Running e85 in 2015 allroad...review

[zcspec]

Over last weekend, I finally had my first taste of e85 ethanol, in my allroad. Here in Seattle, e85 isn’t abundant so I had to drive 35miles to fill up. Once at the station, I noticed that e85 pumps are blue in color to help differentiate themselves from regular petrol and diesel.

Fill up time! @ $3.36/gallon, I was able to fill up 11.9 gallons on $40. This amount mixed with approximately 1.5-2 gallons of 92 octane so I was getting very close to the full effects of e85. As I drove away from the gas station, I didn’t notice a difference in power and knew that APR’s stage 1 tune had to re-adjust.

Roughly 30 miles into my commute home, I drove more spiritedly. Boy, did the e85 wake up my AR. At highway cruising speeds in “S” mode, the ECU downshifted from 7 into 6 without any hesitation and you are met with a very strong surge, pulling you well into license revoking speeds. At these speeds, running on e85 makes the AR feel as though it’s running one gear lower. It’s that much of a difference.

On city streets, an e85 equipped AR is a beast. The power is incredible and driving in “M” mode will thrust you back into your seat with easy. Having recently test driven a new S3 and 2014 S4, I can safely say, my AR would easily walk either car from a dig or rolling start in stock trim. If both were modified, it would be a very fun race due to the amount of torque an e85 equipped AR puts down.

The main drawbacks to e85 though, is the availability in my area, cost per gallon compared to petrol, and roughly 25-30% decrease in gas mileage (figures I calculated commuting to work driving in similar fashion).

Sadly, I have less than a quarter of a tank left so the fun will be short lived. As a treat, I may opt to fill up with e85 once a month. My next tank though, will include videos of my AR against my brother’s new S3, possibly running a JB1 tune.

[nurdynerd]

Over last weekend, I finally had my first taste of e85 ethanol, in my allroad. Here in Seattle, e85 isn’t abundant so I had to drive 35miles to fill up. Once at the station, I noticed that e85 pumps are blue in color to help differentiate themselves from regular petrol and diesel.

Fill up time! @ $3.36/gallon, I was able to fill up 11.9 gallons on $40. This amount mixed with approximately 1.5-2 gallons of 92 octane so I was getting very close to the full effects of e85. As I drove away from the gas station, I didn’t notice a difference in power and knew that APR’s stage 1 tune had to re-adjust.

Roughly 30 miles into my commute home, I drove more spiritedly. Boy, did the e85 wake up my AR. At highway cruising speeds in “S” mode, the ECU downshifted from 7 into 6 without any hesitation and you are met with a very strong surge, pulling you well into license revoking speeds. At these speeds, running on e85 makes the AR feel as though it’s running one gear lower. It’s that much of a difference.

On city streets, an e85 equipped AR is a beast. The power is incredible and driving in “M” mode will thrust you back into your seat with easy. Having recently test driven a new S3 and 2014 S4, I can safely say, my AR would easily walk either car from a dig or rolling start in stock trim. If both were modified, it would be a very fun race due to the amount of torque an e85 equipped AR puts down.

The main drawbacks to e85 though, is the availability in my area, cost per gallon compared to petrol, and roughly 25-30% decrease in gas mileage (figures I calculated commuting to work driving in similar fashion).

Sadly, I have less than a quarter of a tank left so the fun will be short lived. As a treat, I may opt to fill up with e85 once a month. My next tank though, will include videos of my AR against my brother’s new S3, possibly running a JB1 tune.

Welcome to the corn chugging family. Do you have any ECU tunes or were you running this stock? Sad that the station is too far away and for 3.36? I just paid 2.49 on Tuesday in San Diego? What's the price for 91 up there?

[dropshadow]

The E85 tune on these things makes a world of difference in power. I was planning to stick to BP 93 and only occasionally fill up with E85, but it proved to be too addicting. Lucky for us in the midwest, E85 is subsidized like crazy, so a gallon is about ~$1.60-1.90, and not too hard to find. Gas mileage sucks, but when a fill-up costs $20, it's easy to justify, and there are two gas stations within 10 miles of my home that sell it. I love having the extra power on tap, and also being able to surprise people who don't expect a 4cyl automatic station wagon to be able to get up and go.

[zcspec]

I'm currently running APR's Stage 1 and have the HFC sitting in my garage waiting for install. Yeah, there are not too many e85 stations up here and @ $3.36/gallon, it's a dollar more than what I am paying for, for 92 octane.

[b6onboost]

Power delivery can trick seat of the pants feelings.

An e85 A4/AR puts down so much torque down low I'm sure it feels quicker compared to a laggy S3 or linear S/C S4, however I'm not sure it'd be able to easily walk either. I think it'd be a good race to see vs. a stock S3. If the S3/S4 are tuned, I doubt the AR has a chance.

Having recently test driven a new S3 and 2014 S4, I can safely say, my AR would easily walk either car from a dig or rolling start in stock trim. If both were modified, it would be a
very fun race due to the amount of torque an e85 equipped AR puts down.

[adamazing]

I was planning to stick to BP 93 and only occasionally fill up with E85, but it proved to be too addicting.

+1

I've filled up with regular pump gas one time in the past 11 months. Otherwise it;s been straight e85 for almost a year.

[nurdynerd]

+1

I've filled up with regular pump gas one time in the past 11 months. Otherwise it;s been straight e85 for almost a year.

Lol, you're a eth junkie! I've been on several tanks now but since that thing SUCKS the fuel down, every now and then I get trapped in North County with a fuel warning. Wish there was one closer to me but all the apps say "sorry but no!"

[adamazing]

Lol, you're a eth junkie! I've been on several tanks now but since that thing SUCKS the fuel down, every now and then I get trapped in North County with a fuel warning. Wish there was one closer to me but all the apps say "sorry but no!"

I feel you, there's a pretty big dead spot for E85 between the South Bay and far North County. The Shell Station on Convoy is like an oasis, lol.

[zcspec]

Power delivery can trick seat of the pants feelings.

An e85 A4/AR puts down so much torque down low I'm sure it feels quicker compared to a laggy S3 or linear S/C S4, however I'm not sure it'd be able to easily walk either. I think it'd be a good race to see vs. a stock S3. If the S3/S4 are tuned, I doubt the AR has a chance.

I would somewhat agree, just based my opinion on butt dyno and numbers posted by APR. Once my brother's back from deployment, I should have some videos of my AR vs his stock S3. I'm confident that it wont be close until we reach higher speeds.

I love having the extra power on tap, and also being able to surprise people who don't expect a 4cyl automatic station wagon to be able to get up and go.

My thoughts exactly! You just got school'd by a station wagon!

+1

I've filled up with regular pump gas one time in the past 11 months. Otherwise it;s been straight e85 for almost a year.

In the state of Washington, there are 7 total. Sucks!

[dropshadow]

To put it another way, I don't care what car is faster than my allroad. It's not about street racing or 0-60 or "A is faster than B" for me. I get more enjoyment out of my allroad than either of my B8 S4's, and it looks a thousand times better.

[AllroadCorbin]

I have stage 2 AR with test pipe running E85 when I can find it, and I assure you a Stock S4 will walk away from my Allroad pretty easily. Audi's claim of 333 hp at the crank with the Supercharged motor is very underrated...and with the lightening quick DSG its game over. Our ZF unit is nice and quick but shifts arent nearly as fast and boost falls off big unless you short shift at ~ 5500 rpm


i honestly think a stock golf R or S3 would actually still beat my AR with a full tank of E85. I drove the S3 and yea it doesnt have the same torque punch at 2000 RPM, but its very quick....and flash an S3 or S4 with APR or GIAC and its game over for me haha

[Avantiator]

To put it another way, I don't care what car is faster than my allroad. It's not about street racing or 0-60 or "A is faster than B" for me. I get more enjoyment out of my allroad than either of my B8 S4's, and it looks a thousand times better.

x2

[macscac]

its a complete pain in the ass to fill up with e85 every four days but i do it because driving on stage 2 with 91octane sucks...
feels like driving stock.

[AllroadCorbin]

I wish they made an allroad S with the 3.0 Supercharged V6.... that would be sick

[dropshadow]

I wish they made an allroad S with the 3.0 Supercharged V6.... that would be sick

Sign me up.

[KFizz]

its a complete pain in the ass to fill up with e85 every four days but i do it because driving on stage 2 with 91octane sucks...
feels like driving stock.

Is this actually true? I'm just about to flash APR stage 2, but I have no availability to E85. Does this mean its not worth it for me to go stage 2?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[b6onboost]

Its relative. Regardless of Stage 1 or 2, once you get used to e85 power levels dropping down to 91oct is going to feel slow.

But if you run 91/93 you will still see an improvement from stage 1 to 2.

Is this actually true? I'm just about to flash APR stage 2, but I have no availability to E85. Does this mean its not worth it for me to go stage 2?

[ChicagoDave]

Like someone earlier in the thread said, I live in the Chicago Area, and E85 is everywhere here. Almost every gas station. It's cheap too, maybe on average $0.50 less that 87 octane, so you can imagine, that's about a $1 a gallon cheaper than 93.

Would a stock 2.0T get any benefit from E85? What about MPG's?

[dropshadow]

Would a stock 2.0T get any benefit from E85? What about MPG's?

If you don't have a Flex Fuel capable car, no.

[ChicagoDave]

If you don't have a Flex Fuel capable car, no.

I guess that leads to my next question... Can a stock A4 with the 2.0T use E85?

[zcspec]

I guess that leads to my next question... Can a stock A4 with the 2.0T use E85?

You can check on the gas tank door. It will offer you gas recommendations, IE, premium gas or Ethanol. You could also check your owner's manual.

[adamazing]

I guess that leads to my next question... Can a stock A4 with the 2.0T use E85?

Several requirements:
Is your car 2013+?
Is your car an 8 speed auto?
Do you have a metal intake manifold with a 5th injector in it?


Or, you can just check the sticker in the fuel door

[ChicagoDave]

Several requirements:
Is your car 2013+?
Is your car an 8 speed auto?
Do you have a metal intake manifold with a 5th injector in it?


Or, you can just check the sticker in the fuel door

Good to know. Thanks for putting up with the noob!

Not to hijack the thread, but there's a gas station about an hour away near a race track that sells 110 octane from the pump ($7.99/gal). Is there anything to be gained or lost by trying? Might be fun once in a while. :)

[adamazing]

Good to know. Thanks for putting up with the noob!

Not to hijack the thread, but there's a gas station about an hour away near a race track that sells 110 octane from the pump ($7.99/gal). Is there anything to be gained or lost by trying? Might be fun once in a while. :)

Not unless you have a tune to take advantage of it. The same can be said for E85 - you won't see any performance gains if you're still stock.

[Frinkferta]

Wow! That's some pricey E85! Local e85 runs 2.15 a gallon in the Sac area.

[f_399]

just tried out e85, does it even make a difference on a stock car?

if you have apr stage 1 93 tune, will it run better or will you have to get the e85 tune?

[dropshadow]

just tried out e85, does it even make a difference on a stock car?

if you have apr stage 1 93 tune, will it run better or will you have to get the e85 tune?

No reason to run E85 from a performance standpoint without a tune to take advantage of it.

[inception]

Over last weekend, I finally had my first taste of e85 ethanol, in my allroad. Here in Seattle, e85 isn’t abundant so I had to drive 35miles to fill up. Once at the station, I noticed that e85 pumps are blue in color to help differentiate themselves from regular petrol and diesel.

Fill up time! @ $3.36/gallon, I was able to fill up 11.9 gallons on $40. This amount mixed with approximately 1.5-2 gallons of 92 octane so I was getting very close to the full effects of e85. As I drove away from the gas station, I didn’t notice a difference in power and knew that APR’s stage 1 tune had to re-adjust.

Roughly 30 miles into my commute home, I drove more spiritedly. Boy, did the e85 wake up my AR. At highway cruising speeds in “S” mode, the ECU downshifted from 7 into 6 without any hesitation and you are met with a very strong surge, pulling you well into license revoking speeds. At these speeds, running on e85 makes the AR feel as though it’s running one gear lower. It’s that much of a difference.

On city streets, an e85 equipped AR is a beast. The power is incredible and driving in “M” mode will thrust you back into your seat with easy. Having recently test driven a new S3 and 2014 S4, I can safely say, my AR would easily walk either car from a dig or rolling start in stock trim. If both were modified, it would be a very fun race due to the amount of torque an e85 equipped AR puts down.

The main drawbacks to e85 though, is the availability in my area, cost per gallon compared to petrol, and roughly 25-30% decrease in gas mileage (figures I calculated commuting to work driving in similar fashion).

Sadly, I have less than a quarter of a tank left so the fun will be short lived. As a treat, I may opt to fill up with e85 once a month. My next tank though, will include videos of my AR against my brother’s new S3, possibly running a JB1 tune.

I love my APR E85 Stage 2. I can tell you that it is faster than my Q5 3.0T. I have walked away from stop and go against RS5's
it is a beast... for sure enjoy....
I cant wait to go K04 or Stage 3

[zcspec]

With the lack of e85 stations close by, I have resorted to 3-5gallon jugs which I bring to the station every time I fill up my AR on e85. Then I just alternate weekly. Hopefully the back and forth fuel variation between e85/prem gas isn't killing my car.

[bluefox280]

For those on the constant E85 consumption, ...you have seen any failure or degradation to your fuel system like previous first-generation ethanol rated vehicles?
I assume Audi has properly made provisions for the flex-fuel vehicles so fuel line failure and other related issues don't occur?

- Erik

[macscac]

been running it 90+% of the time and i have about 17k miles on my car now.. no issues.
i wont keep the car past 60k anyhow so it doesnt much matter to me what 'could' happen in the later mileage time period

[bluefox280]

...it doesnt much matter to me what 'could' happen in the later mileage time period

See, that's where I'm in a different boat - I bought my Allroad for the long-haul.

- Erik

[treginginco]

See, that's where I'm in a different boat - I bought my Allroad for the long-haul.

- Erik

Erik,

First make sure your AR is E85 capable. I forget what year yours is, but the early run of '13s (like mine) are not set up for E85.

It's as simple as looking in the gas cover (like usual).

I even had a question after Camp Allroad last year and asked Audi corporate. They ran my VIN and gave me the big NO!

[inception]

Erik,

First make sure your AR is E85 capable. I forget what year yours is, but the early run of '13s (like mine) are not set up for E85.

It's as simple as looking in the gas cover (like usual).

I even had a question after Camp Allroad last year and asked Audi corporate. They ran my VIN and gave me the big NO!

if you have a metal intake manifold you have an E85 flex fuel 2.0T.

[bluefox280]

First make sure your AR is E85 capable.

Mine is E85 compliant.
Wanted to see if there's any preventive maintenance or parts to be changed if considering E85 all the time.

- Erik

[f_399]

Not unless you have a tune to take advantage of it. The same can be said for E85 - you won't see any performance gains if you're still stock.

I think the stock motor still makes use of the sensors(apr tune uses) and it knows when e85 is in the tank.

How much it adjusts and if there is any performance gain, I am not sure.

[cb_pro_rnr]

New to this AR community. Quick questions. Can you run E85 without a tune or an engine mods? I was thinking about the APR Stage 1 and I would love to have the option of running E85. Any mechanical downsides?

[Chatchie]

Yes you can run e85 stock or with an APR tune if your car is a flex fuel model. Should say so in the gas cap and have a metal intake manifold.

My question to other allroaders that are APR tuned and running e85 is have any of you logged the ethanol percentage via the Torque app or something similar?

The power running e85 is noticably stronger yet the "highest" e85 I've been able to get has only been 62% ethanol read fr the OEM sensor via the Torque app.

[adamazing]

Yes you can run e85 stock or with an APR tune if your car is a flex fuel model. Should say so in the gas cap and have a metal intake manifold.

My question to other allroaders that are APR tuned and running e85 is have any of you logged the ethanol percentage via the Torque app or something similar?

The power running e85 is noticably stronger yet the "highest" e85 I've been able to get has only been 62% ethanol read fr the OEM sensor via the Torque app.

I've done it a few times over the years. The worst mix I've ever seen was in the mid 60's. Otherwise it's usually around 70-74% pretty consistently here. I think the highest I ever measured was 78%
It's worth noting that quite a few user and tuner logs over the years have revealed that there isn't a whole lot to gain over a 50% mix. Virtually all timing advance is maxed out at that point.

[k.sigota]

APR isn't the only tune available. I'm running GIAC with their race file.

I ran E85 before tuned, but not really for the power. They're MAY of been a slight gain, but it's not really noticeable. I ran it for MPG coast savings and to get myself used to finding pumps that had e85.

Now that my 2015 is on a GIAC tune she is WAY more spirited. I don't think she's really faster than my APR Stg2 tuned 2010 Avant, but the torque is a LOT of fun to play with. The Avant definitely doesn't have the same torque as the Allroad (with E85), but (and this is mainly just me judging speeds as I drive it) they are very comparable in actual speed.

They both play the same tricks on you out on the highway... If you're not paying attention they LOVE to creep that speedometer up to 100.