ethanol is not that bad
08-11-2011, 03:23 PM
#1
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
ethanol is not that bad
being extremely picky when it comes to my cars, i always made sure to fill up with ethanol-free gasoline. specially for my turbo 135i and RDX. however i learned the other day that my neghbour is running E85 ethanol instead of gas in his mitsubishi evo!! of course his vehicle is moded and tuned for this type of fuel but still running a turbo car on ethanol?! what's more is that on a dyno test he puts down 300hp to the wheels with e85 fuel 
what's your experience with ethanol? do you think ethanol is bad for forced induction engines? this makes me want to get the discounted 10% ethanol petro-canada 91 (shell v-power is ethanol free here). on the other hand i feel as though it will hurt performance.
what's your experience with ethanol? do you think ethanol is bad for forced induction engines? this makes me want to get the discounted 10% ethanol petro-canada 91 (shell v-power is ethanol free here). on the other hand i feel as though it will hurt performance.
08-11-2011, 04:30 PM
#2
Ethanol has less energy than gasoline. You will likely get slightly less power and slightly worse fuel mileage. But you may not notice. Other than that, there's nothing wrong with E10 fuels with turbos.
08-12-2011, 12:53 AM
#3
Safety Car
Evo dudes run the Reese Tuning E85 ethanol mod for power. They drink the stuff. I'm not sure how many fuel system parts Reese replaces.
The guv-ment's E15 is coming. Put more than 10% ethanol into the RDX at your own peril.
The guv-ment's E15 is coming. Put more than 10% ethanol into the RDX at your own peril.
08-12-2011, 10:11 AM
#4
2008 Acura RDX
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Thats a load of ****** about the peril!
E10 works great in the RDX! As usual it all depends on the octane of the fuel that you buy!
Tuners use ethanol blend fuels because of the high octane-resistance to knock, and the fact that it runs cooler too; not to mention its way way cheaper!
E10 works great in the RDX! As usual it all depends on the octane of the fuel that you buy!
Tuners use ethanol blend fuels because of the high octane-resistance to knock, and the fact that it runs cooler too; not to mention its way way cheaper!
08-12-2011, 02:14 PM
#6
Senior Moderator
My TL gets 91 with 0 % ethanol where my RDX gets 91 with up to 10% ethanol.
Right now the RDX is on shell 91 no ethanol with a bottle of redline sl-1 gotta check the mpg read out to see if it's better.
Right now the RDX is on shell 91 no ethanol with a bottle of redline sl-1 gotta check the mpg read out to see if it's better.
08-12-2011, 05:02 PM
#7
Safety Car
wspy,
Step 1, Read
Step 2, Compose a response
We all know E10 is approved for the RDX (good luck finding non-ethanol nowadays).
I said put MORE THAN 10% ethanol into the RDX at your own peril. That is a reference to the soon coming E15, which is not approved by most major manufactureres for non Flex-fuel vehicles.
ps. Just kidding about drinking the E85. It goes in your Evo. (Yes, I'm jealous.)
Step 1, Read
Step 2, Compose a response
We all know E10 is approved for the RDX (good luck finding non-ethanol nowadays).
I said put MORE THAN 10% ethanol into the RDX at your own peril. That is a reference to the soon coming E15, which is not approved by most major manufactureres for non Flex-fuel vehicles.
ps. Just kidding about drinking the E85. It goes in your Evo. (Yes, I'm jealous.)
Last edited by XLR8R; 08-12-2011 at 05:09 PM.
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08-12-2011, 05:32 PM
#8
I have a friend with an Evo X running E85. He has a bigger turbo and supporting mods and made 450 to the wheels after the tune.
Yes, it has increased knock resistance and with a tune you can make quite a bit more power for very little money.
But it's not without its downsides. As mentioned earlier, ethanol has less energy content than gasoline. To keep up with the additional, required fuel delivery (read: energy supply) you will have to upgrade your fuel pump and injectors. On 91 octane he was averaging about 18 mpg.... on E85 he gets around 13. E85 once was much cheaper than 91, but the gap has closed and he spends about the same amount on gas, but with decreased range per tank, of course.
My friend runs a somewhat prototypical "double pumper" setup on his car... basically two fuel pumps, the 2nd one was fabricated onto the existing module.
This is what his fuel strainers looked like after about a year and a half:
The rubber hoses in his fuel tank which are submerged in ethanol are slowly degrading. And yes, they are fuel injection-specificed hoses. E85 is great, but it's not without it's downsides.
Yes, it has increased knock resistance and with a tune you can make quite a bit more power for very little money.
But it's not without its downsides. As mentioned earlier, ethanol has less energy content than gasoline. To keep up with the additional, required fuel delivery (read: energy supply) you will have to upgrade your fuel pump and injectors. On 91 octane he was averaging about 18 mpg.... on E85 he gets around 13. E85 once was much cheaper than 91, but the gap has closed and he spends about the same amount on gas, but with decreased range per tank, of course.
My friend runs a somewhat prototypical "double pumper" setup on his car... basically two fuel pumps, the 2nd one was fabricated onto the existing module.
This is what his fuel strainers looked like after about a year and a half:
The rubber hoses in his fuel tank which are submerged in ethanol are slowly degrading. And yes, they are fuel injection-specificed hoses. E85 is great, but it's not without it's downsides.
08-12-2011, 06:09 PM
#9
Should be OK with cars manufactured after 2006/7. I would not put E85 in an E46 M3.
08-12-2011, 08:50 PM
#10
2008 Acura RDX
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Jamaica W.I.
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wspy,
Step 1, Read
Step 2, Compose a response
We all know E10 is approved for the RDX (good luck finding non-ethanol nowadays).
I said put MORE THAN 10% ethanol into the RDX at your own peril. That is a reference to the soon coming E15, which is not approved by most major manufactureres for non Flex-fuel vehicles.
ps. Just kidding about drinking the E85. It goes in your Evo. (Yes, I'm jealous.)
Step 1, Read
Step 2, Compose a response
We all know E10 is approved for the RDX (good luck finding non-ethanol nowadays).
I said put MORE THAN 10% ethanol into the RDX at your own peril. That is a reference to the soon coming E15, which is not approved by most major manufactureres for non Flex-fuel vehicles.
ps. Just kidding about drinking the E85. It goes in your Evo. (Yes, I'm jealous.)
Step 2 response > My bad...I can't read
...........That being said I realy don't think the extra 5% will cause any problems 
08-13-2011, 01:37 PM
#11
Follow the money
The feds are pushing for 15+% ethanol. ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) is the leader in domestic ethanol production. The company posted record earnings last year (despite our poor economy). Ethanol is subsidized by the U.S. government, just like sugar (which ADM also processes).
08-13-2011, 06:24 PM
#12
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
serious no ethanol free gas in the US? well i guess for canada too only shell v-power is ethanol free. anyway i noticed no difference in fuel economy with hondata reflash and e10.
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Mr Marco (08-30-2011)
08-30-2011, 10:02 AM
#14
mrgold35
We usually run 10% ethanol in the winter months in ABQ, NM (Nov-Mar). I've notice my average mpgs for the TSX and RDX drop about 10% during that time (60% hwy driving @70-75 mph for both vehicles).
RDX w/ hondata:
Summer combined: 20.5 average mpg
Winter combined: 18.5 average mpg
TSX:
Summer combined: 27.5 average mpg
Winter combined: 24.5 average mpg
RDX w/ hondata:
Summer combined: 20.5 average mpg
Winter combined: 18.5 average mpg
TSX:
Summer combined: 27.5 average mpg
Winter combined: 24.5 average mpg
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