Originally posted by krazy kris
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That is the theory.
The amount of ethanol in the fuel is the "E" rating... as in E15 is 15% alcohol and E85 is 85% alcohol.
The EPA requires that ALL gas stations in counties with a certain air quality or worse must only sell gasoline containing a minimum of 15% ethanol.
The actual science is that adding ethanol to the gas makes it burn slower, colder and reduces octane.
Alcohol (Ethanol in this case) is also extremely hygroscopic - meaning it readily absorbs water from the air. That water absorbs into the gas and causes such wonderful stuff as rust and scale in metal gas tanks and in metal fuel lines.
NO major car manufacturer actually endorses ethanol in gasoline.
As a matter of fact, almost all European and Japanese manufacturers have actually written protest letters to the EPA, documenting the damage that ethanol does to their cars and showing that oxygenated fuels lower engine efficiency, raise emissions and cause more pollution than they cure.
Adding alcohol to fuel destroys the rubber seals of the fuel tank, fuel injectors and even engine gaskets. Alcohol easily dissolves motor oil, which means that oxygenated fuels remove the protective residual oil coating on cylinder walls when the engine is running.
Simply running E15 fuel will add approximately $5000 to the average cost of ownership of any car on the road today (that is based on a 10 year average life expectancy.)
A few, like Ford and GM have "flex fuel" vehicles which have fuel systems designed to handle the corrosive nature of ethanol.
The latest studies show that adding ethanol to fuel reduces the expected life of the engine by an average of 60K miles for E15 and over 100K for E85.
Aint our government wonderful!!!
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