91Ron, 95 Or 98Ron?

[scotty nm35]

Scott was just reading a magazine on a modified R35 that runs on E85.

Didnt realise this topic has plenty to discuss about.

I normally use Vortex 98 as we go to woollies to do our groceries so hence i get 4cents off per litre. I do consume about 11.4-12litres per a hundred on 98.

This is very informative (but got lost when everyone starts talking bout compression rates etc... - too technical. i just drive the car coz it makes me look good LOL).

Thanks for the input. I will try BP98 next time as I do feel BP somehow has alittle more ummph!

There is plenty of info out there, so have a search. Ethanol still gets shit canned regularly, mainly by ignorant drivers that haven't tried running it.

Ethanol will be a very clean source of energy one day and we will be heavily reliant on it when the oil is sucked dry. Till then, chose what you want.

[sonicii]

Ethanol will be a very clean source of energy one day and we will be heavily reliant on it when the oil is sucked dry.

It will be when when can stop the south Americans carving up huge chunks of the Amazon forest for farming solely to produce Ethanol! Which makes it a bit counterproductive.

This will be the challenge.. with China currently buying large chunks of land in other countries so they can grow food. Where are we going to plant enough farms to produce 85 Million barrels of ethanol per day?

Not trying to bag ethanol, but I don't think ethanol alone will ever come close to replacing oil.

Edited February 14, 2014 by sonicii

[scotty nm35]

Ethanol can be made from nearly anything that decomposes, hence the push to make it from our abundant green waste, and excess food that goes to the tip. It won't ever be enough to support more than a percentage of the cars on the road, but if we can expand it to include algae farms and the existing waste from the sugar cane industry etc, I am sure there would be plenty to go around.

Brazil is making ethanol from weeds in massive quantities, and has been for 40+ years. There is a 25% minimum content in their fuel, and government subsidised 100% ethanol pumps. They seem to make it work, but you are correct, they need to be careful not to clear more land, and dedicate to other (more expensive) forms of production. After the corn price farce the American farmers created with their production, everyone believed e85 would take over the food bowls and force the price of staple foods up, but that was short lived of course.

One thing is for sure, we need something to replace oil, you don't think the last billion barrels will go towards filling our petrol tanks do you? Something tells me when the global dipstick gets low, the door will be shut, and only the military will get supplies, so they can respond to the global emergency that will follow. No point sticking your head in the sand as it will come one day, but it's probably my kids that will have to deal with that.

[sonicii]

It is hard to know what to think. My parents were told 40 years ago 'there is no way your kids will drive petrol powered cars as we will run out of oil before then'. Now some people are saying there is enough for another 1000 years.

Not saying we shouldn't look for alternatives, but if we really do have a lot more untapped oil, then it is going to reduce the motivation to change.

[scotty nm35]

It's hard to tell what the reserves are doing, or how long the shit will last. I know they have come back to empty wells and the oil has returned in some cases. I don't even think they know where it comes from other than guessing, or what even made it. Is the crude supposed to be there as lubrication for the tectonic plates? I have read heaps of theories... Not much fact.

Pumping it out till it's gone just doesn't seem like a smart thing to do imo, which is why I made a decision 5 years ago not to be part of it, as much as is possible. Didn't take me much motivation...

[ARTZ]

is that why you don't top up your oil Scott?

[scotty nm35]

I was just trying to minimise the amount I use.

I run Synthetic oil anyway Artz, because I can afford to.

[ARTZ]

[PN-Mad]

There is shit loads of oil out there. It's not running out in my lifetime, or my kids.

However the issue is, when does it become economically viable to extract it? Easy oil comes out with pumps (the stereotypical Middle East image).

Hard oil comes from sands, where the oil has to be extracted. This is much more resource heavy, and therefore expensive method. There is however, shit tons of it.

So, the answer is IMO we will have oil for a long time, but it's going to be expensive.

[Kinks]

Ethanol can be made from nearly anything that decomposes, hence the push to make it from our abundant green waste, and excess food that goes to the tip. It won't ever be enough to support more than a percentage of the cars on the road, but if we can expand it to include algae farms and the existing waste from the sugar cane industry etc, I am sure there would be plenty to go around.

Brazil is making ethanol from weeds in massive quantities, and has been for 40+ years. There is a 25% minimum content in their fuel, and government subsidised 100% ethanol pumps. They seem to make it work, but you are correct, they need to be careful not to clear more land, and dedicate to other (more expensive) forms of production. After the corn price farce the American farmers created with their production, everyone believed e85 would take over the food bowls and force the price of staple foods up, but that was short lived of course.

One thing is for sure, we need something to replace oil, you don't think the last billion barrels will go towards filling our petrol tanks do you? Something tells me when the global dipstick gets low, the door will be shut, and only the military will get supplies, so they can respond to the global emergency that will follow. No point sticking your head in the sand as it will come one day, but it's probably my kids that will have to deal with that.

Brazil makes ethanol using sugar cane, not "weeds". Sugar cane is the best material to make ethanol fuel from because the energy balance (ratio of how much energy you get from burning it, vs the amount of energy taken to create and refine the fuel) is between 8 and 10. The USA uses corn to produce ethanol but the energy balance is 1.3. This is pretty stupid. Corn is not a good fuel to make Ethanol fuel out of. They are experimenting with cellulosic techniques now (which does use any plant matter and should be more efficient) but they're not currently in production. Nobody is making energy from weeds on a commercial basis... YET.

We do need renewable fuels, I think ethanol made from sugar cane is a great idea until we develop something better. Only downside is it requires a tropical environment to grow the stuff.