A Gearhead Thread

[R_Head]

Ethanol does not makes your car run hotter. Does not have the same BTUs that Gasoline does, however it has a Higher Octane Rating, it hovers around 115. How is that possible that Higher Octane more power?

Let me shed some light on that...

Octane is associated with power but that does not mean that is more powerful. Octane is the tolerance of a combustible chemical to tolerate autoignition under pressure. All Gasoline has +/- the same BTUs and that is what gives its power. JP4 (aka Kerosene) Aircraft Jet Fuel has higher BTUs but also has Lower Octanes about 65 or so. Diesel in another hand, it has way too many Octanes that is measure in Cetane value.

Now, if you add Ethanol to the fuel it increase the Octane ratio without Tetraethyl Lead that is poison to Catalytic Converters that are made of Palladium and Platinum. So if you car has an Anti-Knock sensor it will adjust the the timing and fuel delivery. Older cars like late 80s and some on the early 90s did not had them and if is not running like it should it will run hotter or no power. If your car is poorly maintained you will see also the problem of using a different blend of fuel.

When the Fuel Truck arrives to the service station, it has the same Fuel in its tanks, the driver adds the need it additives to increase the Ocatne Rating to the fuel. So it can be sold at higher prices. Imagine that you get 3 bottles of milk from the same cow, on each bottle you add 1 Tablespoon of Chocolate, on the next 2 and the last 3 so which one taste more chocolate? Now, what it the nutritional value of all 3?

I have been using 10% Ethanol and I get a better gas mileage without any knocking.

Ethanol and Methanol has been used in Auto Racing and Aircraft Fuel Additives for years.

The reason why Methanol is not used much is due to its corrosive nature.

You are not getting cheated by using Ethanol. In Brazil a lot of cars uses 100% Ethanol and runs just fine. Is also a Biodegradable fuel and pollute less since has less Carbon than Gasoline. You can produce Ethanol from any Sugars, there is no need to be aged on a Oak barrel and also does not need to taste good either. Regular Booze has water on it, 100% Ethanol is Moonshine or Everclear (98%) and that is nasty.

The only drawback is production, can not produce fast enough to meet demand and is hygroscopic.

Ethanol is a renewable fuel that can be deliver safely, use the existent fuel system infrastructure and cars require a smaller amount of modification (cheaper) to make it run.


As far the world is dying... the world is not dying, we are. If the environment gets really jacked up that we can no longer support human life and perish, the world will go on and purge itself until achieve its balance again.

I am very optimistic, we are going to prevail.

[dedanna1029]

Read again - I said the ocean is dying.

[R_Head]

Read again, so do we.

Anyway, is a Gearhead thread and the topic of the Ocean Dying is not what is about. Was bought up as an exploration of alternatives to find a suitable source of energy for a vehicle.

By the way, did they found a suitable vehicle for Ellen Cleghorne?

[dedanna1029]

Right. I get the topic of this thread. I was responding to a post you made.

[rolf]

A pretty car/truck, nice motor, but, taking lifestyle and cash flow into account, I need a more practical work horse:

I had to buy this S10, before adding rack and shell, in a hurry, when my good ol' Datsun got wrecked beyond practical repair by a competitor:

At one time, Datsun/Nissan ran a commercial that featured this '64 L320 (shiny, red), spinning in the center of the screen, their first import to USA, which they touted as the first personal truck. It was rated 1 ton, which I occasionally carried, after having the rear leafs re-arced and a couple leafs added each side. I put a lot of work into this little oddity, including replacing the stock 60-horse 1200 cc E1 with the 1300cc J13, then the 2L NAP-Z20 lower end with L20 head that just barely shoe-horned into the tiny engine compartment, after taking the fan out (replaced with a Honda electric pusher outside the radiator) and trimming the gutter on the firewall. That turned out to have about 10.1:1 compression ratio, which pinged, until I disconnected vacuum advance and ran Premium. It was pretty zippy, with '79 200 SX 5-speed and 5.13:1 rear-end. I got a call from a stranger who noted being left in the dust off the stop line. In the process of modifying this work truck, I found these guys in Salem, OR, who did amazing things with the older Datsuns, including dual turbos on a V6 that I was eyeballing/dreaming about, until I ciphered the steering column would run through it on the left side.

The S10 is popular with customizers but I don't have the time/energy. With only a stock 2.8L V6 and 5-speed in this '93, it does a pretty good job of terrorizing the sporty fast lane hogs (gangway, Viking60 ), pushing a 1/2-ton base load around town. There are dreams associated with this vehicle, such as 350 c.i. V8 conversion, but dreams often remain just dreams.

[R_Head]

You can get a 3.4 L, is the same 2.8 but is bored out and stroked. So it should fit just nicely.

The 3.8 L is a completely different engine.

The 4.3L is a 350 Mouse Motor with Cylinders 3 and 4 removed.

On the S10 you can put the 4.3L but is a very tight fit without no many mods.

[alannmoris]

Almost all Europeans are driving Diesel these day's and the the black smoke is years ago. They all have mandatory filters.And I think you are right about the roads and the handling.