[NigelM]

I am wondering have read ethonol fuel cause rubber etc to go bad. If so, is the rubber parts in our cars ok. Or is it something to think about. I know it is a concern of mine if it does on my 1975 Midget. Maurice

About the only things rubber in any 1980+ US vehicle are the tyres and door seals. All engine seals and fuel system parts changed to neoprene, viton or nylon a long time ago.

[CruzNlife1]

Originally posted by stott:
i'd be thrilled just to have E0 93 octane. some of you guys don't know how lucky you are!

We still have E0 Available

Cheaper than e10 too :eek:

[Shannon Clark]

Wow now im worried. Better switch my car back to regular gas.....shouldnt take the unstable E85 long to destroy my vehicle.

[cmcurtin]

Originally posted by Shannon Clark:
Wow now im worried. Better switch my car back to regular gas.....shouldnt take the unstable E85 long to destroy my vehicle.

interestingly enough the E85 doesn't seem to have the same separation issues as E15. Something about the way they ship and 'mix' the E15 is causing the problems.

[NigelM]

interestingly enough the E85 doesn't seem to have the same separation issues as E15. Something about the way they ship and 'mix' the E15 is causing the problems.

But it picks up water (moisture) faster than a fresh birthday cake on a picnic table in a rain storm.

[Marty Buth]

Nigel, look on the bright side,with E15 you won't have any gas line freeze issues down there in AZ !!!!!

[wicked93gs]

Considering we have all been using E10 for over a decade I really doubt another 5% will make any difference(except maybe a loss of .5 MPG because of the lower specific energy) I call BS, having learned quite a bit about all mixes of ethanol over the last few years

[Milehighxr]

Originally posted by NigelM:
I wouldn't expect to see any issues with E-15 over E-10 at all. Perhaps more trapped water in the fuel than E-0, but that's about it. naturally it won't keep as long as real petrol like if you store your car for 6 months at a time.

Alcohol(especially high proof) should keep forever. How else can I go down to the liquor store and buy 12 yr old rum.

What I have experienced with gasoline locally is my father commenting that the gasoline I just bought smells skunked. That it has gone bad. I have not figured out yet what has changed in the gasoline to cause it to skunk. My E85 that I buy OTOH smells just like alcohol, and not skunked.

The folks on the alcohol fuel list I am on have been presenting a lot of good arguments to refute the claims in the AAA, and API videos/studies that been released over the last several weeks.

Here's a link on the open fuel standard:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV-cIFvTy-8

[jangus]

Originally posted by Milehighxr:

Originally posted by NigelM:
[b] I wouldn't expect to see any issues with E-15 over E-10 at all. Perhaps more trapped water in the fuel than E-0, but that's about it. naturally it won't keep as long as real petrol like if you store your car for 6 months at a time.

Alcohol(especially high proof) should keep forever. How else can I go down to the liquor store and buy 12 yr old rum.

[/b]

That 12 year old rum has been stored in an airtight container. Your gas tank is not an airtight container, and therefore will allow the E85 to abosorb moisture.

[KhanTyranitar]

Regardless of whether it absorbs moisture or damages the fuel system (it does both by the way), it also produces some pretty nasty and high moisture byproducts when it burns. You will always have blowby. Nasty byproducts and high moisture content means that you will get lots of nasty stuff in the oil. Not a problem if you keep your oil clean and always fully warm your engine and never do short drives. But if that stuff is allowed to sit in there, I can see all sorts of engine damage resulting.

As far as damage to valve seats. Alcohol has a lower boiling point. This means it is already fully atomized and mixed. The valves are cooled by two properties, proper contact with the seat, and vaporization of fuel as it heats. This is part of why a rich mixture is safe, more gasoline means more gasoline evaporation. When a liquid evaporates, it cools everything around it.

E-15 makes the mixture leaner. This combined with the fact that it is already vaporized means it does not cool the valves as effectively as regular gasoline, and since the fuel is less dense, the computer would need to use more of it to maintain the proper fuel - air ratio. Since it is lean, it will burn hotter, putting more stress on the valves. Now if you have a flex fuel sensor, the computer can compensate automatically, but for the majority of us that don't, well, you know.

I think E15 is a bad idea, especially seeing all the problems that E10 has already brought.