Ethanol Blended Fuels - 98 & 100 RON

[AUSSIEVETTEMAN]

I am wondering what you guys think of ethanol blended fuels.

The Aussie Government has allowed the fuel barrons to blend ethanol with their products.
Now Shell has a 100 Octane 10% ethanol blended premium unleaded.

I run on normal unblended 98 RON fuel, preferably Shell when I can get it as the old girl just runs better on it. Less crap from the exhausts and crisper power.

I am wondering what you guys think on enthanol blended fuels and invite you to use the poll.
Any engineers who would like to post your thoughts, feel free.

Cheers

Tony

 

[JohnZ]

Ethanol-blended fuels are very common here in the U.S., and generally create few, if any, problems in newer cars whose fuel systems are designed to tolerate it. Cars as old as our classics may have some problems with rubber hoses and gaskets/O-rings, etc. if they're original; if they've been replaced with quality parts in the last ten years, I wouldn't expect any issues. Our politicians, anxious to get the "farm state" votes, will soon require that ALL gasoline be blended with ethanol, and corn-to-ethanol plants are springing up all over the midwest to supply the blend material.

 

[curtis]

I run ethanol in all my vehicles. We also run ethanol blend in our hobby stock race cars. the sprint car runs straight methanol thru Hillborne injection. Most places blends are cheaper and higher octane than straight gas.

 

[psimms]

Your MPG will drop with ethnol (corn gas) 3 to 7 MPG less. Big vote getter in the state of Illinois. Remember YOUR government is paying Archer Danials Midland and any other Gov. cash grabber to produce it. They are talking about building ethnol plants in the state of Florida. Sad days comming.

 

[AUSSIEVETTEMAN]

...corn-to-ethanol plants

John, Thanks for your reply. Ours is enthanol from our sugar farmers.
Our state, Queensland, has sugar cane farms right up the east coast of OZ.

I don't know about running the old girl on it just yet, but if you guys are starting to see it more often, then we soon follow suit and won't be too far behind you in the cleaner fuel area.
The cheeky gas stations haven't even dropped the prices for the ethanol blend as they promised they would.

Cheers

Tony

 

[AUSSIEVETTEMAN]

psimms & Curtis,

I heard that the ethanol blends drop the MPG. Even Mercedes posts this on their Australian website as a manufacturers warning. The recommend no more content than 10% ethanol.

GM Holden hasn't added anything to their website yet apart from the LS2 making its way into all our Monaro's, GTS Coupes and SS & HSV sedans. I reckon they will soon as a guide.

One of the guys in our Club uses the ethanol based fuels in his race cars. He rallies a Camaro and has a couple of drag cars. He swears by it.

I haven't made up my mind yet.

 

[curtis]

Well I tellyou this, i would settle for losing a mpg or two just so I didn't have to give any more money to the ragheads. Our farmers could use it and if they had more money, they spend more and helps the economy. Gees we are even thinking of home brewing diesel for our trucks.

 

[rponfick]

Well, the morning paper here in Denver contained encouraging news for us local Corvette enthusiasts. We were the first metropolitan area to require 10% blends, and have lived with them since 1988, primarily during the winter months. Our state environmental governmental entity is recommending phasing out alcohol additives. Our air has cleared up sufficiently due to modern cars running much cleaner that little gain is expected from continued use of oxygenated fuels. We will see how much influence the "corn" and "renewable energy" lobbies have on the proposal.

If we can get ever get ethanol to not be an "energy negative" I would support some of the hype. By energy negative, I mean it taking more energy to produce it than you can get out of it. We do not save on foreign imports until this problem is solved.

 

[JohnZ]

Your MPG will drop with ethnol (corn gas) 3 to 7 MPG less.

Not true for the common 10%-15% ethanol-blended fuels - only with E85 (85% ethanol) fuel which some 2002-up cars are designed to use. My '05 Dodge Caravan is one of them, and the owner's manual makes it VERY clear that there will be a significant drop in fuel economy and problems with extended cold-start cranking and driveability in cold weather with E85 (and they don't recommend using it at all in ambients below 32*F).

 

[Dean Barker]

Ethanol fuels have less btu's per gallon but are higher octane, so carbureted engines that are not designed and adjusted for the higher octane will see a slight drop in mileage. A computer controled car will not see any difference in mileage with a 10% ethanol fuel. There is loss of mileage with E85 fuel. Most E85 is not blended to 85% in cold weather. To improve startability, it is blended closer to 60% ethanol. It is no longer true that it takes more energy to produce ethanol than you get in return. The latest figures show about a 50% gain.

 

[gmjunkie]

corn-to-ethanol plants are springing up all over the midwest to supply the blend material.

We've had those here in NC for over 100 year's!! We even use Apples,Beet's,Potatoes,Peaches,Plum's,Pair's,Grapes,Orange's Grapefruit,Wheat,Barley,and Hop's with a couple old Delco Battery's to help it work!! Very High Octane!! otfl junk!!

 

[rponfick]

I know there are many studies around claiming to show the energy efficiency on ethanol production. Most of the studies are biased in favor of the group funding the study. I know of none claiming an energy gain approaching 50%.

 

[SR'71]

John, Thanks for your reply. Ours is enthanol from our sugar farmers.
Our state, Queensland, has sugar cane farms right up the east coast of OZ.

I don't know about running the old girl on it just yet, but if you guys are starting to see it more often, then we soon follow suit and won't be too far behind you in the cleaner fuel area.
The cheeky gas stations haven't even dropped the prices for the ethanol blend as they promised they would.

Cheers

Tony

You think ethanol will be cheaper because "they" promised. I remember the gasolines [fuels] available here in the WORLD . I am not a chemist but I have 750Hrs flight time on a T-29 with R2800 engines. We ran 115/145 gas. "They" don't make it anymore. 1 gallon/tank would turn a Falcon into a Cobra. You can expect to lose about 5 MPG with ethanol."They" also don't make SUNOCO 260 or Super Shell {Performance#'s104/105} anymore. SAAAAAD !!!!

 

[applevette]

We've had those here in NC for over 100 year's!! We even use Apples,Beet's,Potatoes,Peaches,Plum's,Pair's,Grapes,Orange's Grapefruit,Wheat,Barley,and Hop's with a couple old Delco Battery's to help it work!! Very High Octane!! otfl junk!!

HA! I wonder if any non-southern folks got that one.

 

[bossvette]

We've had those here in NC for over 100 year's!! We even use Apples,Beet's,Potatoes,Peaches,Plum's,Pair's,Grapes,Orange's Grapefruit,Wheat,Barley,and Hop's with a couple old Delco Battery's to help it work!! Very High Octane!! otfl junk!!

How many mason jars does it take to get a gallon?