[FSociety]

Saw this now, thought i should share with you guys.
Robbie McQueen from Wolf Motorsport shows us the pros and cons of using an ethanol flex fuel sensor to tune your car.

Opinions?

[FSociety]

cryptocar dd1981 Luminous

[cryptocar]

Originally Posted by FSociety

cryptocar dd1981 Luminous

I'm in the middle of the Amazon tuning cars right now and Internet here is so bad i can't even begin to load the content of your message. But my opinion is that I don't base my tune around any E sensor readings since there's too many factors at play and high levels of inaccuracy. It's really just a nice feature for me to check and see hmm ok my tank has pump gas or ok this is high Ethanol. My sensor isn't even hooked into my DME, JB4, or PI controller I use the standalone BT app just for reference. Sorry if I'm missing the point since like I said I can't even load the content you posted.

[rednose]

I use this on my Ford XR6T, it is not a flex fuel car so i have a tune specifically for e71 and a tune for e85 as they are the only 2 options we have in Australia.

I have been using this sensor for almost 4 years and ethanol content has always been spot on.

If you want some extra safety then use it along with an afr guage and you wont have any issues.

[cryptocar]

Originally Posted by rednose

I use this on my Ford XR6T, it is not a flex fuel car so i have a tune specifically for e71 and a tune for e85 as they are the only 2 options we have in Australia.

I have been using this sensor for almost 4 years and ethanol content has always been spot on.

If you want some extra safety then use it along with an afr guage and you wont have any issues.

What's the manufacturer of your E sensor?, I use a Continental as does pretty much everyone else on the forum with a Fuel-It setup and the manufacturer states it's a 5% margin of error but my partners, friends, and I have found it to be closer to 10-15+%, which is a pretty sizable margin of error.

[zinner]

The test is using a very small sample of fuel, maybe a quart? So contamination is going to be exaggerated more than a tank with 18 gallons of fuel in it.

Also the OEM's use E85 sensors and they don't mess around so you know it's a solid method.

[cryptocar]

Originally Posted by zinner

The test is using a very small sample of fuel, maybe a quart? So contamination is going to be exaggerated more than a tank with 18 gallons of fuel in it.

Agreed, I've now watched the video and the contamination level this guy uses is pretty insane given the sample size, almost equivalent to dumping a gallon of water into your tank. But his point is valid that E sensors don't actually measure E levels rather they only measure lack of gasoline because gasoline is dielectric (does not conduct electricity) and ethanol along with water, some contaminants and other fuel additives do conduct electricity. E-sensors can easily be tricked or confused by other conductive materials that enter your fuel system, water being the most common since ethanol is hydrophilic easily absorbs water, even from atmospheric air.

Also the OEM's use E85 sensors and they don't mess around so you know it's a solid method.

It's not like aftermarket Ethanol solutions providers like Fuel-It! are using some fly-by-night hardware as sensors, they use the same ones Ford and GM use in their Flex-Fuel vehicles. Fuel-It in particular uses Continental sensors, Continental being the third largest tier 2 OEM auto supplier in the world. It's more a shortcoming of the technology of chemical testing than anything.

[rednose]

Originally Posted by cryptocar

What's the manufacturer of your E sensor?, I use a Continental as does pretty much everyone else on the forum with a Fuel-It setup and the manufacturer states it's a 5% margin of error but my partners, friends, and I have found it to be closer to 10-15+%, which is a pretty sizable margin of error.

Mine is the same and have found it reads around 10% lower.



This does not bother me at all as my car does not adjust on the fly, I have a specific tune for e71 and e85.

So for me when i run E71 and my ECA gauge shows E65 then i know my tune is spot on (AFR guage confirms it)



And when I run E85 my ECA guage shows E78



The first kit Zeitronix released was spot on but it came with the big bulky GM sensor, link below.

http://www.zeitronix.com/Products/EC...uel-sensor.gif

They now have a new kit called ECA 2 which is supposed to be accurate again, link below.

http://www.zeitronix.com/Products/ECA/ECA2.shtml

[badbread]

So, I'm interested in an e85 sensor, but after watching that video I'm having second thoughts.

Have things changed or do they still just measure the conductivity of the fuel. With e85 being hygroscopic, it seems pointless to install this relatively simple device that can't tell the difference, especially for the price vendors are asking.