Is there an additive to neutralize ethanol ?

Note: this is for a better driving experience not for storing the car.

I'm on FL NW coast - so there are some gas stations that cater to marine users that sell pure gasoline.  Unfortunately, nearest Bucees is 2 hrs away.  I've only seen the stabilizer to keep the ethanol from separating from the gasoline.  Years ago, I read that subsidizing corn growers to product for ethanol increases gas cost by 50 cents per gallon.  I'm sure it's even more now - plus impact on feeding cattle/pig and the liquor industry!  I'd like to see real gas make a come back!

I am not certain , but isn't that what Sea Foam is used for, so the Ethanol doesn't breakdown the rubber hoses and such.

There are about a dozen or more on the market.  I don't use anything because we have Rec90 and non-ethanol 92/93 available all the time, but I have clients who report using Lucas Ethanol treatment.

I have run 93 octane Sunoco Ultra for 15 years and 45,000 miles in my Spyder. This is 10% ethanol. I only use a treatment(Stabil Marine) for winter storage. My 2165cc engine has 10.2:1 compression, so that octane is needed.

I have never had a problem, except once. The one problem was when I washed the engine, rinsing a little too aggressively without covering the carburetors with bags. This resulted in the dreaded white goo in the float bowls. Once cleaned out it was OK.

Use either spring clamps or EFI hose clamps. Use ethanol-rated hose. Filter right after the tank and before the pump. Another filter after the pump is what I do but some don't. DO NOT use the plastic strainer/sock on the tank spigot. If you use one, use the brass one that is now available.

If you USE your car and the gas doesn't sit forever, there shouldn't be any problems.

In my BMW R100, I use 91 octane non-ethanol. That thing sits, it really doesn't get much use. That motor is not high strung at all, it could use 87 octane.

@WOLFGANG posted:

I'm on FL NW coast - so there are some gas stations that cater to marine users that sell pure gasoline.  Unfortunately, nearest Bucees is 2 hrs away.  I've only seen the stabilizer to keep the ethanol from separating from the gasoline.  Years ago, I read that subsidizing corn growers to product for ethanol increases gas cost by 50 cents per gallon.  I'm sure it's even more now - plus impact on feeding cattle/pig and the liquor industry!  I'd like to see real gas make a come back!

Well, then.

To open, a bushel of corn is trading at about $6 on the Chicago BoT. One bushel of corn will make 2 cases of Bourbon. The cost of liquor has nothing to do with the price of the corn mash used to make it. Zero. If your Jim Beam costs too much, perhaps you should take it up with the government - the taxes on distilled spirits are pretty aggressive.

Y'all remember the thread on leaded gasoline Michael McKelvey put up a couple of weeks ago? The one with the 5000 word article written in early 2000 about "ethyl" lead as an octane booster, and it's horrible effects on the environment and (more importantly) people?

If you don't remember, or skipped over it - I'd encourage you to click the blue fonts. They're links to these respective tomes.

! Spoiler alert ! - lead was, is and will always be really, really, really bad for human beings!

Full stop.

Jump back! Who knew?

Turns out, the Greeks did (a few thousand years ago) - but GM and DuPont convinced a lot of car-guys (me included) for a lot of years that atomizing lead and coating the earth with it might not be so terribly bad for us. It was one of the most idiotic things we did in the 20th century, and one of the best con-jobs anybody's ever run. There are (obviously) still guys buying it.

Read the entire article, which was written prior to Ethanol being given preferential treatment as an oxygenator and octane booster, then get back to me about "the good 'ol daze".

I know Wolfgang (Greg) has a pea under his mattress about ethanol that he'll never be OK with until it's gone - but perhaps it'd be better for the rest of us to take a look at this rationally. I'm as suspicious of government overreach as anybody here, but I understand that in order for the ICE to continue in use, the fuel is going to need to burn as cleanly as possible and engines are going to need to run as optimally as possible. We can do a lot worse than E10.

E10 gas burns cleaner and cooler, it's an oxygenator, and allows the use of higher compression ratios (all else being equal). I understand that there's less energy in a gallon of ethanol than in gasoline, but it IS a fuel, and it does have some beneifts (along with some problems). But among all of the possible replacements for lead, it was far and away the best option. Yes, it supports (raises) corn prices, which is a good thing given that we're the Saudi Arabia of corn production in this country. It's renewable, meaning it's pretty close to impossible to run out of.

Consider the alternatives.

I've long said, and continue to say, that E10 is available everywhere, and E-free gas is not. That alone is reason enough to stop navel-gazing about "the good ol daze" when we were spewing lead into the atmosphere. Gas with MTBE may be even worse for us. Regardless, saying "I'll only burn E-free gas" means that you'll never go anywhere or do anything with your car. It's like driving a BEV - you're tethered to your favorite gas station, never able to roam more than a hundred miles in any direction.

E10 is not "better" than E-free, but in a car with EFI - I'll bet you lunch that without instrumentation, you'll never notice any difference.

If you tune for E10 in an air-cooled, carbureted car, the "issues" are just something you deal with. You can run higher compression, and I do. It runs cooler, which is nice. Yeah, E10 gas likes to eat rubber bits, and I've had problems with Dellorto floats being eaten by it, but I run no additives at all in my fuel. I burn 93 from any name-brand station and add a bit of Sta-Bil at the end of the season. I rebuild the carbs every 5 years or so. It is what it is. There are some pretty smart guys building very high compression T1s to burn E85. I haven't for the same reason I'm not adamant about E-free gas - E85 has availability even more limited than E-free gas.

Where I AM adamant about E-free gas is in small engines - Stihl leaf-blowers, chainsaws, tillers, etc. and in lawn mowers/compactors/etc. Chinese Honda OHV clones will run on anything, because their jets are not optimized for any emission regs anywhere. But name-brand stuff (Stihl, Honda, Kohler, etc.) all need the best gas you can feed them. I get E-free 93 and add Sta-Bil to all of it. It's cheaper than the $25/gal cans from the outdoor power equipment store.

Regardless, @zdouga asked about additives for E10, which I think is an excellent question. I use Sta-Bil at the end of the season, when I remember, but mostly I don't worry about it until I see something I don't like happening inside the carbs. Lotsa guys swear by Seafoam, but anything I'm supposed to add to the fuel, the oil in the sump, and use as a laxative, aphrodisiac, and food seasoning seems a bit suspect to me. I'd be more of a Lucas Oil man if the founding of the company read a bit less like the Book of Mormon.

So, to get back to it, surely in the age of Bob the Oil Guy and like websites devoted to Holy Wars over motor oil, there's a booming subculture of fuel additive aficionados. I'd like to hear from them, or at least link to their favorite arguments.

Just FYI, as a point of period correctness: The first Porsche Spyders ran on pure ethanol.

I have a few imaginary internet friends that have supercharged American cars adapted go run on E85.  It’s easy if you have some ECU programming application. I suppose you could get carbs to work on it, too. But I don’t know if it would help if it wasn’t forced induction.  

Thanks guys - great info !

Z

When my car will sit for a week or more between drives , which is the case for many of us, I add an ounce of Marine StaBil with every tank of 93 octane . If I was on a trip using multiple tanks of gas , I just gas and go.  I have used Sea Foam or StaBil for storage with no ill effects.

I honestly can't swear that anything works ,but it's cheap insurance.  If we can afford to own one of these, we can afford to use the best gas and oil available.

Yes, I just added fuel stabilizer to two lawnmowers, two garden tractors, and my speedster.

One guess as to which of these I prefer using...

I too use the Marine Stabil when I can't get ethanol free gas.  In my city ethnol free is widely available but almost never available on road trips so in that case I use one ounce of Marine Stabil  for each 8 gallons.   The Marine Stabil is more concentrated than the regular (red label) Stabil so I like to be able to carry and use less.  Never an iissue in over 12 years with my Raby Type IV.  i also use a container of Seafoam maybe 4X a year ---I believe it keeps my jets clean and have never had any clogged jets.  I guess the Stabil does the same for jets but we don't skimp when it comes to our Speedsters/Spyders, do we?

Drove 60 miles yesterday in 20 degree temps---loving that Espar heater!  Toasty.