Oh so sorry my friend, but these are by no means happy days. If we were going to get true 95 octane gasoline, yes, it would be marvelous. Unfortunately this requires some reading between the lines. The octane isn't going to come from better fuel; its going to come from adding more ethanol to it. We have enough trouble with E10. E15 is disastrous when run in older vehicles. Ethanol is touted as a panacea by people who know nothing about engines or chemistry. Why?
Simple, its not as toxic as tetraethyl lead or MTBE. There aren't the concerns about environmental pollution from fuel storage. Then there's the corn lobby who keeps lining politicians pockets to convince them we need more food in our fuel.
Here's the financial problem, ethanol production doesn't work economically; it only works because the government subsidizes it. Translation: we pay less at the pump, but more in taxes. I've also seen several studies that clearly show that making a gallon of ethanol start to finish requires the use of a gallon of gasoline. Wow, that's a real winner isn't it? A gallon of fuel for a gallon of liquor. More on why that's dumb in a minute.
Then there's the chemical problem. Ethanol burns cleaner than gasoline, and it is almost entirely resistant to detonation, BUT its a far worse fuel because it contains much less chemical energy than gasoline. About 20% less to be precise, which is why fuel economy seemed to stagnate, or even decline once we all started being forced to run E10. Ethanol generates far less heat, as its combustion temperature is much lower than gasoline. So in too great a concentration a vehicle's radiator becomes too big and over cools, meaning no heat in the winter, etc. At low enough ambient temperature you can't even get the stuff to ignite. Ever see the guys squirt something into the bug catcher to get a dragster to fire up? Its gasoline, and they use it because methanol, like ethanol, doesn't want to start burning once outside temps drop.
Finally, ethanol is hygroscopic. It absorbs water from the environment. That leads to corrosion in the fuel system, and at times water contamination. This isn't a huge deal on a vehicle driven frequently, but a collector vehicle that sits for sometimes months at a time is prone to damage from it. I've seen it literally ruin carbs. A lot of small engine, snowmobile, and outboard engine manufacturers have disclaimers that using fuel containing ethanol in their products will void the warranty.
I've already seen the inroads in some states. I was in MD during the holidays and noticed four grades of gasoline at the pump. Curious I read the fine print, and yep, the new one had 15% ethanol in it. My own idiot state has been in talks for up to 20% for several years now. A lot of us rail against it, but in the end what's going to happen if they enact it? I'm not moving, and even if I was willing to how long does that buy me? This is something that's happening whether we want it to or not. I don't know how we turn it back; we probably can't. If you wanted to get all conspiracy theory on it you could argue that they actually know EXACTLY what they're doing and this if forced obsolescence for older vehicles they deem unfit for a cleaner, greener future.
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Hornman wrote:
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