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Originally Posted by thefirebuilds
1. ethanol is harsher on rubber gas lines.
2. Ethanol is more prone to explosive issues
3. some groups are claiming e85 takes more to farm and convert in diesel then it actually produces. I find this unlikely, but can anyone offer some real evidence one way or the other?
E85 vehicles mitigate these issues with different gas lines (poly?) and fuel pumps with spark arrestors built in. In order to take full advantage of e85 based fuel the vehicles engine should have sufficient compression.
That said, i think the likliehood of a catastrophic failure is ultimately very low, and I suspect engine performance would drop off so significantly to most folks they wouldn't ever push this high of a ratio in. Most fuels in my neck of the woods have a high (15% or less) amount of ethanol in the regular petroleum anyway.
A couple additions, on the pro side. I have heard that ethanol "burns cleaner" and will leave less carbon deposit in the engine, any truth?
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1. methanol is very corrosive on rubber and steel, though anecdotal evidence shows most "high pressure fuel lines" produced today have sufficient linings to resist wear from Ethanol.
2. I havent heard this, though it may be related to the evaporative quality of alcohol over gasoline.
3. using corn stock, when E85 first came around, it was very expensive because the process was not thoroughly designed. The use of grasses and sugar cane, woodstock, and other sources, along with an increase of production capacity, can allow for costs to drop if demand would stay up(read as gas staying in the 3.50+ range).
Straight E85 should require roughly 30% more fuel than gasoline under equivolent rpm/load conditions. So for the crazies on this site(said with love, I promise) who never take their engine load over 50%, usually have enough capacity in their stock fuel system to run the car, even if it is running slightly lean at times. FYI: most OBD2 computers have a 20-30% range of +/- fuel compensation that is automatically adjusted without setting a fault code. Considering a 50/50 mixture may only require 15% more fuel under light load conditions, then it makes sense that some people will be able to mix without severe problems. The fact is those people probably arent looking at fuel trims and watching the fuel mixture under heavier load conditions.
To be a vehicle manufacturer that has to warranty vehicles that are capable of running any mixture you want, there really is thousands of dollars in modifications that should be done to make sure some dick with lawyer doesnt sue them when problems arise. As an end user who doesnt expect a car to run WOT in -15*F and idle smoothly in 115*F arizona desert, then we can live with the limitations of a system that kind of works. FYI: thats what all these fly by night rip off artists are selling without telling you. Yes they can make your car run on E85, but it doesnt run right in all conditions at all times, like is expected from the average joe.