[DeTomaso] E85 Octane

[Adin, David]

Thanks, and all pretty much the case . . . 

The only thing is, "we" grow corn.  "We" don't grow oil.

Just something to consider in case I live tooooo long.

David

-----Original Message-----
From: MikeLDrew at aol.com [mailto:MikeLDrew at aol.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2006 12:57 PM
To: Adin, David; detomaso at realbig.com
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] E85 Octane


In a message dated 6/7/06 11:19:22, DavidAdin at mercydurango.org writes:

<< This article claimed:

E85 pollutes less;

E85 costs less;

E85 has lest energy per gallon

And E85 has a higher octane rating. >>

>>>The Big Lie behind ethanol-based fuels lies in the fact that there is

considerably less energy per gallon, an inherent quality to the fuel.

When they say it 'pollutes less', what they mean is that for a given
volume 
of E85 vs. gasoline, the E85 emits less pollution.  And when they say
that it 
'costs less', similarly, for a given volume of E85 vs. gasoline, the E85
costs 
less.

BUT.

Since you have to burn MORE E85 to travel a certain distance at a
certain 
speed, these gains are wiped out.  You burn more of a fuel that puts out
less 
pollution, but the net result is about the same amount of pollution out
the 
tailpipe by the time you reach your destination.  And you burn more of a
fuel that 
costs less by volume, but the net result is that you have spent at least
as 
much money (and usually more).

Ethanol has been used in the corn-producing states for many years,
usually at 
about the 10% level.  The first time I drove across the USA, in 1987, I
was 
shocked to see how badly our fuel economy was affected once we started
using 
the corn-fed gas.  I had similar results when crossing the country on a 
motorcycle.

I have read that due to the higher octane content, a car tuned
specifically 
to run on E85 is actually capable of generating more power, because you
can run 
much more ignition advance; this is basically the same idea behind using
race 
gas (your car won't make any more power on race gas unless you advance
the 
timing).

Mike