Is there any difference in performance using E85 ethanol fuel?
Fehan: When you’re talking about performance, I assume you’re talking about horsepower and torque. There is virtually no difference. Keep in mind that this is a mixture of ethanol and race gas. It’s primarily cellulosic ethanol. Because ethanol on a volume basis contains a little less energy than the gasoline we’re accustomed to running, when you look at a typical individual cylinder combustion process, you have to have more in there to develop the same pressure. The thing that does differ slightly is fuel mileage, but from a power and performance standpoint, it’s virtually the same. Q: Have the fuel cells been increased in size, and was there a rule change to accommodate that? Fehan: They have been increased in size. There are a couple of areas here that need to be comprehended. The FIA has a general rule that they dont want any race car carrying over 110 liters. What the American Le Mans Series has done is stayed below that 110 and looking at what I just talked about, the fuel effici
