Ethanol/gas and emissions | FerrariChat

Ethanol/gas and emissions

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by Enzojr, Jan 18, 2014.

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  1. Enzojr

    Enzojr F1 World Champ

    Dec 12, 2013
    14,001
    West of PDX
    Full Name:
    Tomy
    In Oregon we have gas with a 10% ethanol mix. I think it is pretty much year round at this point, considering a 355 and from past experience with older cars 95 thru 2000 the check engine light has come on and the vehicle runs rough. After changing oxygen sensors per the DEQ dept of environmental quality, they the dealer said the cat was bad ........ So I put one bottle of Sta-bil Ethanol Gas Treatment in the gas tank. One bottle for 25 gallons, it was a Toyota and had a 12 gallon tank, filled the tank and within 50 miles of driving the check engine light went out and the car ran smooth.
    So question is good/bad idea to add Sta-bil Ethanol gas treatment to a 355 when filling her up.
    Soon to be a new 355 owner so help, thoughts, or your experience would help here.
    Thanks
     
  2. GTS Bruce

    GTS Bruce Formula Junior

    Oct 10, 2012
    804
    Orchard Park NY
    Full Name:
    Bruce Roche
    Look up pure-gas.org . List of ethanol free stations. Many marinas have no ethanol gas. Several places with 91 no ethanol in my area. I add a couple of gallons 100 octane 9% ethanol at the same pump to bring it up a c couple of points. Lots of stations listed in Oregon. Call to confirm.
     
  3. Crowndog

    Crowndog F1 Veteran

    Jul 16, 2011
    7,042
    Fairfield,Pa
    Full Name:
    Robert
    This is an interesting read and covers the topic pretty well. From an antique car forum:

    Re: Sta-Bil Ethanol Treatment
    If your Canadian "high test" has no alcohol, that might be an option, but as ethanol is an octane booster, it not being in there might not be completely true.

    The "ethanol problem" which most additives as Sta-Bil will generaly make less of a problem would be the "phase separation" of the gasoline when it's stored for extended periods of time (as in the vehicle's fuel tank). Sta-Bil is supposed to extend the useable life of the fuel, preventing phase separation for up to about a year. It'll delay it, but not completely prevent it. There's a "blue" Sta-Bil for marine use, or where higher humidity levels are prevalent. Lucas Oils also has a "green" additive. Conklin also has an anti-ethanol fuel additive.

    Not all areas of the USA have ethanol in the gasoline. Some due to local/regional environmental issues, must have it or something different. If you Google "Mobil Ethanol Map USA", or something similar, it'll probably bring up a link to a USA map with all areas of "specialized fuels" highlighted for 2011. But, ethanol'd fuels can still be sold where they aren't required to be sold. Some states have gas pump markings requirements as to the amount of ethanol in the fuel as others do not.

    There's also a website which is a "Wiki" listing of sorts for gas stations which sell non-ethanol fuel. There are some discrepancies, though.

    Also check out the Fuel Test Kits website for a massive amount of ethanol-in-fuel and alcohol-in-fuel system-additives.

    There is a procedure to "wash" the ethanol out of the gasoline, as in add water to the fuel to encourage phase separation, then siphon off the top level of the remaining gasoline. It'll be a few points lower in octane rating, but that should not matter in the more vintage, lower compression ratio engines. It would be nicer to not have to do that, though.

    Ethanol has been in fuel blends since the first "reformulated gasoline" of the 1990s. The federally-mandated level was about 5.67% back then. MTBE made up the remainder of the 10% of oxygenates. All rubber products for vehicles have been re-compounded to work with these newer alcohol-laced fuels since about 1992. One reason to NOT purchase any fuel system rubber parts which are NOS, unless they will be used purely for show purposes.

    In a recent issue of "High Performance Pontiac", there are two articles. One is on the composition of the newer fuels and the other is how to make older Pontiacs (in this case, 1960s hot rods) to run on the newer fuels. Some good information in there, especially on optimum fuel/air ratios for the various amounts of ethanol in the gasoline. This can be helpful in up-sizing the carburetor jets for the newer E10 fuels, and especially for the proposed E15 fuels.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  4. ZINGARA 250GTL

    ZINGARA 250GTL F1 World Champ
    Owner

    Jun 21, 2002
    17,499
    PA
    Full Name:
    Ken
    Thankfully we have two stations convenient to us. Pure 93 is all I use in the 575 and our T-Bird.
     
  5. ferrarisun

    ferrarisun Formula Junior

    Feb 13, 2011
    960
    As many car magazines and garage service publications have mentioned, ethanol is the worst garbage ever put in a combustion motor. Extremely harsh on carburetor gaskets and rubber hoses. It's develops as much as 30 percent less horse power as the "good" old gasoline used to, costing American's billion's more in fuel costs, due to the reduced mileage from it. It goes bad so much quicker, with the water and gas separating in the tank. Bought a new Honda generator a couple of years ago. Talking to the owner of the Honda shop, he said," if your going to let the generator sit for more than 2-3 months, turn the unit up side down, and dump the garbage out". As some poster's have mentioned, if you have stations in your area with ethanol free gas, that is the best choice.
     

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