I know the ethanol question has been brought up before, but the brilliant lawmakers in this socialist state have decided to make 20% ethanol law. It still has to pass some more hurdles but with the way it's going, I am sure it will be law. What will that do to a lt-1?

 

Nice living in this bastion of socialism, isn't it? The ethanol proponents of course say that it is fine for all vehicles. Personally, I don't believe it at all and only put the ethanol free stuff in the Corvette, the boat and lawn mowers. I have read that carburated engines are more likely to develop problems when ethanol is used but I am not going to risk it with the Corvette.

In the Twin Cities there are many stations that sell nonoxygenated fuel. Here is a link to the Minnesota Street Rod Association website. Click on "Non-Oxygenated Fuel List" for a list of stations that sell the good stuff in MN and WI. Hopefully there is a station near you.

MSRA

 

.....living in washington state, i am curious as to the effects of ethanol gasoline on an lt1?...........

 

Ethanol is not bad at all. The only thing it might affect is fuel economy (for the worse)

First off. You can grow it. You arent relying on a finite supply of oil that, now China (the worlds populous nation) is draining on as they learn to drive (I say we bomb them until they are back on bikes again, but thats my $.02).

Next, lets take Brazil. I was recently down in Brazil and noticed petrol stations sold either 'alcool' or 'petrol' . The alcohol was about half the price of petrol. Its created from sugar cane. Downside, you use more of it. Upside, it generates more power.

This is why we have a Corvette.. More power. If using ethanol in our cars generates more power I am all for it.

 

(I say we bomb them until they are back on bikes again, but thats my $.02).

Was that comment for real?

Wo bu gen ni haole. That's my .02.

 

First, ethanol is not economically feasible with out heavy governmental subsidy. Even brazil provides subsidy for their ethanol. I know gasoline is subsidised also, but with ethanol you subsidize it twice, once with the gas and again with the ethanol.

Second, it still takes more energy to produce a gallon of ethanol than a gallon of gasoline. The gap is closing but it is still not there. So this fallacy of renewable energy is still not true.

Back to my original question, a friend of mine is convinced that the injectors on his L98 were ruined by ethanol. His arguement is that ethanol has a lower boiling point and actually is creating acids by burning in our hotter engines. Also, I've heard ethanol plays hell with any rubberized parts. Just wondering if any of this is true.

ps. I would prefer voluntary compliance to mandatory.

 

yes alcohol attack certain types of rubbers. Id have to look in my engineering materials book to tell you which. Ethanol alcohol can be used just fine with fuel injectors from what Ive seen. Most of their innards are stainless steel any who. Id like to see pure ethanol at the pump. along with natural gas. A vertible shmorgas borg of fuels should be available to help encorage people like (me) to build motors specifically designed to take advantage of alternatives to plain ol gasoline. Hell if we could get straight methanol at the pump Id have a turbo 4cyl under the hood that ran 60psi of boost.

 

 

Hey, baldturbofreak. I agree with you. I would love to be running on an alternative fuel, and hopefully we will be there soon. I just don't think ethanol is the bandwagon we want to jump on to. At least not yet.

 

Agreed the prduction process of ethanol isn't there yet, but I hope someday soon it will be. I've worked on a farm since I was a little guy and I would love to see corn farmers (and soybean diesel) become the next oil tycoons.
Methanol is a viable option as well.

 

Ethanol = less power output,.. less TQ, less HP
Less MPG

The Gov know's what's good for you,... just ask them.

Ethanol fuel is a farm subsidy in disguise.
I'm all for subsidies. We should subsidies telephone Co's, major sports team owners, global restaurant Corp's,... oh yeah, and hot-dog vendors. (Don't you just hate it went they leave out the little guy.)

I must be crazy,.. wanting to run a gasoline engine on gasoline.

 

Actually there's a haze in Brazil, burning alcohol make formaldehyde If you've ever been to an alcohol drag or CART race, try standing behind the cars when they run. Before the engines are shutdown, they need to be pickled, gasoline run through the system, so parts don't break down.

I do like the idea of not being dependant and foriegn fuel, but you need to look at all aspects.

 

quote:

Ethanol = less power output,.. less TQ, less HP
Less MPG


Then explain to me why the Brazil bio-fuel cars made by Volkswagon make more power on ethanol, at least according to Brazilians?

Someone needs to look up energy per combustion (kj per kg for both ethanol and gasoline).

Also, about the inefficiencies of ethanol conversion. I just read numerous articles saying ethanol can produce more energy than the energy taken to convert it in an internet search.

There are some bone-headed 'change is bad' people that also have articles stating the contrary, but there seems to be more good than bad articles for it.

Any time you replace a non-renewable resource with a renewable one, I dont think you are losing out.

For the people that want to continue to run the engine on gasoline? What about the chinese problem?

Obviously I was just kidding about the bombing part.

I work in the tire industry and am seeing the effects of chinas move from bikes to cars. We are having problems securing all the polymers (from oil) needed to keep up tire production in north america. Other than during WWII (when japan conquered the natural rubber fields in the far east), we've never seen this type of supply shortage....

So if we can extend our supply of fuel with ethanol, without ill-effects, that by God lets do it.

 

Thanks to the Bush Administration, it's all we have in California. The problem is supply (both refinery and corn crop) and our prices reflect that. With $3/gallon regular predicted by Memorial Day, your State shouldn't have to look too far for reasons to avoid the switch. Performance problems with current blends, considering what the former additive (MTBE) did to most injection systems (which GM warrants in CA for 100K miles), have been nil.

 

Here's the renewable resourse we should be using

http://www.biodiesel.org/

 

Hey dizwiz, I think change is good, and I would be all for ethanol if it was proven feasible without heavy subsidies. The various reports on efficiencies results are dependant on who's funding the study. ADM and the USDA have much to gain from ethanol funding. Independant studies still do not show that ethanol is efficient. IE you burn more btus of energy per btu ethanol made than btu gasoline made. Correct me if I am wrong.

 

Or you can keep your V8 and run the same amount of boost. The more cylinders and displacement, the better!! 4000 rwhp, 4000 rwtq, can't beat that if this becomes the way of streetable. Hope for low fuel prices if this becomes the norm. Just upgrade your engine, the drivetrain and use super/ultra forged high quality parts for everything so you don't break things. Then you'd have to worry about the asphalt next.

 

most light aircraft with non-turbo recip engines can use auto fuel by adding an STC (supplemental type certificate) to their paperwork. The engines run ok on it. And it's at least a buck a gallon cheaper than avgas. But they are NOT allowed to use any motorfuel with any amount of alcohol in it. It is considered unsafe and potentially detrimental for the motor. This was after years of studies and technical reports. And it hasn't changed to this day.
Yes you could design a motor to run on it. And you could buy the alcohol from Jamaica that's refined out of sugar cane from places like Belize. It might only be a buck a gallon, not including the usual government overhead. But if you go that way, you are still buying into the internal combustion engine at a time when the next best thing is probably going to be a different kind of tech, like hydrogen fuel cells and all kinds of electrics.

 

thanks for the nonoxtgenated list info

 

ditto