thinking about an ethanol conversion...looking for input

[v8volvo]

With the Subie being our only fossil-fuel-powered car these days, our thought has been to sell it as soon as a 4WD diesel becomes available. However, the fact of the matter is that new cars, especially diesels, are very expensive, and frankly the Subaru has been an amazing vehicle in terms of capability and reliability. And at 9 years old and 67,000 miles, living in a salt/rust-free region, this car has decades of solid usefulness ahead of it. I'd kind of feel bad for dumping it after it has served us so loyally. So I'm starting to look into ways that would allow us to keep the Legacy, without running it on gasoline.

 

Lots of people are talking about ethanol these days. I looked a couple years ago at doing a CNG conversion on the car, and it was going to be a ton of work and expense, plus natural gas is still a fossil fuel. Ethanol is a liquid biofuel, which makes it both easier and more enviro-friendly, in theory. Problems are that it can eat certain rubbers and metals that are sometimes used in automotive fuel systems, and that its per-volume energy content is considerably less than that of gasoline. I think those issues could be overcome, with some help from USMB.

 

I'm thinking a set of big injectors would provide the extra fuel flow capability necessary for ethanol use, and the oxygen sensors would do the rest in terms of finding the right mixture. Sound right, or is that unlikely? Megasquirt is always an option if the mixture-adjustment range of the stock ECU proves insufficient, but I think with the larger holes (from what? maybe a WRX?) and the O2 sensor it should be able to get there, right?

 

Does anyone know if the materials in the Subie EFI system are the kind that are ethanol-compatible, or will new fuel pumps, rails, lines, etc be necessary?

 

I know mileage and power will decrease, but as a car that is only used for around-town trips that are too short for a diesel and as an occasional ski-trip car, that's not a huge deal. Ethanol is not widely available here yet (not nearly on the level of even biodiesel, for example), but if the Bush Admin is serious about its new energy policy, ethanol availability should spread rapidly in the next couple years, so I'm planning ahead.

 

Anything else I haven't thought of?

[Legacy777]

You may want to check out the Engine Management / Tuning forum on NASIOC http://forums.nasioc.com/forums There's an E85 thread in there. I'm not sure what's all in it, but it's probably worth checking out.