E85 eating main bearings???

[MalcolmV8]

Originally Posted by UnleashedBeast

Were the valve covers plumbed back into the intake manifold, or did you just have small air filters capping them off?

Plumbed back like stock. I tried to make that truck as factory looking as possible. It had PCV, EGR, cats etc. If I remember right the passenger's side valve cover had a hose that went to the intake tube between the air filter and throttle body and the lower intake at the very back of the motor had a wire mesh screen with a PCV valve sitting right on top of it with a hose that went to... I forget. I think the upper intake behind the TB but can't remember exactly now and don't have my pics handy to reference.

[rfiresnake]

I'm running e85 on my 03 kenne bell supercharged cobra and i drive the car around 3000 miles a year. I used to change my oil once a year on gas and changed up to every 6 months on e85. Is this good enough? I'm running 5w30 amsoil

[Vnmous1_04]

Originally Posted by rfiresnake

I'm running e85 on my 03 kenne bell supercharged cobra and i drive the car around 3000 miles a year. I used to change my oil once a year on gas and changed up to every 6 months on e85. Is this good enough? I'm running 5w30 amsoil

I was just suggested by the Amsoil rep to use the 10W-30 Signature Series oil and you'll be fine.

[UnleashedBeast]

Originally Posted by rfiresnake

I'm running e85 on my 03 kenne bell supercharged cobra and i drive the car around 3000 miles a year. I used to change my oil once a year on gas and changed up to every 6 months on e85. Is this good enough? I'm running 5w30 amsoil

5W-30 Signature series is fine for year round performance, but unless you are cranking the car in sub 32*F weather more than once a day, you can even use 10W-30 to gain better shear stability and lower NOACK volatility. 10W-30 ATM Amsoil is my year round oil of choice in the south.

Not taking away from 5W-30 at all, it's still a great lubricant.

[me32]

i will be trying the mobil 1 5w-40 next.but look at my oil reading. mine has no issues with E85.
here is mine with 3200miles

Originally Posted by UnleashedBeast

Here is the very first known UOA of Roush 5W-50 in the Shelby GT500. *That I recall anyway*



Wear metals look very nice, as they should. Your engine has over 20,000 miles in it, the break in process is long over. Lead is following the trends of other 50 grade lubricant samples taken from the GT500. I've seen lead ppm in Motorcraft 5W-50 low as 2, or as high as 22. Between all known MC 5W-50 samples, I've calculated the average of lead to be 8 ppm. That being said, you are in the average window. If you are still concerned about lead/bearing wear....all of my Amsoil UOA samples has never shown more than 2 ppm of lead, and I do not baby this car. I treat her like a prostitute.

This lubricant has a more robust detergent additive package than MC 5W-50 ever had. The TBN is still at 5.9 after 3,200 miles. MC would be only be 50% of that amount after this many miles. I did notice that you had one quart of make up oil. This does benefit the TBN reading, and would boost the amount of detergent additives in the tested sample.

I see a small level of Manganese in this sample. Have you been using any Torco fuel additives or race fuel? If so, that's to be expected.

Viscosity (17.0 cSt) started out much lower than expected from other 50 grade lubricants commonly tested for the GT500. It sheared to a 40 grade, as expected, but not nearly as bad as MC 5W-50. Sheared only 15%

Here is the VOA of the same oil for comparison you posted a long time back.



In conclusion, this is a better alternative for those who insist to use the Ford recommended 5W-50, however as most of us know...it's no longer available.

[timspony]

..after re-reading this thread (again), Im going to use RP HPS 5w30 this season!

[04sneaky_snake]

I have always used RP HPS 5w-30 and never seen a problem with cold temps. No odd sounds, no start up problems, runs just the same as it does in 80* weather! Definitely recommended!

[BADASS03SVT]

Mobil 1 5w30 Syn for the last 8 years on my stock motor. beginning of 2011 (April) I switched to E85. In June I started getting water in the oil (unrelated)

this is how my oil looked in June when I changed it




and I continued to run the car ALL season till October. Everytime i raced it I changed the oil when I got home. Put about 100 1/4 mile passes on it in 2011. Here are my main bearings when I tore it down




I had a crack in the block so it wasnt E85....but Mobil 1 and E85 and my bearings looked great after 33k miles and 8 years

[MalcolmV8]

Originally Posted by 04sneaky_snake

I have always used RP HPS 5w-30 and never seen a problem with cold temps. No odd sounds, no start up problems, runs just the same as it does in 80* weather! Definitely recommended!

Even walmart oil would not give you odd sounds or problems starting up.

[UnleashedBeast]

If anyone buys oil from Wal Mart, take my advice on this one.

Use Mobil 1 10W-30 Extended Performance. It's only 5 more dollars per 5 qt. jug, and well worth the investment.

[me32]

Originally Posted by BADASS03SVT

Mobil 1 5w30 Syn for the last 8 years on my stock motor. beginning of 2011 (April) I switched to E85. In June I started getting water in the oil (unrelated)

this is how my oil looked in June when I changed it




and I continued to run the car ALL season till October. Everytime i raced it I changed the oil when I got home. Put about 100 1/4 mile passes on it in 2011. Here are my main bearings when I tore it down




I had a crack in the block so it wasnt E85....but Mobil 1 and E85 and my bearings looked great after 33k miles and 8 years

More proof showing that its bull shit saying E85 eats bearings

[bambinov8]

Originally Posted by me32

More proof showing that its bull shit saying E85 eats bearings

Why is so hard to read man ?? This informative thread has spread in other mustangs forums and this issue main topic is DD cobras on e85 where u drive EVERYDAY AND YOU THINK OR THOUGHT AN 3K MILES OIL CHANGE WAS STILL THE THE RULE TO FOLLOW NOT THE GUY U REFERRING TO (BADASS03SVT) ,IN CONTRAST OF FRESH OIL BEHAVIOR BEFORE HE RACES HIS CAR HENCE NOT AFFECTING THE TBN OF THE OIL AS MUCH AS YOU WOULD DRIVING EVERYDAY ON ETHANOL ..if you read and search you going to find out why A DD CAR on E85( NOT YOUR MODERN FFV) needs a higher much higher TBN ON THE OIL USED and oil intervals needs to come way sooner than your regular 3k miles ..most of the guys here use their toys for weekend events always using a fresh new oil before they race ... Read my friend, It is believed that during cold starts, uncombusted ethanol might migrate past the piston ring. If this happens, it could result in something called cylinder wall washing. Cylinder wall washing reduces the lubrication on the cylinder wall and could dilute the oil if it runs into the crankcase.

[bambinov8]

We all know that E85, when compared to “normal” gasoline (which is about 10% ethanol), is fairly acidic. This acid has the ability to neutralize some of the lubricating ability of normal engine oil, but only mildlyso. In fact,I would guessthat regular old motor oil would breakdown more from heating and cooling over the course of 5,000 miles than it ever would from the acid inherent in E85. Normal E85 isn’t much of a threat to engine oil – the issue occurs when normal E85 becomes contaminated with water.

The combustion process of water-contaminated E85 will lead to the formation of a strong acid (formic acid, to be exact). This acid, left unchecked, has the ability to cripple an engine because it can 1) dramatically reduce the lubricating ability of normal motor oil and 2) eat away at the high-tolerance metal engine components. E85 with water contamination, in a normal engine, is dangerous stuff. Changing the oil frequently is a good insurance policy for a normal engine running E85, and this is probably the basis of this recommendation.

HOWEVER, if you’re running E85, you’re probably not driving a normal engine! Vehicles that are factory capable of running E85 have specially coated pistons and valves that are less susceptible to acid wear. Moreover, if you’re driving your factory flex-fuel vehicle with E85 and you’re using the factory recommended E85 oil blend, your oil has an extra dose of detergents that designed to neutralize any acid that might form

[me32]

Originally Posted by bambinov8

Why is so hard to read man ?? This informative thread has spread in other mustangs forums and this issue main topic is DD cobras on e85 where u drive EVERYDAY AND YOU THINK OR THOUGHT AN 3K MILES OIL CHANGE WAS STILL THE THE RULE TO FOLLOW NOT THE GUY U REFERRING TO (BADASS03SVT) ,IN CONTRAST OF FRESH OIL BEHAVIOR BEFORE HE RACES HIS CAR HENCE NOT AFFECTING THE TBN OF THE OIL AS MUCH AS YOU WOULD DRIVING EVERYDAY ON ETHANOL ..if you read and search you going to find out why A DD CAR on E85( NOT YOUR MODERN FFV) needs a higher much higher TBN ON THE OIL USED and oil intervals needs to come way sooner than your regular 3k miles ..most of the guys here use their toys for weekend events always using a fresh new oil before they race ... Read my friend, It is believed that during cold starts, uncombusted ethanol might migrate past the piston ring. If this happens, it could result in something called cylinder wall washing. Cylinder wall washing reduces the lubrication on the cylinder wall and could dilute the oil if it runs into the crankcase.

Well then I must be old school because I still believe in 3k oil change. Even in my dd I use full syn an do about 4k or so on the oil change. I understand what you are saying but with proper oil an oil changes it won't be an issue. The only problem is the oil break down which would cause the bearing to fail or worn out. So once again I still call the E85 eating bearings bs.

[gt347mustang]

Originally Posted by bambinov8

Unless you’ve installed an E85 conversion kit on a “normal” gas motor, you’ve got some built-in protection.