Should I go E85? Unitronic

[BI33]

Hi All,

Got a FL sedan with a Unitronic Stage 1+ 93oct ECU tune & Stage 2 TCU tune, Unitronic 3” inlet pipe, 3.5” BMS cold air intake and a BFI dogbone insert.

Now considering changing my spark plugs, adding a fuel sensor (to monitor E85) and loading up the Unitronic E85 software...... have had mixed reviews but mostly positive.

Can anyone give me some honest feedback from their experience, is it worth it, noticeable power increase, reliable, how much more fuel used etc?

Thx

 

[8YARWY]

Hi All,

Got a FL sedan with a Unitronic Stage 1+ 93oct ECU tune & Stage 2 TCU tune, Unitronic 3” inlet pipe, 3.5” BMS cold air intake and a BFI dogbone insert.

Now considering changing my spark plugs, adding a fuel sensor (to monitor E85) and loading up the Unitronic E85 software...... have had mixed reviews but mostly positive.

Can anyone give me some honest feedback from their experience, is it worth it, noticeable power increase, reliable, how much more fuel used etc?

Thx

If you can stomach the Ethanol cost for regular use there are good gains to be had especially with the Daza engine and how much it loves high octane fuel.

Ignition Timing tables can be advanced more and the injector quantities are scaled up with ethanol. Engine knock is pretty much eliminated.

You’ll use more fuel but you’ll also have more power with it.

@Ross_T_Boss uses it regular I believe.
He’s also on the Uni tune.


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[BI33]

If you can stomach the Ethanol cost for regular use there are good gains to be had especially with the Daza engine and how much it loves high octane fuel.

Ignition Timing tables can be advanced more and the injector quantities are scaled up with ethanol. Engine knock is pretty much eliminated.

You’ll use more fuel but you’ll also have more power with it.

@Ross_T_Boss uses it regular I believe.
He’s also on the Uni tune.


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Thanks for the response!

I'll go ahead with it and see what its like.

Any other spark plugs you recommend apart from the NGK R7437-9 plugs Uni suggest?

@Ross_T_Boss, can you provide any feedback?

 

[Tartaris]

You should be running an upgraded intercooler mate. These engines get very hot, very quickly and the effect of heat soak on them is very noticeable. A cooler tuned engine is a happy engine.

 

[BI33]

Thanks for the response

I did speak to Uni about this just a couple days back. They did say for drag racing/track work an upgraded intercooler is a must, however, for a daily driver who only gives the car an occasional squirt, while it would help on hot days, the stock cooler would generally be ok and shouldn’t hinder performance too much.

They did say E85 will help cool the engine down a bit to


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[5pot4banger]

Thanks for the response

I did speak to Uni about this just a couple days back. They did say for drag racing/track work an upgraded intercooler is a must, however, for a daily driver who only gives the car an occasional squirt, while it would help on hot days, the stock cooler would generally be ok and shouldn’t hinder performance too much.

They did say E85 will help cool the engine down a bit to

Am running apr and the e85 file is night and day different to 98 so I'd assume unitronic would be the same. Acceleration and launch feel much more visceral and can feel it all through the rev range when you put your foot down. I now run e85 about 90% of the time. In terms of price I'm not from the UK so can't really help much in terms of that but here 98 and e85 is relatively the same per litre and on a tank I get around 300km of driving whereas on 98 I get about 450km. Hope that gives some sort of idea.

I disagree with their opinion on the intercooler however. I think even for stage 1 it's crucial if you plan on doing any hard driving on the street. I was having heatsoak issues when the car was stock on spirited drives. In fact I think even on a stock car it's a worthwhile upgrade

 

[BI33]

Am running apr and the e85 file is night and day different to 98 so I'd assume unitronic would be the same. Acceleration and launch feel much more visceral and can feel it all through the rev range when you put your foot down. I now run e85 about 90% of the time. In terms of price I'm not from the UK so can't really help much in terms of that but here 98 and e85 is relatively the same per litre and on a tank I get around 300km of driving whereas on 98 I get about 450km. Hope that gives some sort of idea.

I disagree with their opinion on the intercooler however. I think even for stage 1 it's crucial if you plan on doing any hard driving on the street. I was having heatsoak issues when the car was stock on spirited drives. In fact I think even on a stock car it's a worthwhile upgrade

Thanks for the reply and information, appreciated. I’m in Australia, price of E85 around $1.70 per liter, about 30% more than 98.


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[BI33]

Spark plugs on their way!

I noticed Uni recommend changing the wastegate line but like looks in very good condition, anyone had these fail?

My car has done 13000kms (8500miles)

 

[Ross_T_Boss]

The wastegate line on some cars had a length of rubber that could be prone to getting soft and collapsing, which will cause the car to stop making proper boost. On my 2018 it is a mostly metal variant so have left it, no issues.

Regarding Ethanol... to run it on Unitronic you'll need the updated injectors, presume as you've spoken with them that is already taken care of. You will use more of it; test your Ethanol content and assuming it's a good E85 you can water it down a little to (1) reduce cost a bit and (2) increase range. I've had solid results running around E65, and clean logs even pushing it to the E60 lower limit. Personally I prefer to keep it around E65-70 where it's not using fuel trims much and has a bit of headroom; depending on driving style I've varied from 100-250 miles range on the stuff. Typical is low 200s.

You'll find the drivability changes - it's a bit like having a bigger engine - slightly earlier spool, more torque through the midrange and it's just relentless with the timing tracking MBT through the rev range. It's really smooth as well. I occasionally get what I think is hesitation and it's just traction control kicking in when you drop the loud pedal so use ESP+ if you experience it.

For like being remapped all over again, seriously; when I look at my 1/4 mile times and speeds you'll see how big a jump it is, all in comparable conditions:
Stock 11.3@121 > Stg1+ 98 10.8@127 > Stg2 98 10.6@131 > Stg2 E85 10.1@137

In a hot climate I'd definitely use an upgraded intercooler to keep it consistent, you'll be fine for now especially if just daily driving but the amount of boost and timing that is achieved on Ethanol will spike IATs which will cause the ECU to pull it back. Put it on your 'next mod' list IMO.

 

[BI33]

Thanks for the detailed response, really appreciated.

I have spoken to Unitronic and as I’m Stage 1+ E85 they said upgraded injectors not required. They said if I go Stage 2 then will need for sure.

I believe we might have the same OEM waste-gate line, mine is mainly metal too.

11.3 stock 1/4 mile!!! Wow that’s fast. What was temp and DA?

Noted on IC, I’ll keep an eye out for good deals.

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[Ross_T_Boss]

11.3 stock 1/4 mile!!! Wow that’s fast. What was temp and DA?

Ah Stg1+ E85 makes sense re: stock injectors.

That run was April time, single-digit C. I do have a TTRS though which is good for a few 10ths over the RS3. It's still fast though - not actually seen a faster stock time tbh!