E-10 & Ethanol Fuels

[Kent K.]

According to a Yahoo article, (about 10 months ago) Missouri mandated E-10 for 87 octane fuel. Other states that have mandated E-10 are Hawaii & Minnesota the article reports. It said higher octane fuels have had ethanol mixtures for much longer and no complaints have surfaced. My question is, how does it affect our Corvettes, both old and new?

Back during the 70's gas crunch period, some fuels we bought caused problems with both our cars. I don't specifically remember what the physical damages were but neither car ran like they did before using those modified fuels.

Happy New Year, Kent

[Mike M.]

Re: E-10 & Ethanol Fuels

God intended ethanol comsumption for homo sapiens, not int comb engines. happy new year. mike

[Clem Z.]

Re: E-10 & Ethanol Fuels

here in western pa. we have had for years E-10 during the summer and it does effect the MPG but not much

[Bryan L.]

Re: E-10 & Ethanol Fuels

Same here in S. Texas, we've had it for years. Right now the winter blends are being sold and I noticed about a 2 mpg decrease in my last tank. I check the mileage on every fill-up.

BL

[Terry M.]

Re: E-10 & Ethanol Fuels

Illinois, in the heart of corn country, has had E-10 for years also. No problems with my 1970, and I expect none with the 2008 -- it was designed to run on E-10. It doesn't seem to bother any of the dialy drivers either.

Now as to fuel mileage, that is another story. I can, and have gotten 10-20% better fuel mileage with 100% gasoline.

I don't understand how something that produces a 10-20% loss in fuel economy can be better for us, but that is what some groups of people advocate. All of us, whether we buy corn laced fuel or not, are subsidizing the use of alcohol in fuel -- you may thank the greens, your federal politicians, and corn growers for this travesty.

[William C.]

Re: E-10 & Ethanol Fuels

Generally, Alcohol concentrations up to about 15% did not require adjustments to the OEM fuel systems. Beyond that, anything made of an elastomeric (rubber and the like) is in trouble without an upgrade. The Germans found that out the hard way when the started building "exact duplicates" of home-market cars in Brazil, and they were literally Stopping on the road!

[Kent K.]

I'm with Mikie on this *NM*

[Duke W.]

Re: E-10 & Ethanol Fuels

So called "gasohol" with up to 10 percent ethanol has been marketed in some parts of the US for at least 25 years, and back then elastomeric materials were upgraded to handle this blend. If your car still has 25 year old elasomers in the fuel system, it's time to replace them. Otherwise, overall operation is usually not affected on most vehicles.

A couple of years ago Congress mandated up to 10 percent ethanol in ALL gasoline sold in the US - lip service to "energy independence", so now food prices are up since much corn production has been reallocated to ethanol production rather than animal feed and other food products.

The biggest "problem" with ethanol is that it acts as a co-solvent to allow more water to mix with an ethanol gasoline blend. Straight gasoline will absorb very little water before it drops out and goes to the bottom of the tank, where it can freeze and block fuel delivery. So called "gas dry" products of yore were actually alchohol, which allowed the water to be absorbed by the gasoline to prevent fuel line freeze-up.

The potential problem is water absorbsion in the fuel you buy from the retailer. Because pipelines have water, ethanol must be shipped by rail car and added to the gasoline at the distribution point. The industry has taken steps to avoid water contamination, but there are bound to be isolated problems, so you need a reliable supplier.

The cost of producing ethanol is higher than gasoline per BTU, shipping is more expensive, and as the ethanol proportion is increased, the energy content is reduced. E10 has about 2-3 percent less energy per pound or gallon of fuel than straight gasoline, so you pay more for less, and if you keep accurate fuel consumption records, you will likely find a slight decrease in fuel economy from a few years ago when ethanol was only used in some parts of the country during the winter months.

Duke

[Tom S.]

Re: I'm with Mikie on this

Kent
A happy new year to you. I hope this year will be better for you than the last. Good luck and get well soon. Tom

[Kent K.]

Re: I'm with Mikie on this

Thanks Tom. 2008 must be better than 2007 for me. Lung cancer kept us from attending the national convention in Marlborough. It was the second time in YEARS that Peggy planned to go with me. My radiation & chemo treatments are complete with good results. According to PET scans in June and November, the SUV went down from 29.7 to 4.0! See ya at Old Town.
Happy New Year, Kent