- It's time to talk about alcohol.
And I bet that got your attention
if it did, come on dude it's like noon
on a Monday for Christ's sake.
But seriously, let's talk about it.
However, I don't mean this stuff
that's gotten us through the year 2020
and all that sort of good stuff.
So you can go ahead and put down the Busch Latte,
it's gonna be fine all right,
like I said it's Monday or don't
make sure you got one down there too
so I mean I ain't judging and all seriousness,
there is a type of alcohol that we should all be aware of
as car enthusiasts and if you're not,
I just, I don't know what to tell you man.
But ethanol has become a huge part
of the automotive industry and it's something
that for some reason, just like once again,
we just cannot come to an agreement on as a collective.
Some people love it and some people swear
to the internal combustion gods
that is the absolute worst thing
that has ever been produced for our cars,
and that is terrible absolutely awful for our engines.
Which I guess on the bright side of things,
makes it a perfect subject to talk about
on today's episode of Myth or Fact
(car engine revving)
Real quick before we get into that,
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Anyway, since the dawn of time.
Not really, but still since as early as the 15th century,
what we know today as ethanol
has been in some sort of production.
However, instead of being present
in some sort of blended gasoline for vehicles,
they were drinking it.
Bunch of crazy drugs.
Moonshine and the other Ethel alcohols
produced from the distillation of corn
and other things and other ingredients
have been a popular choice of alcohol
for a long, long time.
Who would have thought however,
that a similar process in product
would become the fuel of choice
for some of the first internal combustion engines,
It's actually kind of crazy when you think about it.
It's actually quite an interesting story,
and you need to check that out in one of our
Build Sheet episodes that we did a while back
where we talked all about E85 specifically
and the benefits and all that kind of stuff.
But kinda skipping ahead
and getting the cliff notes version
of the whole history lesson here,
ethanol has been present in our internal combustion engines
since the very beginning.
And by the time the 20th century came around,
the US saw its first ethanol production plant
being built in 1940 by none other
than the US army in Omaha, Nebraska,
to deal with some fuel shortages and all that sort of stuff.
Even though there was ethanol being produced
in large quantities in the factories in the United States,
it wasn't necessarily available for the general public
it was something used for the military
and it definitely wasn't being mixed with our gasoline,
at least not quite yet.
The reason being is that at the time
gasoline wasn't really that expensive,
there was no need for ethanol in gasoline.
The full properties and benefits had yet to be discovered.
Fast forward to today where we have seen dozens
of different amendments, mandates, clean energy acts
and the introduction of of course,
of flex-fuel vehicles,
we are all aware of the ethanol content
that is being mixed into our regular gasoline.
You see it at every pump that you fill up at
that the gasoline will contain
a certain percentage of ethanol.
In fact, there are numbers out there
that show that 97% of the gasoline
that we use right here in the United States
have some sort of percentage of ethanol mixed in
and you might be sitting there asking just why?
Well, the truth is that there is a lot of reasons
as to why ethanol has been added to our gasoline,
a lot of it having to do with the good old politics
and all that sort of fun stuff to do
with the missions and fuel stuff and all that kind of thing.
But the biggest one that we probably care about the most
is that it brings down the overall cost
of filling up our tank.
Ethanol has a high octane rating
and it is cheaper meaning that,
when it is mixed with regular gasoline,
we can keep the same octane ratings
that we know and love, but bring
the overall cost per gallon down.
This all started around the 1980s and 1990s,
but didn't really take off until the two thousands,
which is where all hell really started to break loose
and the argument truly began.
Some people, like I said were all for it
didn't really care it was gasoline,
as long as it made the car go they we're fine.
As long as the gas price stayed down,
they could care less.
And some people on the other hand,
just for lack of a better term lost their.
So let's go and bring it down
in a way that works best for everyone.
Good old fashioned pros and cons list,
because that just makes the most sense.
First up, the pros ethanol is a biofuel.
It is made from corn, it's natural
makes a lot of people happy,
but there is something specific
that people like you and people like me,
can truly appreciate about ethanol
and I mentioned it before, it's that lovely,
lovely octane rating of the fuel.
Fuels like E85 and E30 have become absolutely huge
in the car scene but it has more and more people
switching to some sort of flex-fuel setup
for their builds and all because of that octane rating.
E85 has a 110 octane rating it is in sense, race gas.
Having such a high octane helps prevent
against things that are detrimental to an engine,
especially high-performance engines, such as detonation.
With boosted platforms that allows you to run
a higher amount of boosts more safely not saved,
but it's more safe.
All of course with the correct supporting mode
and a tune and all that sort of good stuff as well,
that part is very important.
I want you to hear that for the love of God,
don't go and put E85 in your dang,
just because Gels told you in a YouTube video
about ethanol, alright?
I don't need that.
Outside of the performance aspect,
it does keep the cost of filling our tanks down,
which is also another plus.
You know, we need fuel for the dailies as well
and I don't know about you guys,
but I ain't putting E85 in my daily.
Now for the cons and really where the argument
of whether or not ethanol is bad
for your engine kinda really starts.
Even though ethanol has had great success
in monitoring cars and performance applications,
the same just can't be said for older cars.
Same goes for older engines and of course,
small engines as well found in chainsaws,
lawnmowers, leaf blowers, whatever it might be.
Ethanol isn't as friendly to the older stuff
it just wasn't designed for it
because ethanol is an alcohol based fuel,
it is a corrosive fuel and it is hard on the rubbers,
plastics and metals found in the fuel systems
of older vehicles and older engines.
Modern vehicles have been adapted for this
that's why certain vehicles say that they can run
a higher content of ethanol flex-fuel vehicles, all that
because they have the materials
that they use for these systems
are designed to handle the corrosiveness of that fuel.
The same is true for small engine applications as well.
If you've ever helped your dad out
with some lawn care at the beginning of spring,
after the snow melts, trying to get
the old push mower started,
it can be an interesting experience
with a few choice words.
If an ethanol mixed gasoline is used in small engines,
it can be hard on them as well.
Ethanol has other tendency to break down
and separate over time when it sits without being used
or mixed around, which is known as phase separation.
This happens when the field sits for a period of time
without being used.
So as you can see, there is at least some reasoning
as to why some people may be a little hard pressed
to get fully on board with ethanol in their gasoline.
But what it comes down to
is that ethanol is just not made
for every application and every engine.
If you're driving something newer than 1990,
odds are, you would never have to worry
about the small amount of ethanol
in your regular 83 gasoline.
And you're going to be just fine.
If E85 or some other blend of high octane fuel
is your choice more power to you.
It's proven time and time again,
to be a fantastic fuel option.
If you have a classic that you like to takeout to shows
and cruise on the weekends,
it may just be your better interest to stay away
from the blended fuel and stick
to the premium ethanol-free gasoline.
The same goes for small engines as well,
always use premium in your mowers, chainsaws,
whatever it might be.
So, when all said and done here,
here is the conclusion, ethanol is perfectly fine
for your newer vehicles.
If you wanna stay away from it, more power to you,
it's not gonna do you any harm
it just might cause some issues with some older platforms,
small engines and stuff like that.
If you're running something newer,
you're not gonna run into an issue
because your cars are designed for it,
it's all good, it may be a little corrosive,
but your cars are handled to take it.
So go ahead and let us know your thoughts on ethanol
or E85 or whatever it might be
down in the comments section below
of course, don't forget to check out the giveaway
going on right now BC Racing suspension,
all the holiday deals we got going on right now,
there's a ton of them, too many to list
you can check it all out over at fitmentindustries.com
and of course, let us know what you would like to see next.
I'm Gels from Fitment Industries,
thank you guys so much for watching,
we will see you later.
Peace.
(upbeat music)