NON ETHANOL FUEL QUESTION

[djb750]

Wish we could get 87 non ethanol
, only non ethanol up here is high octane 91

same here. and it's the same price at the 93 octane premium. oh well.
One nice thing where I fuel up - it's a relatively new station, huge lot, and on all the pumps on that side of the lot have non-ethanol.

[Russ661]

Borrowed from Car and Driver magazine
” A higher octane rating indicates greater resistance to knock, the early combustion of the fuel-air mixture that causes cylinder pressure to spike. When higher-octane fuel is flowing through its injectors, the engine controller can take advantage of the elevated knock threshold and dial in more aggressive timing…”

The above was obviously meant to apply to computer controlled fuel injected engines utilizing knock sensors but some of it still applies to high compression carbureted engines. The additives put into the base stock gasoline are what raises the octane number of the fuel but they do not change the energy content.
Now some thoughts concerning the addition of ethanol to gasoline. Apart from the politics involved, the reason for the addition was to reduce the temperature of the exhaust gases which reduces the amount of pollutants in the exhaust stream. The down side is that ethanol is a form of alcohol that attacks certain rubber components in older fuel systems and attracts moisture that is in the air. That moisture can and will separate from the gasoline and cause corrosion of metal parts of the fuel system not to mention that if the concentration of water in the fuel gets high enough it will make your engine run like crap. Ethanol free gasoline takes away all the bad things that ethanol can cause in our marine fuel systems. Using ethanol blend gasoline in late model engines and fuel systems that are designed for it is perfectly fine but to avoid the absorption of moisture from the air into your fuel you should try to keep your tanks topped off as much as possible. Also, whether you use ethanol free or an ethanol blend gasoline you should always use a fuel with the correct octane rating as specified for your particular engine.

[Slicefixer]

Borrowed from Car and Driver magazine
” A higher octane rating indicates greater resistance to knock, the early combustion of the fuel-air mixture that causes cylinder pressure to spike. When higher-octane fuel is flowing through its injectors, the engine controller can take advantage of the elevated knock threshold and dial in more aggressive timing…”

The above was obviously meant to apply to computer controlled fuel injected engines utilizing knock sensors but some of it still applies to high compression carbureted engines. The additives put into the base stock gasoline are what raises the octane number of the fuel but they do not change the energy content.
Now some thoughts concerning the addition of ethanol to gasoline. Apart from the politics involved, the reason for the addition was to reduce the temperature of the exhaust gases which reduces the amount of pollutants in the exhaust stream. The down side is that ethanol is a form of alcohol that attacks certain rubber components in older fuel systems and attracts moisture that is in the air. That moisture can and will separate from the gasoline and cause corrosion of metal parts of the fuel system not to mention that if the concentration of water in the fuel gets high enough it will make your engine run like crap. Ethanol free gasoline takes away all the bad things that ethanol can cause in our marine fuel systems. Using ethanol blend gasoline in late model engines and fuel systems that are designed for it is perfectly fine but to avoid the absorption of moisture from the air into your fuel you should try to keep your tanks topped off as much as possible. Also, whether you use ethanol free or an ethanol blend gasoline you should always use a fuel with the correct octane rating as specified for your particular engine.

Mr Russ, do you have any idea what year/years the transformation was complete? Meaning the internal components of our engines were resistant to ethanol degradation.

[Russ661]

I’m sorry but I do not but I am sure someone here will have that information.

[DewRonInc]

I can say, I only run 93 octane non ethanol in nearly everything. I have service vehicles that I run ethanol fuel, 10 % in, 89 octane, I have zero issues with lawnmowers, weed eaters, blowers, 4 wheelers boat etc….wife’s car says 87, compression says premium. Her car will downshift going up hills with regular. No downshifting with 93