Can E15 Gasoline Really Damage Your Engine

[LTC8K6]

Putting E15 in will probably end your warranty if the manual says 10% is the most allowed. It doesn't matter after that. If the dealer finds out you have 15% ethanol in the tank, they will use that to their advantage.

 

[Vette73]

Putting E15 in will probably end your warranty if the manual says 10% is the most allowed. It doesn't matter after that. If the dealer finds out you have 15% ethanol in the tank, they will use that to their advantage.

Thats ONLY if they can show the E15 is what caused the issue they are trying to deny.

They can't say your water pump went out and you have e15 in your tank, to bad.


But I hope e15 dies; Hell I hope e10 dies.

 

[LTC8K6]

E15 could be given as the cause for a variety of problems, though. Fuel pump, injectors, engine, etc. Any sort of idling or driveability problem could be blamed on it.

Not to mention what they could get past owners who don't have a clue.

Heck, there's even an evap system that pulls fuel tank vapors in through the intake system and past a few sensors.

 

[BUTCH1]

It really only affects old equipment of which I have a 30 yr old motorcycle and boat which I make sure to drain in the off seasons. I don't worry about it in my newer cars AT ALL, AT ALL, AT ALL!

Well it's good you drain them but ethanol naturally scavenges water and also could cause major carb problems even if you do drain it. Click on the link and read the article from PM, kinda of an eye-opener..

 

[RiDE]

http://pure-gas.org/

I was looking for a site just like this but cut my search short after remembering that I live in California. :hmm:

 

[RiDE]

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=37&page=1

its in that subsection, sort by replies, TCW3 or w/e and MMO threads which have high post count talk about these things in the fuel to lube the fuel pump and shit.

Interesting...

 

[Ronstang]

Wait, so our government is going to further dilute the BTU content of gasoline decreasing gas mileage at the same time they are forcing auto makers to meet higher mileage standards?

Our government is either run by idiots, evil people, or both.

 

[LTC8K6]

The EPA knows it will do damage. Here is their own label, which originally said 2007 or newer.

 

[LTC8K6]

More ethanol usually means more problems starting in the cold.

 

[Zivic]

More ethanol usually means more problems starting in the cold.

not at those levels.

my car ran E70 over the winter and never had an issue starting in MN

 

[Eli]

not at those levels.

my car ran E70 over the winter and never had an issue starting in MN

Yeah. In fact, it's common to add a little bit of gasoline to pure alcohol to facilitate starting.

This shouldn't realistically ever be a problem, even with E85.

 

[LTC8K6]

not at those levels.

my car ran E70 over the winter and never had an issue starting in MN

Yes, the more ethanol you have, the more trouble you can have starting in the cold. E70 is the perfect example.

They actually switch to E70 from E85 in cold weather areas, because of starting problems.

 

[Eli]

Yes, the more ethanol you have, the more trouble you can have starting in the cold. E70 is the perfect example.

They actually switch to E70 from E85 in cold weather areas, because of starting problems.

Interesting. Wasn't aware that they did that.

 

[LTC8K6]

From wiki:

The 85% limit in the ethanol content was set to reduce ethanol emissions at low temperatures and to avoid cold starting problems during cold weather, at temperatures lower than 11 °C (52 °F).[77] A further reduction in the ethanol content is used during the winter in regions where temperatures fall below 0 °C (32 °F)[78] and this blend is called Winter E85, as the fuel is still sold under the E85 label. A winter blend of E70 is mandated in some regions in the US,[75][79] while Sweden mandates E75.[76][80]

 

[Bartman39]

Eli, Saw you had posted this...

The reason for the reduced upper cylinder lubrication isn't because gasoline has lubricating properties, it's because the oil gets washed off the cylinder walls by the alcohol.

Yes I should have elaborated just a bit in my post about the change from using lead as the lube in the cylinder to the change in design of the piston ring and how the bore is honed... Chrome rings were designed to hold the oil from the crankcase on the cylinder walls and the somewhat special honing is to seat them correctly so they do this... The older steel rings of years ago used the lead in gas to do this but if you use steel rings in an engine with unleaded fuel they will rapidly wear out and so will the cylinder wall as will the valves sink in older non-hardened seat heads...

LTC8K6... Interesting info... Kinda like how they change from B20 or even B50 (20-50% biodiesel) to at the most B5 (5%) in the winter and thats even down here... Most norther states just go straight diesel and blend it for lower temp gel properties... Biodiesel cleans they fuel system real good and will make a diesel engine alot quieter too but it can be a real pain when it gels...:thumbsdown:

 

[Zivic]

Yes, the more ethanol you have, the more trouble you can have starting in the cold. E70 is the perfect example.

They actually switch to E70 from E85 in cold weather areas, because of starting problems.

yes, even on 6-1, the e85 was still testing at 74% at my local station. with my setup, I need to be aware of what is going in, so I have installed an ECA (ethanol content analyzer) that displays the ethanol %. On a standard flex fuel car, they have the same sensor and the ECU changes the fuel maps. On my car, I have to manually change the maps (basically flip a switch)

Ethanol the way it currently is being marketed and produced is a joke. The consumer is getting ripped off every time we fill up.

For people like me running E85 in a boosted car, it is great. Gov't subsidized race fuel. I am getting over a 100 more HP with E85 over standard premium gas. beyond that, the way things currently car with ethanol, it really is a joke for anyone else

 

[GregGreen]

anyone seen any analysis of the ethanol production cost? I really hate this corn industry bullshit.

THIS^^^

I can't remember how many gallons of water are used to make a gallon of E85 but it was substantially more than used to make E0 :/

 

[ShawnD1]

X2, corn prices have been high since all that shit started and with the energy required to harvest and produce the ethanol the net energy savings are none..

It's not to save energy. It's to say "--------" to the middle east. Instead of using their oil, you use US coal and US nuclear power to refine US corn into US ethanol.

Sometimes it takes billions of dollars to give someone the finger.

You can say "give someone the finger" but dont say it literally...

AT Moderator
Bartman39

 

[Rifter]

I only run pure gas in my daily driver vehicle. Though it is old and carburated.

Unfortunalty this means i need to either buy Chevron 94 octane or Shell 91 Octane as they are the only pure gas options left in my province with all this ethanol bullshit being required nowdays.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I'm kind of wondering how this affects motorcycle engines...Ducati says to only use 95 octane in my bike but 91 is the premium grade at the pump here.

 

[LTC8K6]

I'm kind of wondering how this affects motorcycle engines...Ducati says to only use 95 octane in my bike but 91 is the premium grade at the pump here. Fuck me...

Probably 95RON which is about 90 octane here in the states, I think.

 

[Ronstang]

Probably 95RON which is about 90 octane here in the states, I think.

My dad worked for Shell for 34 years and according to him the spread between MON (motor octane number) and RON (research octane number) is usually around 10 points. The number listed on the pump is the average of this number so he said when a manufacturer lists a RON requirement simply subtract 5 to see what comes closest at the pump.

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

I hope my 1995 Z28 is unaffected. Ive gotta make it last through college.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Probably 95RON which is about 90 octane here in the states, I think.

Yeah, it wouldn't really make sense to sell a bike here that couldn't run on pump gas...especially when it has a 3.5 gallon tank. I have been running premium in it and I have about 700 miles on it already with no problems. Just had the 600 mile service done on Saturday in fact.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

i'm afraid E15 will destroy both my car and motorcycle - and they are 2010 and 2009 models, respectively. bother owner's manuals say that anything above E10 will damage the engines.

wtf is the EPA thinking?

They're not thinking. They want to push policies and regulations that will make everything more expensive for us. We see what engineering can do now. We have big v8's making 400+ hp and getting 25-30mpg. Smaller engines are getting 2x that. Now the requirements have changed and you're forcing the mfgers to abanded what they are doing and start all over.

This is a push to help someones corn growing buddies out. There are much better alternatives. Sugar beets, sugar cane, switch grass, ect. Corn is the absolutely worst plant to use for bio-fuel.I admit, it's cool tech to make fuel from plants, but unless we can net more enregy from the fuel we create than we put in, it's pointless. We also need to differentiate farms based on food and fuel. Ethenol is the cause of most of the food costs increases.