Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by nscoal [quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by older than dirt Humor me for a minute, OK, if I'm already burning 93 octane gas in my Mustang, I'd suppose going to E-85 should give me quite a horsepower jump, shouldn't it, since it's 103 octane? I get between 21-22 mpg. Would that go down, or stay the same? Would I have to re-re-program my chip too? I don't know much about E-85, and I haven't come across any to try, but from what you guys have said tonight I'd like to try a tank full. If I've gotten too far off topic, I'm sorry, just tell me so, but this is the first really good discussion I've read about different fuels like this. I think this is interesting, 'specially coming from railfans' perspectives! Also, one thing that hasn't been mentioned...Nothing smells better than about 20 sprint cars on a humid Saturday night belching out methanol exhaust! mike [/quote] At the risk of oversimplifyng, you will only see a horsepower gain from a higher octane fuel if you raise the compression ratio of the engine to take advantage of it. The sprint cars you speak of have very high compression ratios (14:1 or so). Your mustang is around 9:1, if it is stock. The UP is a business, if I were a stockholder I would expect sound business decisions, not charity. Besides, they have lots of work hauling asian made goods to Wal-Mart. My apology for getting off topic. [/quote] He's right about raising the compression ratio to take advantage of burning higher octane. But, to burn E-85 as I said before requires a flex-fuel vehicle or to have your vehicle (re)programmed to burn the E-85. It takes more ethanol to create the same energy as regular gasoline, which is the reason for the mileage drop because you're using more fuel. So in turn, burning straight E-85 in your car which is programmed to burn regular fuel will deliver the same amount of fuel regardless of the type. With E-85 your mustang will run lean (not enough fuel), which will cause it to run like crap and might lead to bigger problems with your engine. I understand all it is is a simple computer chip that determines what kind of fuel you have in a flex-fuel vehicle, something about how it senses the level of alcohol in the fuel. It's a shame that not EVERY vehicle produced on the planet isn't equipped as such.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag