There were some questions about my posts, so I will elaborate further. Before I tried E85, I was mixing my fuel with methanol with no nitro. I tried all kinds of mixures to see how they worked. I tried mixing gasoline and diesel in various percentages. They both caused very poor operation in all ambient temperatures. I was surprised about the gasoline problems, but I suspect it interferes with the catalytic effects of the methanol and platinum. The more I added, the worse it got until it would not run. Needle sensitivity got worse as well. I did not have an IR remote thermometer so can't comment on engine temperature. I did not take notes at that time, so don't remember what plugs I tried ( I since have wised up and write down everything I do). I abandoned the use of other fuel additives with the exception of acetone, which helps a bit in cold weather starting. When methanol prices rose to over $5 a gallon here I started experimenting with E85. I have never had access so far to summer E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline). I have only used winter blend (pump sign says "may contain up to 30% gasoline"), so I don't know what the actual mix is. I am sure the gasoline is interfering with combustion as it did when I tried it with methanol, so I am hoping for better performance when I get my hands on the summer blend.
I tried lots of plugs, the OS A3 needs the glow heater attached for the engine to run. I tried Thunderball super cool plugs, the engine runs but it appears the timing is retarded as the engine power is low. Other cold plugs worked better, the best was the Duratrax Gold plug, but the element would burn out after a few flights. The OS R5 was not quite as good as the Gold plug, with the same burn out problem. All standard plugs will not run without the glow heater installed. 4 stroke plugs generally ran very well, except the Fox Miracle plug, which was not much better than a standard plug. They all burn out after a few flights except the Thunderbolt #115480 which is advertised as a 4 stroke and .91+ 2 stroke plug. This is the only plug that seems to run well and not burn out prematurely. I don't know much about 4 stroke plugs, can't seem to find a good site online. Some other posts say they have good luck with the OS A3 and other hot plugs. It may be engine dependent, as none of my engines run with it. Also my flight field (cow pasture) is at 5300 feet above sea level, and all my E85 tests have been in the winter with cold temperatures. The engines I have tried are older OS FP .25, OS FP .40, Vecco and K&B .61, newer OS LA .40, Super Tigre .45, Thunder Tiger .46 engines (several of each). They all have similar operation on E85, with the older engines running the best.