How to Convert My Car to Flex Fuel
Flex-fuel vehicles are designed to run on a fuel blend called E85, which contains up to 85 percent ethanol. Because ethanol contains slightly less energy than traditional gasoline, an average car cannot run on it without a few modifications. These adjustments will bring your car very close to true flex-fuel status for a fraction of the price of a new vehicle.
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Things You'll Need
- Flex-fuel converter
- High efficiency spark plugs
- High flow air filter
- New fuel filter
Instructions
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Fuel Injectors
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1
Remove your car's fuel injector plugs.
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2
Insert the plugs into a flex fuel converter, available from companies such as DigiFlex, FFI Platinum Plus and White Lightning.
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3
Plug the converter into the fuel injector. The converter leaves the injectors open a fraction of a second longer, delivering a bit more fuel into the combustion chamber. This compensates for the slightly lower energy content of E85.
Other Modifications
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4
Replace your car's air filter to a high-flow air filter. Standard filters use layers of chopped paper to trap particles and contaminants, but they also block a large amount of air flow, reducing your car's efficiency when using E85. A high-flow filter uses thin layers of cotton gauze, allowing increased air flow to the engine.
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5
Replace your car's fuel filter after running for a few weeks on E85. The fuel will clean many built-up dirt particles from the engine, depositing them in the fuel filter at a high rate of speed. After a few weeks most of these contaminants will have been flushed out of the engine, but leaving them in a dirty filter reduces fuel efficiency and causes hard starts.
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6
Switch to high-efficiency spark plugs only if your car has trouble performing. Since E85 burns cooler than gasoline, using your old spark plugs could result in incomplete fuel consumption and a loss of efficiency. There are several brands that claim "high-efficiency," so be sure to compare them before purchasing.
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Tips & Warnings
If your car has a carburetor, install two fuel filters. One before the fuel pump, and a second between the pump and the carburetor.
References
- Photo Credit new car engine with red trim image by Raxxillion from Fotolia.com
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Comments
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Why can`t we all convert our vehicle to use flexfuel and distill our own alcohol? I just read how to convert and it is very simple for any home mechanic.
