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ETHANOL in Gasoline?

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Old 04-06-2008, 08:22 PM
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88BlueTSiQuest
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10% is fine.
Old 04-06-2008, 08:36 PM
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Well I'm out of gas and normally go to chevron, guess I'll try shell this time.
Old 04-06-2008, 09:58 PM
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Originally Posted by 88BlueTSiQuest
10% is fine.
Grrrreat, then I will continue getting Shell with 10% ethanol and no more Chevron for me!! Well, at least until they start putting in Ethanol with their awesome Techron...
Old 04-06-2008, 09:59 PM
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Originally Posted by Keithr726
Well I'm out of gas and normally go to chevron, guess I'll try shell this time.
Let us know if you see a difference similar to mine!
Old 04-06-2008, 10:18 PM
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funny, my car likes shell alot better also. I have my car in the richer side and when I use chevron I get a little black smoke on WOT in the upper rev ranges but whern I switched to shell it mostly went away.
Old 04-06-2008, 10:54 PM
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Didn't noticed to much of a performance difference. However you guys are claiming less black smoke or leaner mixture? Funny mine is now way too rich. 10.1 is kinda bothering me.
Old 04-07-2008, 11:40 AM
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LFA951
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Originally Posted by JE_951
funny, my car likes shell alot better also. I have my car in the richer side and when I use chevron I get a little black smoke on WOT in the upper rev ranges but whern I switched to shell it mostly went away.
Same here! I thought Chevron with Techron was the best because of the tier, but I haven't seen any black smoke bombs on boost, with the Shell it's clear and I am sticking with the Shell!
Old 04-07-2008, 01:07 PM
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Default Article from Livescience and the NCGA

In the United States, some 5 million of the cars and trucks on the road are "flex-fuel," meaning that they can run either on traditional gasoline or E85, a mix of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.

Converting an automobile to run on flex-fuel costs about $100.

"This is actually one of the cheapest possible transitions you can make," Kammen said. "It cuts the cost of fuel by half at the pump."

However, there are very few pumps offering ethanol fuel. Despite the number of flex-fuel automobiles—California boasts more flex-fuel than diesel vehicles—ethanol-blended fuel accounted for only 2 percent of all fuel sold in the United States in 2004.

While it doesn't yet make sense to convert the entire economy to corn-based ethanol, Kammen said, improved methods for processing corn or using other ethanol-rich materials could drive such a change.

"The people who are saying ethanol is bad are just plain wrong," Kammen said.

Brazil has converted nearly all its cars and gas pumps to run on a 96 percent ethanol fuel produced from sugarcane. Brazilians have already seen the benefits of sugarcane fuel—not only is it cleaner burning, but since it is produced within the country, it is half the price of imported gasoline.

Benefits of Ethanol Blends

Millions of Americans have driven billions of trouble-free miles using ethanol-blended gasoline over the past quarter century. The majority of this gasoline has been E-10 Unleaded, a blend of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent ordinary unleaded gasoline. However, E85 (85 percent ethanol and 15 percent ordinary gasoline) is rapidly becoming an important part of the nation’s fuel supply.

Approved for use by every major automaker in the world, E-10 Unleaded provides a number of benefits for drivers:

Additional octane: The ethanol in E-10 Unleaded adds two to three points of octane to ordinary gasoline, helping improve engine performance.
Cleaner fuel injectors: Ethanol helps prevent the build-up of power-robbing deposits in fuel injection systems.
A gas line antifreeze: Ethanol suspends moisture in the fuel systems, eliminating the need for gas tank additives in cold weather.
Cleaner air: Ethanol reduces toxic emissions in engine exhaust, helping keep America’s air cleaner.
Old 04-07-2008, 06:09 PM
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I don't know if it has been mentioned yet, but certain states have passed legislation that requires certain amounts of ethanol at all pumps - VA has mandated 10% across the board.
Old 04-07-2008, 06:36 PM
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Originally Posted by ebs
When I first moved to a new state, 3 years years ago, I noticed that a lot of fuel suppliers had a sign that indicated whether there was ethanol or not. I wanted to use Shell, as their fuel had the highest octane rating, but had heard some horror stories about older cars and ethanol. I called Shell and spoke to one of their engineers. He explained that some engines can handle it others cannot. Porsche (at the time) had conducted tests on 10% ethanol and issued a statement to say that their cars should not have any ethanol content as it could significantly reduce engine life. They were then to run tests on 5% ethanol levels. I never heard what came out of those tests. Apparently their new cars are designed to handle ethanol, but older cars (eg, my 951 and 928) should avoid ethanol and the Shell engineer told me not to use their fuel.
ebs, which state are you in now? I wouldn't be surprised if that was Porsche being ultra careful too.If things start to wear prematurely it doesn't bode well for a car company. If you use the Shell 100w 5% ethanol you'll be fine I'm betting.
If you run Standalone you can configure two maps and run E85 as an alternative to race gas which is stupidly expensive down here.
Old 04-07-2008, 08:24 PM
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I have a question.
If you need to turn up fuel 25-30% higher got E85 how do you only get a 5% decrease in fuel consumption?
Old 04-07-2008, 08:41 PM
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More power available with higher octane. Less need for more pedal.
Old 04-07-2008, 08:45 PM
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If you run E85 you will need to run approx +/- 30% more fuel, possibly bigger fuel pump too. The upside is that the proposed cost in Australia is apparently $1 per litre which is about $3.75 per gallon v's racefuel at $19 per gallon here(!!!!!), the increased octane points and the ability to run more advance if you so choose. Premium pump costs approx $6 per gallon here for reference. So you will need to fill up a lot more often and possibly replace parts sooner too but the pros should outweigh the cons.
Old 04-07-2008, 09:14 PM
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I fill up with Shell 100 for track days and the car always feels "crisper" but I'm still worried about
a) Porsche not recommending we use any fuel with ethanol and
b) the 944s reputation for self immolation
so I use 98 without ethanol for the rest of the time.
Old 04-07-2008, 09:57 PM
  #45  
ehall
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Folks, I think if you'll do the research, you will find the differences between name brand gasolines, vis a vis 10% ethanol and detergents, is miniscule at best, and not existent in the vast majority of cases. Quit buying into the corporate hype. It's ADVERTISING!


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