CONVERT YOUR CAR HOW TO TO RUN ON SUPER FUEL

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2 CONVERT YOUR CAR HOW TO TO RUN ON SUPER FUEL

3 Copyright Copyright 2013 by Power Freedom Inc. All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Power Freedom Inc.

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5 SAFETY INFORMATION GENERAL INFORMATION Modification of your vehicle requires a certain level of skill and should only be performed by a qualified professional. Cautions It s a good idea to wear safety goggles or safety glasses at all times when working on your car. Dress appropriately when working on your car. Long sleeves give some measure of protection but can get tangled in belts, make sure to keep the sleeves buttoned. Wear protective boots and gloves. Never work on your engine while it s running. Keep a fire extinguisher within close reach. Disconnect the battery when working on your car. Serious burns or electrocution can result from high voltage electrical components. Some engine parts can get very hot and stay hot for long periods of time even after you have shut it off. Let your car cool off for at least 30 minutes before attempting any modifications. Keep the floor clean. You don t want to accidentally trip on something. Use common sense when it comes to safety. This will decrease the chance of accidents dramatically. Avoid distractions; work on the task at hand. Stay focused at all times. important All instructions should be read and understood before attempting to convert your car to run on alcohol. Improper techniques can result in burns, fire, explosions, and even death.

6 CONTENTS Disclaimer... ii Safety Information... iii PART 1: AlCOHOL VS. GASOLINE... Introduction... 2 Alcohol vs. Gasoline... 3 Energy Considerations... 6 Conclusion PART 2: CONVERTING YOUR CAR TO RUN ON ALCOHOL... Introduction... 7 Install An AftermarketProgrammable ECU... 9 Replacing Spark Plugs Optional: Cold Start Systems PART 3: IMPROVING FUEL EFFICIENCY... Introduction Conclusion Final Thoughts Index Notes... 17

7 ALCOHOL 1VS. GASOLINE Introduction Once you read this short book, you ll discover just how easy it is to convert your car to run on alcohol. And even if you never decide to make your own alcohol, converting your car to use E85 has tremendous benefits. Here are just a few: You ll be saving money each time you fill up, E85 can be 70 cheaper per gallon or more Your car will last longer, alcohol burns better, reducing vibrations and running cooler You ll be helping the environment. Alcohol is a very clean burning fuel with fewer emissions. You ll be supporting the local economy and farmers while helping us reduce our dependency on foreign oil You might even get a little more horsepower or more MPG And much, much more I know some of you are more mechanically inclined and would appreciate lots of details, but I choose to write this book so everyone can understand and use it. If you want to learn more about modifying your engine for optimal performance, I ve included a list of books that have that information. This book is divided into several chapters that will explain the differences between gasoline and alcohol, how to convert your car to run on alcohol and a few ideas on how to improve your fuel efficiency. Let s get started. 2 Convert your car to run on super fuel

8 ALCOhol vs. Gasoline Before I start this chapter I just want to say how much it saddens me that so little research is done on alcohol as a fuel. Most of the funding in the research community is paid for by the oil industry and they have little or no interest in making alcohol popular. Most of the information we have today was collected by dedicated researchers that were passionate about the advantages of alcohol as a fuel. Many of which reached into their own pockets to fund their projects. I am forever grateful for all the hard work everyone in the alcohol community has contributed to get us where we are today. Now, let s get to the differences between alcohol and gasoline. Myths and Lies In my other book, I talked about the myths surrounding the production of ethanol itself, but here I want to squash a few more myths related to running your car on alcohol. Again, the same people are behind the lies. The oil industry will do anything to keep you from alternative choices that threaten their high profits. If you want more proof, watch the movie Who Killed The Electric Car? MYTH #1: Alcohol Burns Hotter and Damages Your Engine I don t know where people come up with this stuff. Alcohol actually burns much cooler than gasoline. In fact, temperatures measured at the exhaust pipe when running alcohol, are generally around 1000 F, while gasoline s at 1400 F. The temperature difference when running on alcohol can extend the life of your engine 2 to 3 times. This is mainly due to reduced oil temperature which improves its lubrication performance and prevents damage caused by the friction of moving parts. Myth #2: Higher Emissions Here s another misconception. Alcohol is a very clean burning fuel, almost as good as hydrogen. Alcohol s chemical structure is a lot simpler than gasoline s and has the added benefit of already containing oxygen. The properties give alcohol a significant advantage over gasoline when it comes to emissions. Convert your car to run on super fuel 3

9 Clean burning fuels such as alcohol have many advantages. 1. First there better for the environment. The major emissions from automobiles are carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons. Alcohol has been shown to significantly drop harmful emissions as shown in the chart below: Running Alcohol In Place Of Gasoline Carbon Monoxide Nitrogen Oxides Up To 95% Reduction 50%-99% Less* Hydrocarbons Up To 87% Reduction * Depends on engine design While carbon dioxide levels can be higher, this is offset by the fact that plants grown in the production of alcohol absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. Generally, running alcohol as a fuel is seen as being carbon negative which means that choosing alcohol actually lowers total carbon dioxide which is the major component of global warming. 2. Clean burning fuel means less carbon deposits that wear down engine cylinders and rings and contaminate oil. 3. Lastly, clean burning alcohol improves fuel efficiency since you re not wasting unburned fuel. FACT: The Real Relationship between Ozone and SMOG While we are talking about emission I want to make an important point. Many of you live in big cities such as Los Angeles where you re constantly being told that there s a smog alert in effect. During those broadcasts, they often report the Ozone level and make it seem like this is the dangerous part of the pollution. Nothing could be further from the truth. Although Ozone can be a lung irritant in very high levels, the concentrations in smog are very low. The haze that reduces visibility and makes it harder to breath is actually caused by the dirty emission of gasoline burning vehicles. Ozone is in fact nature s brilliant attempt at cleaning up our garbage. Ozone is a powerful 4 Convert your car to run on super fuel

10 oxidizer that binds to harmful chemicals to neutralize them. So they next time you here about high Ozone level, be thankful that nature is working hard to clean the air you breathe. Although alcohol still produces some emissions, using a catalytic converter designed for alcohol would virtually eliminate all traces of emissions in most cars today. Myth #3: Reduced Mileage A lot of times I hear people asking about the fuel efficiency of alcohol vs. gasoline, with some people claiming alcohol getting as little as half the MPG of gasoline. They say that because gasoline packs more power per drop than alcohol, so it must be more efficient. But these same people fail to realise just how inefficient gasoline really is, with much of its power wasted as heat. Well I can tell you the facts, and that is, a properly designed alcohol engine will provide MORE MPG than gasoline. Low MPG can usually be traced back to a lousy engine conversion. Not all cars are suited for alcohol conversion and later in this book I ll give you a list of things to look for to ensure your car is the right fit. So if you follow all the suggestions in this book, you ll likely see improved MPG! Myth #4: Corrosion Corrosion isn t really a problem anymore. Since 1983, alcohol has been blended into gasoline, so cars manufactured after that date usually don t have any issues. This includes rubber parts, plastics, seals and gaskets. Just make sure you have a plastic gas tank. While most cars do these days, some still use metal ones which can rust. If you decide to make your own fuel, here are a few things to remember: Make sure to correct the ph level. In bad fermentation batches, invading bacteria my produce high amounts of acetic acid which is corrosive. If you plan on running purely on alcohol, make sure it s above 190 proof; otherwise the high water content will cause problems. Remember, E85 or any combination of alcohol and gasoline will work fine. Alcohol does not increase corrosion in normal, everyday operations. Convert your car to run on super fuel 5

11 Engine Considerations Earlier in this chapter I said that there are a few things to look for when deciding if your car is well suited for alcohol conversion, so as promised, in this section I ll share with you a few things to look for. Alcohol s Octane Rating Alcohol has a much higher octane rating than gasoline. In fact, one of the reasons gas companies don t want to add too much ethanol to their gasoline is because it raises its octane rating. Gasoline companies profit most on premium fuel which is now up to 50 more than the regular version. So the first thing to look for is what the recommended fuel for your vehicle is. If you car s manual recommends Premium Only this is a good sign your car is well suited for alcohol fuel. Engine Compression Ratio The next thing to look for is your engine s compression ratio. Alcohol is able to tolerate a much higher compression ratio. So the higher the compress the more you ll be able to take advantage of alcohol s octane rating which means more horsepower and better fuel economy. Ideally, you ll want a ratio of 12.5:1 or higher, but anything above 10.5:1 should work fine. Cold Start Challenges Another thing to consider is the climate you live in. If you live in a part of the country where temperatures go below 30 F, you ll need to add a cold start system. This only applies if you re planning on using pure alcohol as a fuel. E85 which is a mixture of alcohol and gasoline doesn t have these problems at colder temperatures. Conclusion In summary, alcohol runs cooler, cleaner and extends the life of your engine. In the next chapter I ll show you the simple steps to take to convert your car to run on alcohol. 6 Convert your car to run on super fuel

12 CONVERTING YOUR CAR TO 2RUN ON ALCOHOL In this chapter I m going to show you how to convert your car to run on alcohol. Since most folks have fuel injected engines, that s what I m going to focus on. Also, because vehicles manufactured before 1983 were not intended to run on alcohol, this guide was designed only for newer fuel injector systems. So if a step doesn t make sense or you run into issues with your particular vehicle, send me an and I ll do my best to help you out. Introduction In the past, it was a lot more difficult to convert your car to run on alcohol. Everything in the engine was mechanically driven and you needed to change a lot of parts to make things work. Today, things are a lot easier and there are several ways to convert your engine including: 1. Installing larger fuel injectors or increasing fuel pressure. These methods are crude and require a lot more work than necessary. 2. Fooling your engine by modifying the information your computer gets. This worked in the past, but there s a much better solution now. 3. Installing a programmable ECU. By far the best method. For the rest of this book I m going to focus entirely on the third method of installing a programmable ECU. Not only does this method provide the best performance and fuel efficiency, but it s also the easiest to install. Convert your car to run on super fuel 7

13 Aftermarket Programmable ECU There are many aftermarket programmable ECU s. By the way, ECU stands for Electronic Control Unit and basically, it s a computer that sits between your engine and the computer that s already in your car. With it, you can override the settings on your cars computer to make your engine run properly on alcohol. Recently, there s been a surge of programmable ECU s designed specifically for running alcohol. A quick search on Google will bring up dozens of companies that sell conversion kits. Although many of them work well, some of these devices are junk. It s not that they don t work; it s just that the build quality is so low that you shouldn t expect them to last very long. Generally, the good ones go for a couple hundred dollars and are worth every penny. People are always asking me which units they should buy. And although I don t make any specific recommendations, I have compiled a list of units that I ve found to be both efficient and durable. Always check your injector connectors before ordering, here s the common ones: Bosch EV1 Bosch EV6 Delphi Honda Nippon Denso Toyota 8 Convert your car to run on super fuel

14 Also, make sure you get the right model for your engine types whether it be a 4, 6, or 8 cylinder engine. Once you ve received your E85 Conversion Kit, you can proceed to installing it on your car. Below is the general install procedure. It may differ slightly based on your particular vehicle. Always read the installation manual that comes with the conversion kit you purchased. important Always use high quality ethanol to avoid engine corrosion. If you are using homemade alcohol, ensure that it s at least 190 Proof and it s not acid contaminated. Helpful Tip Alcohol burns much cooler than gasoline and will likely cause your catalytic converter to run cooler. Some cars have sensors that will activate your check engine light when the catalytic converter is not running at factory defined temperature. In most cases this is normal, but it s still a good idea to use an OBD reader to verify the catalytic converter as the cause. Install An Aftermarket Programmable ECU Installing a programmable ECU is quick and simple. It s compatible with most vehicles and can be removed or transferred to another car at any time. There are a few things you should know before installing the ECU to get the most from it: 1. Make sure your vehicle is in proper working order and has been well maintained. Proper functions of the fuel pump and emissions system are important for ideal operations of the conversion kit. 2. Before installing, change the oil, oil filter and fuel filter as ethanol will act as a cleaner. It s also recommended that you change the oil and fuel filter again after 1000 miles of operation. After that you can go back to the original manufacture s recommended intervals. Convert your car to run on super fuel 9

15 Remember, this is only a general guide. Every car is different, so check your owner s manual and review the installation guide that you get with your specific kit. STEP 1: Disconnect Fuel Injector Cables A: FIND INJECTOR CONNECTORS The first thing to do is, locate your vehicle s fuel injector connectors. B: Release injector connectors Next you need to release the vehicle injector nozzle connectors. STEP 2: Connect Aftermarket ECU A: LOcate male & female connectors Take one set of male and female connectors from the ECU cabling. Which set you choose doesn t matter, the firing order is still controlled by your vehicles computer. 10 Convert your car to run on super fuel

16 B: Attach female connector Next, attach the female connector to the vehicles injection nozzle. C: Attach MALE connector Then, attach the male connector to the female connector of the vehicle s injector wire harness. Repeat for all injector banks. STEP 3: Secure Ground Wire To Engine A: Connect ground wire Connect the ground wire to the negative battery terminal. Convert your car to run on super fuel 11

17 B: CHECK ALL CONNECTORS & SECURE Double check all connectors to ensure they are snug. Fasten the ECU using duct tape, zip ties, Velcro or self-tapping screws. Use lots of zip ties on cables to keep them away from hot engine parts. Replacing Spark Plugs Now I recommend you get the help of a professional mechanic. I ve had too many people complain that their engine runs worse since switching to ethanol, only to discover that the problem is improper spark plug installation. Most people think installation is easy, but if you don t set the gapping correctly things just don t work right. I repeat, I highly recommend that you find someone who knows what they re doing. If that s you, then by all means do the installation yourself. While it s not necessary to replace your spark plugs, many people find that hotter plugs aid in cold starting and help alcohol ignite when the timing is off. If you re a committed alcohol user, hotter plugs may well be worth it. Here are a few that I ve used in the past. Again, information changes and new models are always on the market so do a quick Google search to find out what works best today. Bosch Platinum +4 E3 Spark Plugs Optional: Cold Start Systems Running your car on pure alcohol in cold weather can be a challenge. You may need to change a few things to help start your engine. If you re using E85 you shouldn t have any problems. In fact, E85 sold in some northern states has as little as 70% alcohols in their winter blends. 12 Convert your car to run on super fuel

18 If you re using homemade alcohol or blends of ethanol higher than E85, you really only have two options: 1. Add volatiles such as gasoline to your fuel or use E85 in winter months. 2. Install a cold start system. For most people, I recommend using a blend of alcohol and gas in the winter months. Cold start systems can be expensive and unless you re making your own fuel, it s not worth the expense. If you are serious about using alcohol, contact the supplier of your conversion kit and ask them what options they have for cold start systems. There are many models on the market, so choose the one that best suits your needs. Hopefully, car manufactures will build them in to future vehicles as ethanol use becomes more common. Conclusion Now that you ve completed the installation, there a few steps you should take to ease your engine into using alcohol as a fuel. 1. Drive approximately 10 miles with the gas you have in your car. 2. If everything is running smoothly, refuel your vehicle with 50% gasoline and 50% ethanol. This will help your computer adjust to the new operation parameters 3. Fill the next tank completely with E85 or your homemade alcohol. If you have any issues or the engine light comes on, contact the supplier of your conversion kit for assistance. Convert your car to run on super fuel 13

19 IMPROVING 3FUEL EFFICIENCY INTRODUCTION Once you ve completed the standard conversion on your engine, there are a few things you could do to improve its efficiency. Most people don t do any of these additional modifications and still see huge savings. One of my favorites isn t an engine modification at all; instead it is a style of driving called Hypermiling. Hypermiling is one of the easiest ways to significantly improve fuel economy. I ve included a book in this package that gives a good understanding of what Hypermiling is and how to use it. I encourage you to read it thoroughly. Ignition Timing Most cars on the road today use computer controlled ignition timing which controls when in the combustion cycle your spark plugs fire. In general, alcohol runs better when the spark plugs fire much earlier than with gasoline. When you re running alcohol and it s not tuned properly you may notice a slight drop in fuel economy and a bit of trouble starting. Having said that, most cars should work fine without having to adjust the timing manually. Modern engines can automatically adjust timing based on feedback from sensors. But there are limitations, factory settings only allow a narrow window of adjustments, so if you re having issues you may want to look into aftermarket ignition systems that let you adjust the timing further. 14 Convert your car to run on super fuel

20 Heating Intake Air Most vehicles sold in the past few decades have air preheaters. When the engine is cold they add hot air to help vaporize the gasoline. But once the engine is warm, a switch is flipped and only cold air enters the engine. Engines running on gasoline run worse when the air coming in is hot because it contains less oxygen. Alcohol actually works much better with preheated air. Since the molecules that make up alcohol contain oxygen it doesn t need as much at combustion, so the hot air helps atomize the fuel leading to high efficiency. If you can find the temperature control damper in the air cleaner housing you can fix it in place so it always directs heated air into the engine. This will generally improve alcohols performance. Adjusting Compression One of the best ways to improve the performance and fuel efficiency of alcohol is to raise the compression ratio of your engine. To fully take advantage of alcohol s octane rating of 105, you ll want a compression ratio between 12:1 and 18:1. For most people this modification isn t practical, so hopefully, your car already has a high compression ratio or you re shopping for a new one. You can change the compression ratio mechanically by changing pistons and connecting rods but it is way too expensive and beyond the scope of this book. So if your vehicle s compression ratio is too low, you may consider sticking with gasoline until your next car. But if you re really serious about converting to alcohol, there is one other option. You can raise the compression ratio non-mechanically by adding a turbo or supercharger. These add-ons pump compressed air into the engine chamber, effectively raising the compression. They work great and if you were interested in increasing the performance of your car this might be a good option. CONCLUSION Those are just a few things you can do to improve alcohols efficiency. New techniques are always coming out, so I encourage you to find an E85 community online for the latest information and developments. Convert your car to run on super fuel 15

21 FINAL THOUGHTS Now you have more than enough information to get started and convert your vehicle to run on alcohol. My hope is that once you start seeing the benefits of running on alcohol you ll be able to help others make the switch too. Together we can make a difference! 16 Convert your car to run on super fuel

22 index A alcohol 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 13, 15 C catalytic converter 5, 9 cold start vi, 6, 12 corrosion 5 cylinder engine 9 D devices 8 durable 8 E E85 2, 5, 6, 9, 12, 13, 15 efficient 5, 8 emissions 3 engine v, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15 ethanol 3, 6, 9, 12, 13 F fuel 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 G gasoline 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 13, 14, 15 H hypermiling 14 Helpful Tip 9 Important v, 4, 9 injector connectors 8, 10 M manufactures 13 mileage 5 model 9 myth vi, 3, 5 O octane 6 ozone 4, 5 P professional mechanic 12 programmable ECU 7, 8, 9 S smog 4 spark plug 12 supplier 13 T techniques v, 15 V vehicle v, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16 W winter 12, 13 I ignition timing 14 Convert your car to run on super fuel 17

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