By now, everyone knows the power improvements possible with switching over to E85,or corn fuel, from pump gas. The fuel is increasingly becoming available at the pump, and at a less-expensive cost compared to conventional pump gas. This is especially advantageous since race gas is much more expensive than both conventional pump gas and E85.

For Orlando, Florida’s Jeff Smith and his 2004 Competition orange Cobra, he recently made the switch over to E85 from race gas. Smith has actually used pump gas, race gas, and E85 now in his Cobra, so we can bring you advantages of running E85, besides the savings at the pump.

Something to remember though, about E85 is that it takes more volume compared to other fuels. Therefore, even though, as Smith points out, he pays only $1.69-$1.89 a gallon for E85, he estimates the car now gets 14 mg, compared to the 17 mpg the Cobra could achieve before the E85 conversion. “With the ID1000 injectors, it has never been great on gas,” Smith says. The ID1000s aren’t new to the car, Smith has had them ever since he added the VMP Tuning TVS 2.3 supercharger a couple years back.

But fuel economy wasn’t the main reason for Smith making the switch. The main reason for the switch was the increased horsepower possible with the E85. With E85’s increased octane rating, the increased power comes from being able to increase a combination’s timing. For Smith, he had to make fuel system changes before switching to corn.

Just a stock Cobra engine with a VMP TVS 2.3 supercharger upgrade, Metco pulleys and tensioner brace, a JLT Performance intake, and a new fuel system. Smith tells us the stock engine has just 24,000 miles on it. Many of those miles come in 1/8-mile, or 1/4-mile increments.

More and more stations offer E85 at the pump, which makes it very convenient for those wanting to make the switch to corn. A cheaper initial price, and higher octane rating are the main factors in people making the switch to E85.

Smith added an Aeromotive Eliminator fuel pump, fuel pump controller, regulator, and required filter. The lines and fittings are from CPR, and the rails are from Fore Innovation. Fellow Cobra owner, and NMRA competitor Jonathan Pavia at Pavia Racing performed the swap, and when everything was done, Smith returned to VMP Tuning so Justin Starkey could tune in the new combo.

We think Smith is happy he made the switch. “Picked up 50 horsepower,” Smith says. Also, since Smith regularly races the Cobra in NMRA and local Stick Shift Mafia races, he needed more power out of his TVS combo to keep up. The switch to corn has paid dividends. Horsepower is up, and elapsed times are down.

On pump gas, Smith’s Cobra was good for high-10s. On race gas, that number dropped to a best-of 10.42 at 133 mph. With E85 in the tank, that number is down to a 10.29 at 136 mph. As for horsepower, on pump gas the Cobra was good for 613-rwhp. Contrast that number with the 647-rwhp the car made on race gas, and then the 700-rwhp it now makes on E85. All numbers are with 20 pounds of boost.

You can see why switching to corn is the popular thing to do these days.