"Ethanol"

It's when you are laying underneath a car and the engine is above you.

 

So would this be an "internal combustion engine"?

 

I've heard that ethanol can sometimes distort things...

 

Sorry Members, I meant engines that burn gasoline.

 

The great thing about camping in Mexico is that the fuel is pure gasoline. Mexico considers corn a food for animals and people and not to dilute the high energy source that gasoline is. Ethanol is not a high energy source and that is why it lowers mileage. My Tacoma gets 1-2 more miles per gallon in Mexico, thanks to their ethanol-free gasoline that we can't buy in California.

 

And this is what California says to the people that want pure gasoline...

SCREW THEM !!!
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Honestly, I think it would be better if people kept gasoline in their tanks, and corn in their corn holes.

 

This 2nd page tho...

 

Hi Paul,
A few months after buying my truck i noticed what i thought was a chirping fan belt. After doing some searching on the forum i read that the chirp was actually from the high-pressure fuel pump when using gasoline with ethanol.
The cure is either adding a Lucas fuel additive or using ethanol-free gasoline.
Both work to rid the chirp.
Don

 

Oh god I can't even tell if this is a serious reply.

 

Sounds good, replace a percentage of imported oil with home grown fuel, but it takes more energy to produce a gallon of ethanol than you get back. However it keeps farm income up and saves government a lot of subsides to keep farmers in business, makes the bankers happy, as most of the farmers are in hock up to their ears. As far as causing trouble by using it in my Toyota, or other vehicles, I haven't had any problems other than it costing more and getting a little less MPG.

 

I've been running E-85 problem free since 2008, courtesy of change2e85.com. I also use Amsoil 5w-30 with annual oil changes. The only problem I've had is overheating since installing the 5VZ-FE supercharger without also installing the 165F thermostat. Until that time I use a ratio of 1:4, E-85 & 85 octane. That ratio equates to about 93 octane which is 2 points higher than needed at my altitude of 5000' but on average between $0.25-$0.35 less per gallon compared to pre-blended premium. Yes, I do get a little less mileage but about 20%+ more power. Other reasons I like it is that E-85 doesn't create carbon during combustion so, oil doesn't get dirty as quickly, valves don't get coated so the either stick or don't close all the way. Also, from the filler tube forward shellac & resins are dissolved in the 1st few uses. Even the fuel filter gets cleaned. No need to clean the throttle body or injectors as that happens as the E-85 flows through. According to the Colorado Emissions Testing facility my CO2 output is 90% less than with gasoline.

BTW, To answer a question above about why didn't someone think of this sooner, they did. The 1st two models produced by Henry Ford were designed to run on ethanol, (see here). It was simply a matter of demand outstripping supply, so a petroleum substitute was utilized.

In relation to the corn for food instead of fuel argument, if you look at the numbers the only thing that is getting cut into are corn exports. why ship it to anywhere else in the world for $3.64 a bushel when the ethanol plant 50 miles or less away is buying at $5.00? Yea, American Farmers! The food value isn't lost after the fermentation process, just the fructose (see here). I've heard all the arguments against & I just don't care. It's cheaper on my bottom line from several vectors & that's really all I need to know. Everything else is just a bonus.

I realize that my opinion is perhaps jaded by seeing how much good we as a country really do on this planet for everyone else & continually get fucked over by the very people we help & our alleged allies. On this particular point of corn for (international & relief) food not fuel, I say fuck 'em. This assists our fuel independence & security from the rag-heads in OPEC. I really don't care if a box of corn flakes cost $10/box in Berlin, Riyadh or UAE. Our price of $1.79 at Kroger hasn't changed except due to inflation & I get a clean burning fuel for my alcoholic (not gas guzzling) SUV.

 

The fact it has made the price of corn go higher is a good thing!!

Though I can`t say I miss those days of planting Corn

The fact that it eats the floors out of storage tanks is interesting

Sweet Corn and the Corn grown for fuel are quite different .

Who can say that the research to run on pure alcohol has not been done all kinds of energy research seems to just vanish

 

Ethanol is great if you want to make power. There have been numerous studies with it. MIT published an article in 2015 or so where they used dual direct injection of ethanol and regular pump gas in a turbocharged engine and found the detonation suppression to be unprecedented even compared to methanol while also maintaining high efficiency as the ethanol was only sprayed at high compression/boost levels. I personally would love to see this tech in DD's but filling two tanks in one car is far too complex or tedious for the average American.

Honestly if you want some unofficial research look into the WRX forums. Those guys love ethanol and they build their engines to run off it exclusively.

 

Kinda like putting DEF (Diesel exhaust Fluid ) in your Diesel Pick up .

Much to hard for normal people !!

 

Despite my dislike of ethanol blended fuels, if I had an e85 pump within 10 miles of my house I'd be on e85 in my turbo Tacoma no questions about it. The safe power it can make is unparalleled for the $$$. I'll still use e0 87 in my Prius, though.

 

These are well known facts in the boosted community for years. I cant believe more people are not pro for this reason alone. Yeah just putting it in your average car will not make more power, but how about when running 25psi on a big single turbo and a tune for it. Then the smiles show up.

 

Another disadvantage is the amount of fresh water it takes to grow corn.

 

Around here it is called rain

 

Not much corn/crop being grown in PA

Around here it's called snow/melt and rain. It's also a year to year situation whether or not there is going to be drought or serious drought.

In 2003 two towns in the Denver metro area ran out of fresh water. They were literally driving in truckloads of bottled water for residents to use for drinking, cooking, etc. Had shower restrictions, toilet restrictions and so on.

Yet the corn downstream continued to grow.