Why is Ethanol such a polarizing topic?

[gone-ot]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Regarding efficiency, running pure ethanol into a compression-ignited (Diesel cycle) engine will overcome the 30% consumption increasement (in volume) from a spark-ignited engine.

Are there commercially built diesel engines running on E100 ethanol down there?

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

Are there commercially built diesel engines running on E100 ethanol down there?

There were few ones factory-designed to run on ethanol during the 80s, mostly for farm machinery and trucks, and nowadays Mercedes-Benz and Scania offer them, mostly for buses. But it's not so unusual to find trucks from other brands also using ethanol without any adaptation while using a mechanical injection (only some lube added to protect the injection pump and tips) or just an ECM reflashing when fitted with EFI, mostly in the areas surrounded by sugarcane plantations and mills.

[Frank Lee]

What do they use for lube and in what proportion?

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

What do they use for lube and in what proportion?

There were some experiences with sulphur added to the ethanol, but were unsucessful. Up to 5% vegetable-based oil for 2-stroke kart engines usually has the better result, but some used additives specially developed for ethanol that might be not available back there in America.

[gone-ot]

Sounds a lot like the 'old' SAAB 2-stoke engines which used oil-in-the-gasoline (ha,ha)! Both my Dad and my sister had such vehicles (years, years ago).

[roosterk0031]

E45 blend with the Cobalt, not all my typical driving, wife driving 200 miles AC on, me driving with her 40 mile at 75 AC on. 35.8 indicated, 36.2 calculated, per energy content 36.9. Filled with E0 right back to 45 mpg on normal driving.

(Edit: the first 70 miles of the E45 that was my normal driving car indicated 37.0)

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

Sounds a lot like the 'old' SAAB 2-stoke engines which used oil-in-the-gasoline (ha,ha)! Both my Dad and my sister had such vehicles (years, years ago).

Sure, but in a 4-stroke Diesel running on ethanol it's just a supplementary lube for the injection pump. If you would try to run it without the regular oil in the crank you'd ruin the engine.

Regarding 2-stroke spark-ignited engines, I like them too. They're also great to use with ethanol because it decreases the carbon build-up arond the spark plug electrode comparing to gasoline.

[Allch Chcar]

I'm running E20(~22%) Ethanol again. MPG is within .33 of the baseline tank of Regular. It's hard to beat that consistency. This next fillup will be my 5th tank splash blending E85.

[rmay635703]

15-33% ethanol on my 01 insight runs within the margin of error for fuel economy. Maybe its lower but it appears temperature outside affects economy more than the ethanol content. If I hit the "right" mix the car runs with less herky jerky and is much more smooth.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

If I hit the "right" mix the car runs with less herky jerky and is much more smooth.

In higher-compression engines, ethanol can eventually enhance the mileage. My mom has a Brazilian-made Chevrolet Celta (basically a rebodied Opel Corsa B) with the 1.0L VHC engine, which compression ratio is 13:1, and it knocks like hell when the ethanol content in the Brazilian gasoline is lower than 25%. Back here ethanol blends in gasoline are mandatory, around 20-25% depending on the sugarcane harvest, the regulator stocks at National Petroleum Agency and other factors. It's the cheapest octane booster back here...