Most of us have probably heard at one time or another that Ethanol is not good for your car. Quite a few of the gasoline producers put ethanol in their fuel in as high a concentration as 10%. Does anyone know for a fact if this stuff will harm our old carbureted engines? We've had Sunoco 94 octane available here for quite some time bit I've been afraid to use it due to the Ethanol content.
Keith For aircraft the rap is concern over adverse effects on certain types hoses and the fact it carries less energy per volume than regular avgas thus limiting the range of flight. Jim Lore
The biggest concern for the use of oxigenated fuels is that the alcohol is a great cleaner.. So, if your tank has some residue/corrosion in it, the alcohol will clean it right out, and deposit it in your fuel filter. I had a '76 Chev Pickup... with a stg 1 455 in it:TU: , that I used to use for towing the race car around, and back in the early 90's, when Ethanol was first introduced into gasoline, Iowa was, for obivious reasons, a big place to get it... I would regularly race at a track down there, and I could set my watch by the time it took to clean the tanks and lines of that old rig out, and deposit it in the carb fuel filter. There was a long hill on the way home, and the truck would always run out of fuel going up that hill... It got to the point that I would stop in a rest stop, after I got back into MN, and had used up all the "corn fuel" and just change the fuel filter... and it was always on it's way to being plugged up. On the newer truck I have now, this is no longer an issue, as it does not have the crap in the tanks to clean out. So, to answer your question, I would say that it would be best to avoid the stuff if you can, and if you do end up running it, keep and eye on your fuel system filters. I have seen no problem with seals drying up, and anything else I can directly relate to the alcohol, besides this one issue. JW
alcohol fules alcohol (ethanol) can raise havoc with rubber & neoprene . it rots these products . in tye near future, gasoline companies will be mandated to blend at least 10% ethanol into these fuels . by the way, how do u think sunoco is able to produce 94 octane gas ? they add alcohol ! cheap way to up the octane rating . gerry 72 gs 350 #s
