Non-ethanol Premium

[Hoople]

Hooper , Maybe not. Congress was NOT going to extend ethanol credits to gas companies, but last minute pressure by corn lobbiests, "I.E. MONEY", got subsidies extended 1 year. Seems people and Congress are starting to see the waste of corn ethanol. They say ethanol subsidies won't be extended next Jan. Hope not, it is a scam on the American people.
wilks3

Wow. That's the best news I have heard in weeks,, maybe months..
I don't see them putting the methyl tert-butyl ether back in it, so I don't know what their gonna do or what they have up their sleeves. Tks!

 

[londonlad]

My 07 Ultraclassic, bored out to 103CI, went from 37+ MPG to 42+ MPG
My 09 VRod Muscle went from 31+ to 38+ MPG after I switched to non-ethanol premium. Several stations near my home. Also using web site to find gas when on a trip.

 

[heritage55]

I use Startron with every fill up. Helps mileage and nuetralizes effects of ethanol. Helps clean injectors too. Ethanol is here to stay, ask any farmer who takes subsidies from the gov. Check it out.

Star Tron Enzyme Fuel Treatment - HOME

 

[Bodeen]

I tried ethanol free gas for a while. I can only get it in 91 octane. My bike don't like 91 octane fuel not matter whats in it. I got to much pinging out of it and went back to 93 ethanol. It definitely runs better with the higher octane vs. the lower without ethanol. I also run MMO in almost every tank.

Bodeen

 

[Hoople]

I tried ethanol free gas for a while. I can only get it in 91 octane. My bike don't like 91 octane fuel not matter whats in it. I got to much pinging out of it and went back to 93 ethanol. It definitely runs better with the higher octane vs. the lower without ethanol. I also run MMO in almost every tank.

Bodeen

Wow, that makes me wonder if the 91 fuel you used was just free of ethanol without the ETBE added back into it. I am beginning to wonder if there is some fine print to the "non-ethanol" fuels of today that the petro companies are not admitting to. Answers like this are hard to find out unless your a blend chemist on the inside.

I like MMO also but when I ran it that frequently, I saw side effects. It just may be a late "96" thing , I don't know.

 

[Jack Klarich]

Wonder why we do not hear of Shell oils experiments with Magnesium any more, Seems to me they were trying this in Canada? I doubt we will ever see lead ever again as an octane booster but there must be some thing out there?

 

[Bodeen]

Wow, that makes me wonder if the 91 fuel you used was just free of ethanol without the ETBE added back into it. I am beginning to wonder if there is some fine print to the "non-ethanol" fuels of today that the petro companies are not admitting to. Answers like this are hard to find out unless your a blend chemist on the inside.

I like MMO also but when I ran it that frequently, I saw side effects. It just may be a late "96" thing , I don't know.

Hoop,

I haven't really ever noticed any side effects from MMO. I do go by the directions as far as mix goes and since its not exact science when dumping it in, I go with the less is more theory.

Bodeen

 

[TCSTD]

The ethanol in the fuel creates a corrosive agent and if nothing else the non ethanol fuel would be a better choice IMO. You should see a bit more power and MPG with the non ethanol fuel.

I have heard the same thing about how corrosive it can be and I would glady use non ethanol if there were more stations in the area or on my travels. Who knows, maybe with the success of the one non ethanol gas pump in my area, maybe more stations will see the obvious benefits and put some non ethanol gas in their stations.

Hey TC. I don't know how true it is but we were warned down here that the ethanol based fuel was corrosive regarding any gaskets, rubber or synthetic hoses etc, in any older cars or bikes. I've never used it myself.

Hey Mr. T, I have heard the same thing also.

OK - so we most all agree that the ethanol is not good for gas engines. BUT, when riding around all over the place, that's about all there is! Id guess that most of us use ethanol gasoline due to that's what all the stations are selling now. Yeah, there may be a mom and pop station somewhere selling non-ethanol - but its back home a hundred miles away - you need gas NOW - what do you do - buy the ethanol gas? what say you?

curious minds want to know.
Bill

That is the same postion that I am in, if I only rode around in my area then it would be easy to stick with non ethanol but I travel a lot and I have to use whatever Premium that I can find.

You buy ethanol fuel. What else can you do?

The question that was posted by the OP was "I was wondering if anybody has had a chance to try non-ethanol and if they noticed any difference".

As far as comparison goes,,, If a person can't feel the difference between non-ethanol and ethanol fuel, they have no sense of feel for performance. For me it is the difference between night and day in just so many way.

But remember that just removing the ethanol is Not the key. If the ethanol is removed, it must be replaced with Methyl tert-butyl ether. Removing the ethanol is easy to do but just removing the ethanol will still leave you with low octane garbage fuel.

Where I live there are a couple of non ethanol stations but they don't sell 93 or even 91 octane. Yes it is ethanol free, but it's also low octane so it almost defeats the whole purpose buying it.

I think you would be hard pressed to find the "yesteryear" ethanol free 93 octane fuel.

On the contrary, I do have a sense of feel for performance and so do many of my friends. I have been driving for over 40 years and I have done my share of experimenting. I have also talked to others in my area and for the most part they agree with me, they haven't seen a significant change to justify only using non ethanol. I could see the possibility that maybe I didn't catch something but when many of my friends have said the same thing, that makes me feel that my ideas are sound. I feel that there will always be pros and cons to everything, that is life.

 

[Hoople]

On the contrary, I do have a sense of feel for performance and so do many of my friends. I have been driving for over 40 years and I have done my share of experimenting. I have also talked to others in my area and for the most part they agree with me, they haven't seen a significant change to justify only using non ethanol. I could see the possibility that maybe I didn't catch something but when many of my friends have said the same thing, that makes me feel that my ideas are sound. I feel that there will always be pros and cons to everything, that is life.

For just a moment, lets leave the "feel" out of the discussion and compare the physical properties of the 2 compounds.

The BTU output of Ethanol is less per volume than gasoline. That is not an idea I came up with. It is a physical property.

Heat is a form of Energy. That is not an idea I came up with. It's a physical property.

Horsepower is a mathematical way to measure released Energy over Time. That is not an idea I came up with. It is a physical property or law.

Based on just the BTU output alone, there is a significant difference between ethanol and gasoline. If it wasn't, why would the stoichiometric ratio for E100 be so much lower (9:1) than it is for pure gasoline (14.7)

I am not saying you will immediately feel the difference between the two fuels because you won't unless you open the throttle all the way. Until you do, the only difference you will see using E10 fuel will be lower MPG.

But if you don't feel a difference, that's OK,,,more power to you. Believe me, I don't enjoy feeling this way about ethanol fuels. I really wish I did not feel a difference because if I didn't feel the difference, my every day life would be a little Happier.

 

[bcortani]

next thought...If we are doomed to ethanol %15 in the possible near future, what do we need to do to get the most efficient use of this fuel with the current bikes we have? Is this adjustable at the TFI level? Or are we stuck buying and using additives for the rest of that bikes life?