Wideband sensor life on ethanol

Does Ethanol based fuels / blends affect the life span of your wideband sensor?

My secret to long sensor life is to use the NTK sensor rather than Bosch LSU 4.X. With the 4.2 sensor I could destroy one in a matter of 20 minutes if I was unlucky, and regularly would be replacing sensors on the dyno every couple of months. The NTK sensors seem to be much more robust and I've had over 12 months from a single sensor. That goes a long way to justify the additional cost!

To more specifically answer your question though, I wouldn't expect to see any real degradation of sensor life due to using E85 - In fact it may be improved. The fuel is obviously unleaded, and leaded fuels in my experience are the main killer of wideband sensors. It also burns cleaner and hence is less likely to cause deposits to build up on the sensor.

The key to sensor lief is to ensure it isn't going to get thermal shock from moisture. Mount it somewhere that it's above horizontal in the exhaust system and close to your turbo or collector.