At 11:19 AM 5/1/06, Bullwinkle wrote:
>....
>Not without a jet and needle change. And then ....
Before you get too excited about switching to alcohol fuel, keep in
mind that alcohol has about one half the energy content of gasoline,
so you neeed to use twice as much of it for the same power production
and travel distance. When 90/10 gasohol gives 5% less fuel economy
you might not notice. But when 85/15 fuel gives 42.5% less economy,
and you need 74% more of it, you will notice. Your 27 mpg MG would
suddenly be getting 15.5 mpg running on E85. A 15 mpg sport utility
might go down to about 8.6 mpg on E85..
If a substantial portion of motor fuel use was switched to E85 it
would recuce the world demand for oil, somewhat. If successful this
might bring the price of gasoline back to $2/gallon in the U.S. Then
you would have to be able to buy alcohol for $1/gallon at a time when
there would be increasing demand for it. Good luck there.
A wholesale switch to E85 in North America has to have a greater
cause than the price of fuel. Reduction of reliance on foreign
supply of oil may be a driving factor. Increase of total world fuel
supply could help a little. Reduction of polution would likely be
near nil, as modern cars are phenominally clean already, and you
would be burning twice as much alcohol as gasoline for the amount you
are substituting.
>However I read that most of todays cars can run 30% ethanol without
>problems. ....
>....
>For example, if you put in 7 gallons of REGULAR (NOT Gasahol)
>unleaded and 3 gallons of E85, you would be just under a 30% alcohol
>mix, probably a 28-29% mix. Anyone want to work out a mix formula?
Starting with straight gasoline and E85, a mix of 647/353 will yield
30% alcohol content.
Starting with 10% gasohol and E85, a mix of 733/267 will yield 30%
alcohol content.
It's a ratio, so put the decimal point wherever you like.
If you use large quantities of alcohol to fuel your MG, let us know
how quickly the cylinder walls and piston rings wear out from reduced
lubrication.
Barney Gaylord
1958 MGA with an attitude
http://MGAguru.com
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