View Single Post
Old 10-09-2013, 12:21 AM   #201 (permalink)
Allch Chcar
EtOH
 
Allch Chcar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: North Coast, California
Posts: 429

Cordelia - '15 Mazda Mazda3 i Sport
90 day: 37.83 mpg (US)
Thanks: 72
Thanked 35 Times in 26 Posts
Aluminum alloy needs to be anodized or it will corrode. Corrosion weakens the exposed metal structure. Under normal fuel system pressure this could result in pitting of the surface. Fuel rails in MPFI configurations are typically anodized Aluminum. Which is after the fuel filter, BTW. So this could lead to foreign particles clogging the fuel injectors. I believe this is more of a concern on older vehicles.

Technically, any Gasoline cars and trucks post mid to late 80's is going to be "safe" for Ethanol. The slight difference in corrosion between E10 and E85 is a long term concern. The biggest issue is EFI programming and fuel compensation limitations. Early EFI used narrow band Lambda sensors, aka Oxygen sensors. Even some early OBDII compliant stuff didn't have the wide band Lambda Sensors. Newer CAN bus systems use wide band Lambda sensors than can compensate for Air to Fuel mixtures beyond Stoichiometric. This means the ECU can compensate for a wider range of engine conditions and operation. Plus non-FFVs often have a smaller window of adjustability for fueling.

__________________
-Allch Chcar

  Reply With Quote