Ethanol To Be Mixed Into Octane Petrol

[Mr-Toy33]

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,16694816-2,00.html

So, what is this going to do to our skylines?

I do understand that there is really no octane in ethanol as it is suppose to be a cleaner petrol. But if that is to be the case, we going to see skylines dumped on the side of our roads cause they just cant start anymore?

I'm not 100% sure as to what effects ethanol will have on our cars, but I'd like to know

[kksh]

from my understanding, ethanol has a higher octane rating than normal unleaded. Around 100 or something. And i'm interested in what "damage" it'll cause to "older" engines and what the conversion involves.

[«Cyph3r»]

it will most likely cause damage to the motors as they are not made to run on ethanol blends, some new lexus iirc are.

Also good to see the government are "proving that its safe" by running 10% blends in the government fleet cars. Funny thing is joe public pays for them with his tax. I'd rather see them running it in there personal vehicles. Plus last time i checked government vehicles were all low performance generic falcon/commodores and were turned over every x amount of years anyway.

Isn't all this because the government f*cked up the sugar industry so now they are trying to get out of it by finding a use for the sugar cane or some shit to make the ethanol?

hopefully they won't get away with not having to disclose or label the fuel that has ethanol in it like they are trying to.

Edited September 23, 2005 by «Cyph3r»

[GTRgeoff]

I have no issue with ethanol. Bring on a decent octane rating I say.

Most are concerned that filters/lines will perish, same as with the toulene scare, and the oil companies lose a cut. Burn you bastards......BURN!!!

A full conversion will allow 80% mixes with high octane numbers and only costs $250 and as with any time you want more reliable power, you get a proper tune.

[raz0r$harP.UK]

Taken from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries website (www.autoindustries.com.au):

"Oxygen content of ethanol is 34.7%. This can cause the engine to run lean although the Engine Control Unit (ECU) can generally compensate via feedback from the O2 sensor under light throttle conditions. However, hesitation or flat-spots during acceleration can occur due to this lean-out effect..."

Also, it states on that same website that Nissan does not endorse ethanol-blended petrol use in their vehicles produced before 2004 due to possible drivability concerns and/or material compatibility issues.

I haven't used any ethanol blends in my car yet, so I can't attest to it..

[babyskyline]

i would love to se some real tests and proof caried out showing that it wont harm our older engines in anyway. till then i wont be willingly putting any ethanol mixes into my baby, but it is most likely we wont know if the fuel has ethanol in it or not. bastards!!!!

[The Dan]

Ethanol won't harm your engine in any way if no more than a 20% blend is used. Seeing as though it's only 10%, you have nothing to worry about. I think a commowhore is more likely to melt down before a pure racing machine like an RB engine. Have more faith in your Nissan.

Also, there is no substitute for proper tuning.

So when DR DRIFT comes back to brisbane, it would be best to invest in the remap as it is far superior to ANY aftermarket options.

[R33S2]

Thats all well and good but the blends Ive seen at the pumps are 94ron (at the same price as 94ron????) and Ive been told to use 98 and nothing less so it makes no difference, Does it?

[Del Sol]

Adding ethanol will make the motor run lean unless the fuel maps are adjusted. The only reason 10% mixtures are ok is because of the saftey margin buit into the factory fuel maps. The higher the ethanol content, the leaner it will run.

The other problem I see is that the ethanol is boosting the octane rating. So instead of obtaining a high octane through a good refining process, they can take cheap low octane fuel and just add some ethanol...

[Mr-Toy33]

So who is already running the ethanol in their fuel mixture and how's the car performing so far?

Anyone tried it yet?

[Bobjones]

Aren't they currently running a 1920's car on almost 100% ethonal...and required the jets on the carby changed and some timing and its running sweet...

Bad comparison I know...but would like to see how it would go in a performance car for the same distance.

Also ethanol has a higher burn temp, resulting in increased wear on items such as valves, vale guides and rings. Not to mention heat pressures on oil and other associated compenents lubricated by the oil...a factor that not many consider...

And anyone knows, you could piss in the tank of a Falcon (and I would wish too) and it will keep going...

[The Dan]

I am running a 15% mix of Toluene and have had now probs. I am running on the border of lean out (210rwkw on standard injectors) and it doesn't ping or run lean. At $1/lt it's bloody good value. You just have to be cautious of the carcenogenic properties. I say bring on the Ethanol, they aren't going to blend it with Ultimate anyway so it doesn't really matter. By the end of this year I think the new fuel laws come in which require all refineries to start producing 100ron fuel. Things should be better after that, only question is....at what cost?

[Col-GTSX]

If it hits $2 a litre i reckon you will see more people on the news blowing them selves up blending home made fuels with their stills..... LOL

I meet a guy the other day you produces his own liquor from a still and reckons 10 litres of 80 proof to a tank give him extra power and an extra 100 km's per tank... I just nodded and said "yes"......

[Spook's_Skyline]

i dont like the sound of ethanol

i wont be putting it in my car anytime soon

[BookyVL]

I have been reading a bit about this and found that ethonol actually has more octane level than regular unleaded. Burns cleaner, sincing it is an alcohol, helping/cleaning engine.

There are some places over in Europe that have either been using 50% ethanol and a few places have been using 90ish%. All with no problems, apparently slight power decrease but that is (apparently not noticable).

Have a read of this article:

http://autorepair.about.com/cs/generalinfo/a/aa102100a.htm

[BookyVL]

Ethanol also has a lower burning temperature as its Alchohol. Thats why drag racers user alchohol based fuels because they burn at a lower temp, thus saving the valves from extreme temps...

Edited September 28, 2005 by BookyVL

[R33S2]

For Nissan vehicles manufactured prior to 1 January 2004, Nissan Australia does not recommend the use of E10 because of drivability concerns and/or material compatibility issues.

[The Dan]

Ethanol in high concentrations is not good for regular engines because it burns drier. It has a more damaging effect on your seals apparently.

Same effects as methanol. You have to run special equipment to use methanol so I would assume you would also need the same equipment to run high concentrations of ethanol.

[dezzabye123]

they have been selling a 10% ethanol blend in qld for a while now called e10 and they have had no probs with it..

100 octane by end of yr.. i think u mean clean fuels... different story they just want less sulfur and benzine in fuel...

[85URK]

Hmmm, well just think about when you pour sum say metholated spirits on a bench and light it, what happens it dissappears to nothing, where as todays fuels have oil in them so u guess that would somewhat lubricate the engine in the burning process sumhow. but also in todays fuels they add detergents to help with lubrication.

Edited September 28, 2005 by 85URK