bentonh (02/15/83)
A comment on Tim Lange's report that Premium Unleaded
is spiked with Ethanol... (net.cycle)
I've heard (tho' always second or third hand) that alcohol
can ruin rubber parts in fuel-injected engines, and so I've
steered clear of gasohol. If they're selling alcohol and not
telling everyone in foot-tall letters, and if it is ruining
injectors, they must be liable for quite a bit of engine damage.
Tho' if no one knows, they can't very well blame their gas brand.
Can anyone verify (first hand?) damage to injectors from
alcohol? Also, late model engines have been designed for
un-leaded gas, but older engines built to run leaded still need
to run leaded regularly (tho' not exclusively) to maintain
valve lubrication, right? I know this has all been beat around
a lot, I just want to hear it in so many words from someone
who's had to replace their injectors.
For what its worth, Union '76 'Super' leaded premium
(92 RON, claimed) is going for $129.9 (one-twenty-nine-point-nine)
in Portland, Oregon. Who else (national brands) sells 92 octane?
Does anyone claim 93? (Without going to aviation grade, or
octane boosters.)
Benton Holzwarth
...tektronix!tekid!bentonh
...teklabs!/amyh (02/17/83)
A comment on the query looking for 92 or 93 octane leaded premiums... The octane required by any engine varies with altitude (air density). As an example, our '80 Ford Courier (2.3 l engine) needed at least 89 octane to run satisfactorally near sea level in Seattle, but ran well on 85 octane (same brand/different brand - makes no difference) at 4600 feet in Montana. So ... looking for 92+ octane is not the whole answer. Amy Heidner John Fluke Mfg. Everett, WA devax!microsoft!fluke!amyh
donch (02/24/83)
Regarding gasohol and fuel injectors. One of the local (Portland, OR) technical officers of the local BMWACA club attended a BMW service talk given by a Bosch rep. Bosch is responsible for most fuel injector systems available today. The rep said Bosch fuel injectors of all kinds are ruined by gasohol. Fuel flow through the orifice of an injector is extremely carefully calibrated in the manufacturing process. Gasohol and water have been demonstrated time and again to slightly erode the metal parts in the orifice, causing uncalibrated fuel flow, and in Bosch's opinion, ruining the injector. Water is another killer, not only for diesels, but for gasoline injection systems as well. He recommended one of the old in-line settling bowl type water separators. The stock filters on Bosch systems can be overwhelmed by water, apparently. He also said that if you go into a gas station for a fillup and see a tanker truck unloading gas, do NOT buy any gas there. The act of filling the underground tanks stirs up the inevitable glop, water, and sediment for at least 24 hours. This will very happily deposit itself in your fuel system, most likely where it will do no good. Food for thought. . . Don Chitwood Teklabs, Tektronix, Inc.