[CrowHorse]

We now have 10% ethanol/gas and I was curious if folks have experienced a change in performance...??

Will ethanol absorb water like iso does ?

Will the ethanol reduce carb icing?

 

[456]

Ethanol will absorb water similar to other fuel driers but probably better than methanol. Ethanol can raise the octane rating of regular gas unless it was lowered to compensate for the alcohol. To benefit from any octane rating increase (if any) you would have to advance the timing. My guess is the ethanol will decrease carb icing.

 

[1339]

Yep, what Farther said.

 

[1776]

Some stations have been using that mixture here in California for years. I have not noticed any diffrence in proformance or MPG when I have used it. The big diff. is the price. Usually it is 5 to 15 cents cheaper than regular gasoline; however now that Cal. has baned the use of MBTE, or whatever the hell it was, most all of the major oil companies are now using ethanol in it's place.
So much for cheap gas.

 

[Sarge]

Ethanol , Methanol , or any of the other 10 types of "ol" will help with moisture and octane performance . However, there is a drawback or two . For one, any one of those additives has a somewhat bad habit of cleaning any varnish out of fuel tanks , lines, ect . If you have been running a straight fuel for years , even the better "clean" brands , you may have filter problems for awhile as everything gets broke loose . Two, a lot of these additives extend the shelf life of gas , some companies use a lot lesser grade/quality of fuel as a base , so what you end up with is much less than desireable . Choose your fuel carefully , stick with types that have octane ratings of 90 or so , with NO additives and see how the engine responds , it may surprise you ....
Sarge

 

[2868]

There's been only 1 station up here that's been using ethanol.... they've been at it for about 10 years now. Great for smog testing, but has a reputation of gumming things up.

 

[877]

It's funny, some of the misconceptions people have of fuels. And believe me, they're all a result of our OIL DEPENDENT economy, and the myths they spread. Ethanol doesn't burn much differently than regular petrol. In fact, it DOES burn cleaner. Look at the chemistry and you'll understand. Ethanol based fuels have been used in Brazil, for example, exclusively! Yes, that's right, they're fuel pumps down there are about 90% ethanol, the remaining 10% being diesel and such. And I'm not talking mixes here. It's pure industrial grade ethanol. The reason behind this is that they don't have access to cheap oil like we do, but they have a hell of a lot more corn. Using fermentation processes, they convert that excess corn into ethanol and viola! You have cheap, clean fuel. People have been trying to do that here for years, using corn and other crops, but of course, that has been pushed under the rug. See, we could be oil INdependent.
If you have mixed fuel locally, and it's cheaper, use it. You won't have any problems. Besides, it's in such a low percentage anyway that it makes little difference.
As for octane ratings, they DO NOT have anything to do with the cleanliness of fuel! I HATE when I here people say, "Yup, I put in the better stuff, octane 94! Duh!" Why is it better? Because it costs more????? There's a reason why auto manufacturers rate engines at various octane levels. It all depends on your timing and such. If your rig is built for 87, use it, unless you've played around with timing.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[1396]

you know what, for some reason it just seems like hondas in general run better on 89 octane. they say use atleast 87 but 89 seems to be the best. i would assume because of the way they're timed.