What gas do you use??
 

Hey i was gasing up the other day and noticed that my local gas station is selling ethenol... i decided to try it out by mixing it 1/2 with regular gas.... i was wondering what the octane level of it was and can it wreck my engine if i use it pure ????

RE: What gas do you use??
 

I'm pretty sure you have to have a "flex fuel" vehicle to run ethanol rather than gasoline without risking harm to the engine and fuel system.

I'd avoid doing that again until you read a bit more about ethanol fuels. Google is your friend.

RE: What gas do you use??
 

I do agree with the first reply about flex fuel vehicles. The ethanol fuel is not good for cars that were not designed for it. This fuel can wreck havoc on regular rubber seals and o-rings along with fuel hoses in the fuel system. The PCM is also not calibrated to run this less octane fuel.

RE: What gas do you use??
 

Ok thanks! For the help guys!!! Shouldent have done tomuch damage because i didnt put it in pure!! Wont be doing that again!

RE: What gas do you use??
 

Ummmmm Ethanol, I am pretty sure is 100 octane!!!! all you have to do is just switch over your lines and injectors to a more corrosion reistant material thats it. Expansion properties are almost the same. THey have Gasoline mixed with Ethanol these days Ya know!!!. Sometimes you dont even know it is mixed.

I work in the petroleum industry, I am in Fuel Remediation Services and Engineering.

RE: What gas do you use??
 

So what youre saying is that the gas was designed for any car not the motor was designed for the gas ?? and are you for sure that its 100 octane ?? I guess its a research project for someone :P if im not to busy i'll get around to it

RE: What gas do you use??
 

Everything I have ever seen about ethanol is that it is 85 octane. Maybe in it's pure form it's 100. The engine in your car can use it in a bind, but not for everyday use. You will have a bad pinging problem if you use it because your engine computer is not calibrated to run on it. If you changed out the fuel system soft components like lines and o-rings and recalibrated the computer you can use it. The fuel will not damage the engine itself.

RE: What gas do you use??
 

doesnt my computer learn over time that its not the same gas ?????? if not how do i recallibrate my computer??

RE: What gas do you use??
 

It will not learn this. It is programmed to 87 octane. You can run higher octane with no problem, but not lower.

Most people think that higher octane would be more "flammable", but it's not. It comes down to flash point. This means how explosive it is and what temp it ignites at. Higher octane fuel burns slower and has a more controlled burn in the engine. Lower octane is just the opposite. This is what causes pinging or pre-ignition. The fuel in the cylinders can burn even without a spark, just the engine temp can ignite it causing pinging.

I have no idea if you can reprogram your car unless there are other "flex fuel" cars just like it out there. The biggest part of reprogramming is changing the spark advance curve.

RE: What gas do you use??
 

i use a lil mix 93 octane with a boost of kam 2 it is a 115 octane

RE: What gas do you use??
 

oh ok cool!! thanks for the info guys! anyone else have something they've learned ???

RE: What gas do you use??
 

bkey was 100% right in his evaluation of Octane. Everyone seems to think that if I use a higher Octane I will get more power and go faster. That is an absolute complete falacy. As bkey noted, higher octane means only that it will combust or explode at a higher temp and pressure. Lower octane will explode in the combustion chamber at a lower temp/pressure. Google around a bit about high and low octane fuels and you will figure it out soon enough. Few links below to start. I think the falacy begins when you hear about racers using super high octane fuels ( even aviaton type ) in order to get the engines to operate the way they do. Its not the high octane fuel that provides that high power but the $50,000 engine that is used. The super high octane is needed in these engines by design.
If you do not believe then try this challenge. Run you tank untill it is near empty and have someone else fill it with either 87 or the highest octane that you can find without them telling you which they put in. When tank is near empty again then have them refill again with the oposite that they used before. I will guarantee that you will not be able to tell the difference in horsepower/torque/etc. It just does not provide that difference. It is not designed to.
As for Ethanol. Regular dino fuel is diluted with ethanol in some areas of my state during parts of the year but levels are not to exceed 5-10%. Any higher than that and it creates problems with cold starts, missfire, and dieseling. We even have test kits that we use to be able to determine the % of ethanol in the fuel. Pure flex fuel vehicles use not pure ethanal but around 85% pure. Same tank is used but sensors in the fuel system determine what you are using and how the system should respond accordingly. Some of the B trucks are flex fuel but it is noted right on the inside of the fuel door that it is and should not be used otherwise. Read some of the links below but realize that by mixing "pure" ethanol with you regular gas is not going to benifit you in any way. Pure ethanol to your engine instead of regular fuel is the equal of you having a Pepsi or a Shot of Everclear. Get the picture.
Bdizzle : you are wasting money by buying 93 and boosting it to ??115
envirocbr : Exactly where do you work. "I am in Fuel Remediation Services and Engineering" BS or you would know better.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/autos/octane.htm

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/flextech.shtml

http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/CHEMWEEK...L/ethanol.html

http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/altfuel/ethanol.html

RE: What gas do you use??
 

baby huey is correct on the octane I only use the higher stuff cause of my nitrious in the winter I run 89 all day long .now on my Nova I have to use airplane fuel straight cam 2 115 octane cause that's i built it for i wish i could run pump gas in it but run like the dodo and right now cam2 is 4.67 a gal I can barely drive my Nova case prices are getting so high and dont use staight cam 2 in a rugular car it will burn the motor quicker than a one pump chump

RE: What gas do you use??
 

A good rule of thumb for naturally aspirated motors is the higher the compression ratio of the motor, the higher the octane required

I believe the CR of the 2.0 & 2.3L stock engines is around 9.5:1 (fairly high for a stock motor), but still low enough to use 87 octane. At around 10:1 you need to start running Premium (93 Octane). My friend's 1100 hp monster is 13.1:1 compression and we run it with 114 Octane w/o NO2, and 118 Octane with NO2...

RE: What gas do you use??
 

Yeah sorry envirocbr but i was pretty sure it didnt sound like you knew what you where talken about... Thank you babyhuey,Bdizzle and sstlaure!! ur info really helped me out!! Gas prices are sky rocketing and i was looken for a way to get a bigger bang for my buck but i guess i'll just have to drive slower!!

RE: What gas do you use??
 

The best thing for MPG is to keep the tires at proper pressure, keep the air filter clean, keep tune-up's up to date, and don't carry excess weight in the car.

RE: What gas do you use??
 

Ok cool!! Just something though... doesnt higher octane burn at a lower tempurature ??? would make more sence to me anyway that the higher the octane the purer it is so doesnt it burn at a lower tempurature?? because i know someone who put jet fuel in their car and when they turned off the car the engine was still going therfore proveing that higher octane burns at a lower temp no??

RE: What gas do you use??
 

The fuels from what I know is they are all the same. The difference is the chemical package put in each grade. I am not a chemical engineer so I cannot give specifics. As stated before it would be best to google fuels if you want to learn more about them.

RE: What gas do you use??
 

Turning the car off and it still running just means someone just had a crappy running car. If the car is keyed off, then then fuel pump isn't pumping. No fuel, no go.

Most likely his car was "dieseling" due to massive carbon deposits within his cylinders.

RE: What gas do you use??
 

Hey Dave you can run wood gas! Not only will it be cheap, you will slow down a bit! ..... Well I should say a lot. But hey it's cheap.

--=={madjack}==--

RE: What gas do you use??
 

what the hell is wood gas ???

RE: What gas do you use??
 

The only thing I can think of is methyl alcohol...

RE: What gas do you use??
 

In 1940's most the cars and trucks were run on wood gas as regular fuel wasn't available. Here is a link to look at, but "wood gas" google and you will see many have developed it. I do not use in a vehicle as it is very hard to drive on it but I do run it for electric to my home using a Ford escort motor and a 13Kw generator. This is a whole diffrent subject so being very brief here. Very easy to make and produce. 20% loss in HP to motor. It produces hydrogen and methane. Great for stationary motors. Some using in truck and autos.
Link TO Wood Gas