So...I'm tired of getting raped by the oil barons, whoever they are (Opec is huge). I want to do the E85 conversion, and according to this site, it'll cost me ~$450 to do it. Closest station that has E85 is "Conserv Fuel" in LA, ~31miles from my place.

The diminishing returns keep on adding up.

Conserv Fuel charges $3.59/gallon...I spend roughly $3,400/yr on fuel, and I'd be spending a little less on E85 (~$2,991/yr), but I have to drive 30+ miles out of my way to fill up. I was going to use the E85 route as a "soft" transition, meaning I'd convert my G with the kit, then eventually run pure ethanol that I cook myself.

Or so the plan is in my head.

Problem is, the VQ35HR in these G's is a pretty precise piece of engineering, and I can't see buying a kit that replaces rubber hoses, fittings and connectors without something more significant. It seems to me an ECU re-tune is a bare minimum for changing over...and I don't suppose Infiniti was nice to us and gave us cars with programmable ECUs. I might be wrong, but I doubt it.

Has anyone looked at, contemplated, or considered a conversion for their G? Is the only way to see the true potential of ethanol conversion by getting drastic and introducing forced induction (i.e. turbo or superchargers)? In racing they use ethanol, but it's mainly for its octane properties, since ethanol atomizes better than gasoline. Under extreme conditions (i.e. alcohol-burning dragsters and funny cars) the pressure is so tremendous and the heat so high that ethanol is much better than gasoline (gasoline would pre-ignite), but ordinary cars don't need nor do they use ethanol for that purpose.

I'm still contemplating it, despite the diminishing returns. I'm just tired of being raped repeatedly by the oil companies for no other reason than that they can charge more for their fuels, and we will simply pay them no matter their cost. When I'm at my least reasonable, I think it would be worth it even if E85 or ethanol cost more than fossil fuels...

 

E85 has significantly less stored energy(BTU) per gallon, so your mileage is going to suffer significantly without forced induction tuned for the higher octane. Otherwise, you will likely see that you spend MORE money filling with e85 than regular gas

 

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. A straight conversion would probably mean even less mileage than I get now (~20), I was hoping for 18MPG, but I may not even get that unless I turbocharge or supercharge. I know there are kits, and I've seen a few on this forum do it to their VQs, but those kits are also ~$6k-$8k...it'd be cool, but would I be able to achieve 20MPG on a setup like that? I'm thinking no.

Dammit. They got us. The bastards. They got us good and cornered.

 

I am not sure if it performs as good. Why don't you sell you G and buy a hybrid or just buy a hybrid for your DD and keep the G for fun weekends?

Driving an extra 30 miles to get to the station is a no no for most of us. It not worth the time. I won't do it

 

Exactly.

I know everyone is trying to "pinch pennies" wherever they can, but still.

I get a crack out of all the "can I run 87 octane" threads you see on forums these days. All that to save $10/month on gas.

There are easier ways to save money.

Even buying a second car (unless you drive a TON) isn't a good idea for most people. The extra money you spend on insurance, maintenance, and depreciation will likely be significantly more than any fuel savings.

 

I love how everyone blames "big oil". In my opinion we should be thanking "big oil" for all the years that they were able to keep gas at around a dollar. If you take the average income today vs the average income from years past and increase the price of gas the same percentage increase gas should roughly be at $3.75 a gallon so according to that math we aren't too far off. Maybe if states didn't get $0.50+ per gallon in taxes there wouldn't be so much pain at the pump, or if we could drill or even god forbid make some more refineries we would be alright.

So just remember back to when you were paying a dollar or less 10 years ago and thank "big oil" for not having gas prices at $2.00+ back then.

 

Um...yeah, doesn't help me.

I certainly can "afford" $4.50+ per gallon for gasoline. Hell, I could conceivably pay $10 or even $15 for a gallon of gas. But I don't want to and I don't think I should have to. But I'll refrain from biting that bait, despite JamesR913's invitation to debate.

After examining the "savings" closely, I determined that it would not be worth it to convert to ethanol unless I did some redesigning of the VQs fuel delivery system and incorporated some sort of forced induction system running at least 13psi. If my figures are correct, at that point the VQ should be running efficiently enough on ethanol to warrant using it.

Which, of course, is like...oh, I dunno, $15,000 worth of turbos, intercoolers, piping, fuel line and injectors plus some dyno runs and some tuning on a custom ECU.

Meh. Accept the unfortunate truth that I am cornered, and take it like a man by driving my G35 until the wheels fall off.

 

Carpool or take the bus.

 

ROFL. Funny. Sorry, I'm too much a selfish pig to ride the bus or carpool.

 

I agree with you on this one silverG...there are other ways to save money than cheaping out on premium petrol. I have changd my eating habits...I just try not to eat outside of my home twice a day and just once a day (lunch). I usually prepare my dinner at home instead of goin out to eat every night with my coworkers. One night of eating at home can cover the extra gas charges from using premium fuel.

Only put 87 in the loaners guys ...jk...well not really

 

I'd do either before screwing up my new-ish G35 by converting it to E85.

 

Just got back from Europe, and their gas is just under $7.5 per gallon. Yeah, I know $ has depreciated, but still... and the price of their cars is tax-inflated as well. Gives me a new appreciation for being able to pay what I pay for my gas and being able to afford my G.

 

Breetie, I wasn't trying to open it up to debate I just hate when people criminalize entities they really don't understand because thats what the media says (Not saying that's you but just a general comment). And trying to make a point that there are a lot of other alternatives besides E85 but our hands our tied by certain special interest groups.

 

For $400/year saving you would drive your car 30 miles extra a week.

I hate to say it but if you spend a time working overtime what you would spend on the road to get you g filled. You would get more then $400. That's for sure. You spend 1 hour each fill that would be 50 times. 50 hours with you wage? Simple as it is. At least to me.

If 400 makes you do things like this you should consider sellin it. You won't be happy if the gas price start to raise more. Just my .002

tg

 

The notion of using corn to make oil for cars rather than for food is just unacceptable for me. The Ethanol business has increased food prices and there are people in the third world who are starving because they cannot find food. E85 is not my answer to fuel prices and I personally would never buy a car that uses E85. Hybrids, electric cars are amogst the better more acceptable ways of going about this. Just my 2 cents