Non-Ethanol 93 Octane
11-21-2012, 04:31 PM
#21
Drifting
Come on guys, gimme a break. The OP didn’t even ask about the complicated questions where there can be some legitimate differences of opinion. Those are questions like is it really renewable, does it help the environment, reduce oil imports, make economic sense, and so forth. All he asked was, is there a performance difference. The answer is yes, but not much. Mileage is 3-5% lower. There is also higher risk of problems from water, but that one is for practical purposes nil, like the difference between one in a million and one in nine hundred ninety thousand, and even that slight difference relates almost entirely to those who store their Vettes over the winter. Beyond those issues, nothing. The fact that pure ethanol is 105 octane is irrelevant since it is blended to 93 final octane. Various internet horror stories are just that – internet horror stories.
As far as the legitimate issues, here’s my super-brief summary. Current corn based ethanol is expensive, is not genuinely renewable, and does not help the environment or reduce oil imports to any consequential degree. However, future routes to ethanol such as cellulosic may do all those things, so some regard corn based ethanol as a bridge to that future. If I were king of the universe, I’d say fine, then let’s use ethanol if/when those more efficient future methods prove feasible. But for now, as long as it is inefficient corn based ethanol, leave it out. Having said that, an odd coalition of farm state Republicans and green lobby Democrats has jointly caused us to use corn based ethanol. While I don’t agree with that decision, I see no reason to demonize it. Too much of that on the political scene already. Peace.
As far as the legitimate issues, here’s my super-brief summary. Current corn based ethanol is expensive, is not genuinely renewable, and does not help the environment or reduce oil imports to any consequential degree. However, future routes to ethanol such as cellulosic may do all those things, so some regard corn based ethanol as a bridge to that future. If I were king of the universe, I’d say fine, then let’s use ethanol if/when those more efficient future methods prove feasible. But for now, as long as it is inefficient corn based ethanol, leave it out. Having said that, an odd coalition of farm state Republicans and green lobby Democrats has jointly caused us to use corn based ethanol. While I don’t agree with that decision, I see no reason to demonize it. Too much of that on the political scene already. Peace.
