Don't tell me ethanol isn't a problem!!!

fourbarrel

fourbarrel

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St George,New Brunswick,Canada
I have a little story to tell about my cousin and his truck,he has a 98 GMC SLT with the 5.7 l vortec and if you know anything about these engines you know how tough and more or less bullet proof they are.Well the other day he was telling me about how hard the truck is starting,usually it fires up with like a half a roll of the engine,but lately it's been rolling an unusual amount of times.We talked about possible causes and everything you might associate with poor performance has been changed,sparkplugs,wires,new gas tank and filler neck,fuel filter etc.Well he has been running regular gas in it all along,that's what it calls for after all,so for the sake of arguement he decided to fill it up with supreme.Our supreme here has no ethanol ;)! ,and lo and behold the truck is back to the half a roll starts.The truck doesn't sit for days on end,he drives it back and forth to work at about 50-55 miles a day so the fuel is always fresh and doesn't really have the chance to break down and separate so we are basically blaming the poor starting and running issues on the regular gas with ethanol.
I don't know that this is a solid test and definitive proof but it is certainly looking like we're on the right track.

Just another short tale to add about fuel mileage.Last April I was taking a first aid first responders course with a group of guys and there was one fellow that was traveling from his home every day about 60 miles one way.He did a mileage test with his 2010 GMC truck and told us he could get better gas mileage with supreme than regular but it obviously cost more.How does the oil companies justify the use of ethanol if it causes us to burn more fuel in the long run because it takes more alcohol to make the same amount of power as gasoline?I would think there'd be a better way to keep farmers going and a better use for their crops rather than turning it into this crap.
 

Does he buy his gas at the same station all the time is what i am wondering.I do agree i have lots of freinds complain about poor performace as in pinging in there moters when driving down to florida.


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Ethanol really doesnt have as much to do with this as you think. YES its evil shit BUT even our supreme (premium) has ethanol in it. The extra mileage and easier starts is due to the higher octane rating. NOT the lack of ethanol.
 
I get a solid, reliable, consistent 2-3 mpg difference using regular non ethanol 87 octane vs the ethanol stuff regardless of what time of year. I've tracked it using 5 different vehicles over 8-10 years. 1 Mazda, and 4 GM vehicles. It's always the same.....I get better mileage using non-ethanol fuel.
 
GD23RTF2 said:
I get a solid, reliable, consistent 2-3 mpg difference using regular non ethanol 87 octane vs the ethanol stuff regardless of what time of year. I've tracked it using 5 different vehicles over 8-10 years. 1 Mazda, and 4 GM vehicles. It's always the same.....I get better mileage using non-ethanol fuel.
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Did you notice the differance when they went from 3% to 5% and then to 10%? Theres actually more than one "ethanol", some are worse than others. My post first post was more about comparing reg with E to premium with out E. Had he put premium WITH E he would have had similar results DUE to higher octane rating. 87 octane with E actually isnt 87 anymore(lowered when E introduced) where as 87 with out ethanol is still 87 octane. The newer FLEX FUEL approved vehicles get 25-35% LESS MPG running E-85 due to the LOW octane of said E-85, Thats why its usually less than 50% the price at the pump.
 
Devilin AblueDress! said:
Did you notice the differance when they went from 3% to 5% and then to 10%? Theres actually more than one "ethanol", some are worse than others. My post first post was more about comparing reg with E to premium with out E. Had he put premium WITH E he would have had similar results DUE to higher octane rating. 87 octane with E actually isnt 87 anymore(lowered when E introduced) where as 87 with out ethanol is still 87 octane. The newer FLEX FUEL approved vehicles get 25-35% LESS MPG running E-85 due to the LOW octane of said E-85, Thats why its usually less than 50% the price at the pump.
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No known difference among the % as ours here has always been 10%, but it took a while for all 3 grades here to have ethanol in them. Most of our premium is now too. There is only one gas station where I live that has non ethanol gas. All 3 grades, and there are ALWAYS people at the pumps. They go through piles of it.
Yea, that E85 is worthless. E85 is only at best 85% as efficient as pure gasoline. I don't see why people even bother. Talk about a government conspiracy.....it costs more to make, and you have to burn more to do the same work. Who wins in this equation? The farmers, and the government....and the Chinese. Word on the street is that Chinese interests are quietly buying up all the farmland they can get their hands on in the heavy corn producing states.....
 
GD23RTF2 said:
No known difference among the % as ours here has always been 10%, but it took a while for all 3 grades here to have ethanol in them. Most of our premium is now too. There is only one gas station where I live that has non ethanol gas. All 3 grades, and there are ALWAYS people at the pumps. They go through piles of it.
Yea, that E85 is worthless. E85 is only at best 85% as efficient as pure gasoline. I don't see why people even bother. Talk about a government conspiracy.....it costs more to make, and you have to burn more to do the same work. Who wins in this equation? The farmers, and the government....and the Chinese. Word on the street is that Chinese interests are quietly buying up all the farmland they can get their hands on in the heavy corn producing states.....
Click to expand...

Supposedly its better for the envirement. The ethanol added is supposed to "clean up" the emissions from a combustion engine. Way back in 88-90 they started using almost stratight ethanol on some compressor stations in the oilfeilds around here. Personally i think its like the "pink slime" we heard about in meat awhile back, WORTHLESS FILLER! Like sawdust in CHEAP dog food...cuz ya know dogs eat trees all the time in nature.
 
Devilin AblueDress! said:
Ethanol really doesnt have as much to do with this as you think. YES its evil shit BUT even our supreme (premium) has ethanol in it. The extra mileage and easier starts is due to the higher octane rating. NOT the lack of ethanol.
Click to expand...
Like I said in my first post our supreme here doesn't have ethanol in it,YET, and this is by far not a definitive test just our own impressions of what this crap is like.I can say this though,where we live is only about 35 miles from the US border and there is a small engine repair shop in the town across the border that at any time that shop is generally overrun with things like lawn mowers,generators and the like.People still leave gas in their equipment for extended periods of time without treating it even though there is a minimum of 10% ethanol in the gas.I guess it's good for the repair shops,keeps them going.
 
Ethanol really does not have anything to do with it. You get worse mpg in winter due to it being winter gas.

When was the last time your friend replaced the fuel filter on that vortec?

Also i know the vortec is not a motor that would called bullet proof.
 
Vortecs run pretty good, but eventually the poppet injectors start to fail and cause problems. They are a pain to replace because its a spider deal inside the manifold. I would suspect something like that going on. Once they start to leak the truck becomes harder and harder to start. Or it could just need a tuneup. :)
 
Know the engine well. IMO the best gas for that engine is what you likely can't get anymore - 87 octane non-ethanol. There are a few gremlins that crop up over time, but a very very good engine. The poppet valves mentioned above, You can get a complete retrofit unit that puts injectors where the poppets were for under $400, but you have to pull the intake apart to make the switch. Another common issue is with the distributor gear which is a softer material then the camshaft gear that runs it. It likes to wear and give the CMP correlation logic trouble, but generally this throws a code. It can affect starting though especially when humid. Engine freeze plugs like to leak as the engine ages. Some of these can be a pain to replace. There are other common items, but these engines if taken care of can last a long time. I would put a scantool on it that shows all of the sensor values. You can read an awful lot into what is going on inside by simply watching the sensor outputs. Even better if you have one that records the values many times a second. You can then analyze this data in an easy chair on your laptop. That fits me just fine ;)!
 
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