, I’ll have examples of guys that switched and what they went through to get their combinations figured out. It’s also a good idea to get a fuel tester so you know the percentage of alcohol in the fuel for consistency. In the colder climate areas, there is a difference between summer and winter fuel. The winter blend has less of an ethanol percentage for easier starting in the cold weather.
I have one worry about E85 and that is once more and more vehicles start to run this fuel, the oil companies will jack the price up to near that of regular gasoline. Look at diesel fuel, it used to be a lot cheaper than gas. In 2007-2008 when fuel prices were at an all time high, diesel went higher than gasoline. Instead of E85 being a money saver and a green fuel, it’ll be only a green fuel. I’m sure the present administration will have a hand in that too! Just my opinion. Sorry, I couldn’t help it! Questions and comments can be sent to me at
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Tech 101
