I know that ethanol supposedly adds to the octane rating but what I want to know is, what are the pros and cons of 10% ethanol gas versus ethanol free gas of the same octane rating.

Most discussions I can find on Google are just arguments about octane ratings, but I don't care about that.

Also I know nothing beyond the basics of internal combustion engines so talk to me like I'm a retard.

9/27/2013 11:25:43 PM

It's easy ethanol 87 has less emissions then regular but the ethanol reduces gas milage and deteriorates rubber.

Non ethanol gets slightly better milage is easier on rubber hoses and I rings and pollutes a little more.

9/28/2013 9:03:51 AM

e-10 is hell in boats, lawnmowers, or anything that sits for longer periods of time. only real disadvantage in a car that gets driven fairly often is a reduction in mpg.

9/28/2013 9:42:02 AM

ethanol breaks down faster than pure gas and collects water, which funny enough, doesn't burn

9/28/2013 10:56:37 AM

E10 is something like 5-10% cheaper, but gets something like 5-10% poorer fuel economy, so that's pretty much a wash. Well, it's a wash at face value--ultimately the E10 ends up being more expensive due to taxpayers paying for corn subsidies, and higher food prices due to farmers growing corn for fuel instead of growing food.

E10 deteriorates fuel system components of cars older than 10 or maybe 15 years old, boats, lawn mowers, etc. It also tends to separate and attract moisture, which is a concern in vehicles where it sits for a while (as opposed to your daily-driven car, where you use the gas quickly enough that this isn't normally a problem.) It's pretty much something we've all been buttfucked with courtesy of the corn lobby.

What we should be doing if we want to fuck with ethanol is to design cars to use ethanol injection on demand, for the 2% of the time when you actually need higher octane fuel. You could optimize engine design for high power, high efficiency, all while using cheap 87 octane gasoline, and then use ethanol to bump the octane rating when you're under heavy throttle load (and/or turbo boost).

...and we also maybe should consider obtaining ethanol from sources besides corn. However, like I said, this isn't about cost, or efficiency, or environmental stewardship, or automotive performance, or whatever. It's about lining the pockets of corn farmers because they lined the pockets of lobbyists and congressmen.

[Edited on September 28, 2013 at 1:06 PM. Reason : ]

9/28/2013 1:04:46 PM

Well at least they used corn oil for lube while they were ramming us in the ass. The circle of life.

9/29/2013 11:23:05 PM

there are absolutely no benefits to using ethanol in fuel. kills fuel mileage, damages vehicles, and causes food prices to soar (since corn is primarily used to make it in the US.)

9/30/2013 8:38:11 AM

Ethanol has already cost me $200 (ruined a weed whacker).

9/30/2013 9:48:16 AM

http://www.trufuel50.com/default.aspx

9/30/2013 10:04:59 AM

Quote :

"what are the pros and cons of 10% ethanol gas versus ethanol free gas of the same octane rating."

zero pros, several cons.

87 octane fuel with 10% ethanol might burn a TINY bit cleaner than 87 100% gasoline fuel, but that's more than negated by the drop in burn efficiency since ethanol contains less energy than gasoline.

9/30/2013 1:58:45 PM

Ethanol is the devil, Bobby!

9/30/2013 2:13:05 PM

tldr. "gasoline" is a mixed brew of random hydrocarbons already. doesnt give a fuck if some of it is an alcohol. there are no pros or cons for you. it's just a dead pilot project for an already defeated attempt by the corn lobby to peddle their shit at higher than market prices like they did with Cheetoes and corn syrup.

10/3/2013 3:41:42 PM

Lol pretty much.


I do like e85 tho cheap race gas :-)

10/3/2013 3:43:35 PM

Yeah, E85, used for its silly high octane rating in a racecar built to use it, at a fraction of the cost of 110 octane gasoline, is a great niche application.

10/3/2013 7:45:57 PM

Don't use ethanol in your small engines. It will fuck them up

10/11/2013 10:58:14 PM

where are no ethanol places in Raleigh? Also aren't there some additives you can put in the gas to help with smaller engines?

[Edited on October 12, 2013 at 7:40 AM. Reason : ]

10/12/2013 7:39:35 AM

ethanol doesn't necessarily hurt small engines. however, leaving ethanol in the fuel system for an extended amount of time will.

E10 is fine in your small engines as long as you drain the tank and then crank it up and let it run until it cuts off. do this at the end of the mowing season or anytime you think you'll leave the equipment sitting for a month or longer.

for things that sit for a long time, but aren't easily drained (like a boat or something), i would certainly suggest avoiding E10.

there are some older fuel systems that are made of materials that aren't suitable for E10, but i wouldn't worry about anything made after the mid '80s.

10/12/2013 1:13:54 PM

^^there are 2 that I know of near Raleigh. First is the Resco station in Garner on Hwy.401S towards in front of Walmart. The have 90 octane in a separate tank next to the road. The second and the one I use is Holding oil in downtown Wake Forest. They have 93 octane.

^I have to disagree with your suggestion. I've always had the gaskets to dry and begin to leak in equipment of which I shut off the fuel. I recommend to simply add Stabil marine formula fuel stabilizer to the gas. No problems whatsoever with the fuel.

[Edited on October 12, 2013 at 3:34 PM. Reason : -]

10/12/2013 3:30:45 PM

there are a couple of websites that list locations of ethanol free fuel by location.

10/12/2013 4:13:13 PM

http://pure-gas.org/

10/12/2013 5:24:07 PM

Quote :

"I've always had the gaskets to dry and begin to leak in equipment of which I shut off the fuel. I recommend to simply add Stabil marine formula fuel stabilizer to the gas. No problems whatsoever with the fuel."

never had that problem

stabil won't make the gas last forever

10/12/2013 6:40:12 PM

ethanol free gasoline is kinda like celery free v8, cilantro free guacamole, black olive free sub, pickle free whopper. it's not gonna be muchdifferent

10/13/2013 5:07:58 AM

as much as i hate to say it i haven't noticed a a difference between the two in my '99 es300 . filled up a few times in the past few weeks with E-free and mileage improved 1-2mpg but i'm also running the ac less. power and drivability is no different.

10/13/2013 10:18:57 PM

E10 will hurt your fuel economy. It contains fewer joules per liter. Less bounce to the ounce.

10/14/2013 9:27:27 AM

Quote :

"ethanol free gasoline is kinda like celery free v8, cilantro free guacamole, black olive free sub, pickle free whopper. it's not gonna be muchdifferent"

bullshit. if you need proof i'll let you know when my '90 jeep cherokee is low on fuel. you can meet me at a station that sells ethanol-free gas. you can hear and feel the jeep idle before i fill up. after i fill up the rough idle clears up. it runs so smooth on it it's amazing. it is that noticeable.

10/14/2013 9:14:51 PM

At the very least, ethanol free fuel eliminates the squeak that my HPFP has when the engine is running.

10/15/2013 2:27:35 PM