Topic: High Test ?

[BobbyR]

What does e85 do to our engines? 
I can foresee it being a nice idea when gas gets as expensive in the US as it is everywhere else *right now* 

This is a bit more specific answer to your question:

E-85 ethanol is used in engines modified to accept higher concentrations of ethanol. Such flexible-fuel vehicles (FFV) are designed to run on any mixture of gasoline or ethanol with up to 85% ethanol by volume. There are a few major differences between FFVs and non-FFVs. One is the elimination of bare magnesium, aluminum, and rubber parts in the fuel system. Another is that fuel pumps must be capable of operating with electrically conductive ethanol instead of non-conducting dielectric gasoline fuel. Fuel injection control systems have a wider range of pulse widths to injection approximately 40% more fuel. Stainless steel fuel lines, sometimes lined with plastic, and stainless steel fuel tanks in place of terne fuel tanks are used. In some cases, FFVs use acid-neutralizing motor oil. For vehicles with fuel-tank mounted fuel pumps, additional differences to prevent arcing, as well as flame arrestors positioned in the tank's fill pipe, are also sometimes used.

Depending on composition and source, E85 has an octane rating of 100 - 105[4] compared to regular gasoline's typical rating of 87 - 93. This allows it to be used in higher compression engines which tend to produce more power per unit of displacement than their gasoline counterparts. Since the reciprocating mass of the engine increases in proportion to the displacement of the engine E85 has a higher potential efficiency for an engine of equal power. One complication is that use of gasoline in an engine with a high enough compression ratio to use E85 efficiently would likely result in catastrophic failure due to engine detonation, as the octane rating of gasoline is not high enough to withstand the greater compression ratios in use in an engine specifically designed to run on E85. Use of E85 in an engine designed specifically for gasoline would result in a loss of the potential efficiency that it is possible to gain with this fuel. Using E85 in a gasoline engine has the drawback of achieving lower fuel economy as more fuel is needed per unit air (stoichiometric fuel ratio) to run the engine in comparison with gasoline. E85 also has a lower heating value (units of energy per unit mass) than gasoline leading to a reduction in power output in a gasoline engine. E85 consumes more fuel in flex fuel type vehicles when the vehicle uses the same fuel/air mixture and compression for both E85 and gasoline because of its lower stoichiometric fuel ratio and lower heating value. European car maker Saab currently produces a flex fuel version of their 9-5 sedan which consumes the same amount of fuel whether running e85 or gasoline[5], though it is not available in the United States. So in order to save money at the pump with current flex fuel vehicles available in the United States the price of E85 must be much lower than gasoline. Currently E85 is about 5-10% less expensive in most areas.[6] More than 20 fueling stations across the Midwest are selling E85 25%-40% cheaper than gasoline.[7] E85 also gets less MPG, at least in flex fuel vehicles. In one test, a Chevy Tahoe flex-fuel vehicle averaged 18 MPG [U.S. gallons] for gasoline, and 13 MPG for E85, or 28% fewer MPG than gasoline. In that test, the cost of gas averaged $3.42, while the cost for E85 averaged $3.09, or 90% the cost of gasoline.

[sparty]

I am running high octane fuel - V-Power.  But my local Shell station is going to do away with it because they say I am the only one buying it.  I will still be able to get 94 ocatne so now when I make the switch, which oil should I use?

Sparty

[TwoTired]

I will still be able to get 94 ocatne so now when I make the switch, which oil should I use?

Sparty

Try the Eat-It-Raw-Body-Oil or The Hot Motion Lotion.
http://www.uniqueoils.com/Eat-It-Raw-Body-Oil-p/a-803.htm
http://www.tabutoys.com/product/Edible_Massage_Oils/Hot_Motion_Lotion_Passion_Fruit_4_oz_

Depends on how fast you want to come and go.   

[Frankenkit]

'grease' works well, too.

[Sam Green Racing]

I am running high octane fuel - V-Power.  But my local Shell station is going to do away with it because they say I am the only one buying it.  I will still be able to get 94 ocatne so now when I make the switch, which oil should I use?

Sparty

V power is 99 in the UK. 2 post back, Gordon recons that's 93 in the US

Sam.

[Gordon]

V power is 99 in the UK. 2 post back, Gordon recons that's 93 in the US

Sam.

Why the  ""  That 93 is based on how the Pump Octane Number (which is what's used in the US) is derived.

[Sam Green Racing]

I wasn't having a go at you Gordon.

 Sparty said his gas station was withdrawing V power from the pumps but he could still get 94 octane.

When I said the higest we could get in the UK was 99,  that was V power.

If like you say, 99 UK equates to 93 US, then V power in the US isn't as high as the 94 octane crap

Sam.

[Terry in Australia]

I am running high octane fuel - V-Power.  But my local Shell station is going to do away with it because they say I am the only one buying it.  I will still be able to get 94 ocatne so now when I make the switch, which oil should I use?

Sparty

What rating is V Power in the US Art? Here in Oz it's 98, and we also have V Power Racing which is 100. Cheers, Terry.

[Terry in Australia]

The highest we can get in the UK is 99(RON), not sure how it compares with rateing in other countries.

Sam.

Try Opium Sammy!

[sparty]

I am running high octane fuel - V-Power.  But my local Shell station is going to do away with it because they say I am the only one buying it.  I will still be able to get 94 ocatne so now when I make the switch, which oil should I use?

Sparty

What rating is V Power in the US Art? Here in Oz it's 98, and we also have V Power Racing which is 100. Cheers, Terry.

The V-Power I get is 98 octane.

[Terry in Australia]

I am running high octane fuel - V-Power.  But my local Shell station is going to do away with it because they say I am the only one buying it.  I will still be able to get 94 ocatne so now when I make the switch, which oil should I use?

Sparty

What rating is V Power in the US Art? Here in Oz it's 98, and we also have V Power Racing which is 100. Cheers, Terry.

The V-Power I get is 98 octane.

Well that's what I thought. Strange........... 

[BobbyR]

Ok here is an explanation. Nothing is ever simple.

The most common type of octane rating worldwide is the Research Octane Number (RON). RON is determined by running the fuel in a test engine with a variable compression ratio under controlled conditions, and comparing these results with those for mixtures of iso-octane and n-heptane.

There is another type of octane rating, called Motor Octane Number (MON) or the aviation lean octane rating, which is a better measure of how the fuel behaves when under load. MON testing uses a similar test engine to that used in RON testing, but with a preheated fuel mixture, a higher engine speed, and variable ignition timing to further stress the fuel's knock resistance. Depending on the composition of the fuel, the MON of a modern gasoline will be about 8 to 10 points lower than the RON. Normally fuel specifications require both a minimum RON and a minimum MON.

In most countries (including all of Europe and Australia) the "headline" octane that would be shown on the pump is the RON, but in the United States, Canada and some other countries the headline number is the average of the RON and the MON, sometimes called the Anti-Knock Index (AKI), Road Octane Number (RdON), Pump Octane Number (PON), or (R+M)/2. Because of the 8 to 10 point difference noted above, this means that the octane in the United States will be about 4 to 5 points lower than the same fuel elsewhere: 87 octane fuel, the "regular" gasoline in the US and Canada, would be 91-92 in Europe. However most European pumps deliver 95 (RON) as "regular", equivalent to 90-91 US (R+M)/2, and even deliver 98 (RON) or 100 (RON).

[TwoTired]

From:
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=34103.msg352981#msg352981

..."the industry changed the rating system and pump labeling (as well as removing the lead) so as to further confuse the buying public.
It worked.  And, they've made many extra million$ from a confused public buying more expensive gas than they needed."

It's just another service the oil companies and governments offer in collusion...

Their motto- rapinae emptor!