Thursday, September 29, 2005 - 11:27 am, by: Adam Brown(82ajb)
Okay. I'm a big believer in alternate energy sources. I also believe that using ethanol in vehicles is almost inevitable. However, i am sceptical of ethanol, not knowing the side effects yet. So lets start the debate... Are there any soarer owners running 10%ethanol fuels in their vehicles? Particularly TT owners. By adding 10% ethanol to ULP, it increases the octane rating to "up to 98ron". For the same price of ULP, this is pretty good if you ask me, however i don't want to destroy my engine, so i don't use it as yet. Questions, thoughts, comments.
Thursday, September 29, 2005 - 12:43 pm, by: Cihan Aday(Cihan)
Most people argue that the use of ethanol in our fuels is good for Aussie sugar cane farmers. But the amount of energy going towards producing ethanol from sugar cane outweighs the amount of energy we can extract from it using a combustion engine. Its a negative investment, a costly one at that. I read an article about the whole fuel situation, it exposed what a waste of time ethanol was. The idea at the moment is to show people its okay to use ethanol blends, sure it costs the government because production is still limited, but who cares right.. its an sacrifice the governments willing to make. At the same time, the amount of tax we pay per litre of real petrol goes up. The untaxed cost of petrol remains steady, but government taxs go up.
Contraversy.. I think so.
Anyway, speaking as a die hard Soarer fan; Our cars were made to run on Petrol. Fill the god damn thing with Petrol. Its a Soarer, not a Dihatsu Charade.
Thursday, September 29, 2005 - 01:34 pm, by: Wayne Koh(Teknoboi)
from what ive heard. ethanol comes fmom sugar cane. and when govt decided to compaign for some votes.. they went to qld and showered the idea.. of course sugar cane farmers, the idea of that made farmers interested in generating money.
got this from a website Pros: Ethanol reduces levels of carbon monoxide and other toxic air pollutants. The biomass used for ethanol absorbs carbon dioxide (CO2) when it is grown, so it adds no net CO2 to the atmosphere. It can be used to boost the octane in gasoline to prevent engine knocking, and it increases gasoline's lubricity. It also takes only six months to harvest a substantial crop of fuel. Ethanol is an oxygenate that reduces ground-level ozone. Since ethanol can be produced locally, it has the potential to add to the local economy, particularly in the agricultural sector, and help reduce the importation of oil.
Cons: Depending on the ethanol/gasoline blend, ethanol may raise levels of nitrogen oxides produced as gasoline emissions. Because of its lower energy content relative to gasoline, ethanol also reduces mileage per gallon. Corn-based ethanol production is energy intensive, and in some instances uses nearly as much energy to produce (including the energy needed for farming and making fertilizers) than it supplies, although new technologies are improving the efficiency of production.
if this takes place.... sugar cane farmers will be booming ;)
Thursday, September 29, 2005 - 01:35 pm, by: Michael Sinay(Mikey)
My brother is a mechanic and has seen results of tests with engines run on petrol containing ethanol, and a huge number of parts in the engine and fuel system showed excessive amounts of damage and wear, he couldnt believe the damage it is able to do...
Thursday, September 29, 2005 - 01:47 pm, by: Brenton Shaylor(Gogetter)
Yer thats what ive heard aswell, i think there some fuel regulation over here that if there caught with to much ethanol in there fuel they get fined big bucks as its very bad for engines designed for petrol.
Thursday, September 29, 2005 - 01:49 pm, by: Ryan Rankovic(Ryan1j)
1. the fuel tank. As it's a form of alcohol, ethanol absorbs water. The ethanol mixed in fuel can absorb moisture in the atmosphere and form water droplets, leading to rust/corrosion especially with steel tanks.
2. fuel lines. Ethanol has solvent qualities, and can corrode rubber components as it flows through the fuel lines.
3. fuel injectors, engine seals and gaskets. Ethanol lacks the lubricating properties of straight petroleum, and these parts would need replacing more often than usual, plus the fuel filters naturally.
Thursday, September 29, 2005 - 03:10 pm, by: Graham Dollisson(Alloyvee)
I hear that it is going to be legislated to be mandatory in QLD petrol without it being labeled on the pumps. At the moment it has to be clearly shown on the pumps. What do you think of that!! No choice.
Thursday, September 29, 2005 - 03:24 pm, by: Adam Brown(82ajb)
1. The amount of ethanol in petrol is LIMITED to 10%, at which level, is dilute enough not to cause the sort of damage that Ryan is talking about. 2. Perry makes a good point, which is my slant on it too. Ethanol is actually a by-product of the cane refining process. So rather than dispose of this, we should endeavour to re use this somehow. The energy crisis IS a crisis. We've been wasteful in the past, now we are paying the price. I think we should learn from our mistakes, not cover them up. At present, Ethanol is not a petroleum replacement. An alternative is still necessary. Ethanol will help to ease the pressure on the fuel market, which means we will still have petrol, and be able to drive our beloved soarers for a few more years yet. My 2 cents.
Thursday, September 29, 2005 - 06:33 pm, by: Patrick Chan(Kittz)
I wont even try Ethanol in my Soarer as shown there has been no side effects now but sooner or later there will be, Soarers where built 10 or more years ago and made to take petrol not Ethanol. I am not going to take a chance of ruining my engine to save a few cents. I believe if you cant afford to drive a Soarer then dont drive one. Simple as that.
Thursday, September 29, 2005 - 07:05 pm, by: Perry Morgan(Uzz32)
They sold em in the states tho Patrick. I would be curious what was changed in their engines as they have had ethanol blended fuel for freakin years now and been filling up the L badged soarers on the stuff.
Thursday, September 29, 2005 - 08:18 pm, by: Luke Middleton(Spook)
Ethanol damaging engines is a myth. Like stated, the US has had ethanol in their fuel for years. In fact, I noticed a label on a fuel pump stating "contains ethanol" and that was when I was there well over 10 years ago. SC400's have been in the states for yonks - heard or read of any engine failures?? Better get used to it being around - it's going to become more common - that being the legislated 10%. Brazil and alike use up to 100%. Holden sells export cars for markets that use higher than 10% blends. Admittedly, they are modified before leaving the factory. On a side note...anyone know of the mods they do to the cars for these markets? I'm curious to know.
Thursday, September 29, 2005 - 08:33 pm, by: Dan McColl(Hoon)
I don't know what mods are involved, but I do know a 10 second way to quickly check if there is any ethanol in the fuel you're buying.
Using a tall cylindrical tube, the narrower the better, about 2-3 cm is good, put a small amount of water in the bottom of the tube, approx 10-15%. Mark this level and fill the tube with petrol, nearly to the top. Seal and shake the tube. Let it settle for a couple of seconds and if the level of the water in the bottom of the tube is higher than the mark, this is the amount of Ethanol in the fuel.
This works as fuel is lighter than water, so it floats on the water. As the ethanol (alcohol) mixes with the water the fuel will sit on top of the now water/ethanol mix.
Thursday, September 29, 2005 - 08:42 pm, by: Dan McColl(Hoon)
Yeah, Back in 2000 when we had the avgas contamination saga it was found that the only thing to get rid of the contamination was water. So we filled all the planes up with water and swished them around and drained them, and then filled them with alcohol to absorb the water.
Previous
