Ed Fenwick Posted April 4, 2006 Report Share Posted April 4, 2006 Aloha guys, My state is going to 10% Ethanol soon. Do you all think that this will cause any problems in our cars? Will the older ones be more forgiving that the newer ones? Thanks for your help Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeal1892 Posted April 4, 2006 Report Share Posted April 4, 2006 Aloha guys, My state is going to 10% Ethanol soon. Do you all think that this will cause any problems in our cars? Will the older ones be more forgiving that the newer ones? Thanks for your help Ed It seems to be the thing ! I dont think it will really hurt the car. I to have been wondering what some of the others might have experinced with it . I know that Indianais talking about using it soon. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted April 4, 2006 Report Share Posted April 4, 2006 Chicago & the collar counties have been using it for years. I am in one of the collar counties and have had not problems with it at all. You'll probably loose about 5% (about a MPG) in milage though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted April 5, 2006 Report Share Posted April 5, 2006 All GM vehicles since the mid 1980s will run on up to 10% ethanol. In fact, as MTBE has been phased out, ethanol has been used in varying quantities as an octane booster. Most gasoline is actually E5-7 (or about 5-7% ethanol). It's been said that most modern fuel-injected vehicles can run fine on up to 15-18% ethanol. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted April 5, 2006 Report Share Posted April 5, 2006 Aside from the fact that Ethanol is only a "feel good" solution right now that would NOT exist if it wern't for the cessation of MTBE (thank you California) and Federal subsidies, it is our future. Each of us will pay the cost of ethanol production in MANY ways over the course of the next several years. Higher natural gas costs (gotta cook the stuff first) higher grain prices, lower corn exports, etc. It is not a win-win proposition at all. USA Today ran an article recently about Brazil's "energy independence" due to it's ethanol production efforts. That is indeed a success story, but the US demand for oil is MUCH greater than Brazil's, and sugar cane has a LOT more sugar than corn per ton. We, as a country, would be better off, for a longer period of time, if exploration of the near Continental Shelf were OK'd by congress. All that being said, I would watch motor oil life closely when running 10% ethanol. This would be more of a concern for those that make short trips as I think more water is produced from the combustion of alcohol than gasoline and short trips MAY make the engine more prone to sludge production. As mentioned, fuel milage will also suffer. Never underestimate the amount of a persons greed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeal1892 Posted April 5, 2006 Report Share Posted April 5, 2006 All GM vehicles since the mid 1980s will run on up to 10% ethanol. In fact, as MTBE has been phased out, ethanol has been used in varying quantities as an octane booster. Most gasoline is actually E5-7 (or about 5-7% ethanol). It's been said that most modern fuel-injected vehicles can run fine on up to 15-18% ethanol. I didnt know that ! Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMWburner Posted April 5, 2006 Report Share Posted April 5, 2006 Here in Iowa ethanol is usually 20% cheaper than regular 87 octane gas, and is 91 octane. I actually get better power and fuel economy with it than without. It's all I use, and I've never had problems of any sort related to it's use. --Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeb Posted April 5, 2006 Report Share Posted April 5, 2006 when you say ethanol is cheaper than regular, you are referring to E85 or 85%ethanol/15%gas. its cheaper because ethanol has such high subsidies. the news had a story the other day saying that gas prices will rise this summer since more states are requiring ethanol in gas and there will be an ethanol "shortage". ahh, thats great. force everyone to use ethanol and that drives up the price. did you know an E85 hybrid would get 500 mpg of "gas" mileage. sneaky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenJ Posted April 5, 2006 Report Share Posted April 5, 2006 Here in the northeast we've used a 10% ethanol blend every winter since only Congress knows when. The only known benefit is to congressfolk and their midwestern corn growing constituents. My milage drops 1 mpg immediately after a tank of 10% ethanol. Notwithstanding the likleyhood that the Northstar would probably run on peanut oil, it's basically a waste in the end. Both financially and environmentally. But, whatta you gonna do? Fight Washington? Regards, Warren There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMWburner Posted April 6, 2006 Report Share Posted April 6, 2006 Nope. Not E85. 10% is always about twenty cents less than regular gas here. Iowa subsidizes it's use as we grow our share of corn. We do have our own state blend of 10% ethanol that you can't find elsewhere in the country. It has it's own darling little logo on the pump. Love the stuff and swear by it. Can't speak on behalf of the 10% ethanol elsewhere, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted April 6, 2006 Report Share Posted April 6, 2006 E85 has big subsidies and tax credits, but it's a start. Gasoline won't last forever. We've gotta try something else. Did you know that Ford's Model T was a "flex fuel vehicle"? It could be run on alcohol or gasoline. Ford's Model A even included a mixture control knob on the dashboard, so you could adjust the carburetor for proper operation regardless of the fuel you have in there. Rudolph Diesel's engine was designed to run on peanut oil. Our predecessors were using non-petroleum fuels in the beginning, and because of cheap gas years ago, we bastardized the engines and started running 'em on cheap stuff. We're just now beginning to come full circle, now that our precious gas isn't so cheap anymore, and isn't as plentiful as it once was. I don't believe we'll EVER run out of gas, because as supplies eventually start to fall, prices will naturally start to rise, and the cost will be prohibitive. Besides environmental benefits (E85 burns cleaner than gasoline, and is MUCH LESS toxic if introduced into the environment, like from a spill), an alternative fuel like E85 brings great strategic benefits as well. Not surprisingly, big oil companies are pushing for energy INTERdependance vs. INdependance. Gee, ya don't say... Speaking of E85 "mileage", did you put that putting E85 into a regular gasoline engine, like in a Ford Taurus for example, that you get over 100 mpg of GAS? The rest, of course, is burning starch. If I can drive 400 miles on 3 gallons of Saudi gasoline, and 17 gallons of American starch, vs. 20 gallons of Saudi gasoline, well, that sounds pretty good to me. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeb Posted April 6, 2006 Report Share Posted April 6, 2006 are you saying iowa corn ethanol is different than MN corn ethanol? I would also compare the total tax on MN fuel vs iowa fuel. might be different. i guess the bottom line is whether a caddy has any problems running on an ethanol blend. I do seem to have a few more driveablility issues in the last few years. and that is on 2 different cars. is the problem ethanol fuel? don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted April 6, 2006 Report Share Posted April 6, 2006 i guess the bottom line is whether a caddy has any problems running on an ethanol blend. I do seem to have a few more driveablility issues in the last few years. and that is on 2 different cars. is the problem ethanol fuel? don't know. As mentioned I have beeen running 10% ethanol (no choice) for years. Ran it in 4.1's, 4.5, 4.9 & 4.6. Never had any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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