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the ethanol doesn't burn the same as gas, so it does rob you of some hp and mpg or k/ml or whatever you metric boys have.
for an extreme example look up a comparison of e85 versus gas. Thats kind of what the 10% is.. but will give you information on the difference.
The newer "Flex-fuel" cars (including some Chevys) are supposed to be able to run on ethanol. Not the Aveo, though.Quote:
Originally Posted by petrified.rabbit
i think my wife's van can run it, but the loses that you get running it seems to outweigh the price,
plus i have issues with using food as fuel when not everyone has enough to eat.
more or less raising food cost around the world (corn)
i wish the goverment would just stick with what they have and improve on it, why spend billions on new tech when other countries will not ever make a attempt at such things
Increasing ethanol production is all about reducing dependence on foreign oil sources. Its really not a bad idea. However, the current way of making it with corn is pretty inefficient. But, cellulosic ethanol production is just starting to get going. It is a much more efficient production process and will drop ethanol prices. Using this method you can use almost any biomass to make ethanol... Just think, in towns they could collect your grass clippings and leaves in the fall to make gas for your car. IMO thats just awesome.
Ethanol itself as a fuel is actually pretty nice as it has some diesel like properties which allow high compression ratios to be used. If engines were designed for ethanol it could be a great fuel. However, we only have these flex fuel engines which make design compromises to run on both gas and ethanol.
The decision to use corn is mainly fed (no pun intended) by the farming lobby - making ethanol out of corn is extremely inefficient. Brazil is having far more success using sugar cane as a source for their ethanol. There are other sources for biofuel in moderate climates (rapeseed comes to mind). With higher efficiency the price goes down, and less farming land is taken away from food production.Quote:
Originally Posted by thehunterooo
It is available but I don't trust EBAY you don't know where they been I only buy New never used or Remanufactured. Rock Auto is a site I use the most.
Yes it is. Read your Owners manual. it says never put gas that contains 10% Ethanol.Quote:
Originally Posted by reddemonx92
Yes they do but probably around my area Every Shell gas station I go to has EVERY FUEL HERE CONTAINS ATLEAST 10% ETHANOL.Quote:
Originally Posted by Monzaveo
In good economic times, "dependency" is scoffed at by the powers that be as being irrelevant. We (meaning North Americans) buy foreign oil in the market, because it is cheaper than having to produce our own - and besides, there is no point in depleting our own resources when it is readily available commodity on an open global market. It is actually prudent to keep our oil in reserve for the future. We are not truly dependent on foreign oil - unless foreign nations suddenly refuse to sell it to us.Quote:
Originally Posted by Daox
However, in bad economic times, things change. Everything costs more. People and nations become anxiety ridden and are no longer inclined to trade openly. Once lack of trust arises, things like boycotts, embargoes and wars ensue.
Much of our fresh produce in the US today is now imported, and no longer locally grown. Frankly, our not being able to produce our own produce (due to most arable farmland having been turned into residential building lots) concerns me more than where we buy oil.
If you control the supply of food and the supply of fuel, you control everything.
P.S. We might be better off turning our distilled ethanol into booze and trading it for oil. No one can drink oil or gasoline but people worldwide can and do drink alcohol - which means it's more universally marketable as a commodity. :mrgreen: