blazer eating spark plugs

[Oldfisti]

Also if there is much carbon buildup in the intake and on the pistons it will pull some of the fuel out of suspension and make it yet leaner.

[Speedbag]

Because it's a chevy? 

Hee hee. Beat me to it.

[Howie]

Wrong plug (too hot)
Running lean
Timing too far advanced
Preignition and/or detonation(ping)
Long periods of high load operation
Engine running too hot

And, yes, E10 will make things worse

[Porsche Monkey]

I'm going with poor quality ethanol fuel.

Your being generous calling it poor.

[Greg]

Your being generous calling it poor.

Hehe - well ethanol itself is a great fuel, as long as the engine is designed to run on it. The trouble comes when people introduce ethanol fuels into a world of gasoline cars that were never designed to run on them

[Porsche Monkey]

Hehe - well ethanol itself is a great fuel, as long as the engine is designed to run on it. The trouble comes when people introduce ethanol fuels into a world of gasoline cars that were never designed to run on them

I can agree with that.  Unfortunately its causing us fits at the dealership.  Is ethanol mandated now or can we still find good ole fashioned go juice?

[ducpainter]

I can agree with that.  Unfortunately its causing us fits at the dealership.  Is ethanol mandated now or can we still find good ole fashioned go juice?

I don't know of any fuel for highway use that is ethanol free.

Even some 'race' fuels are oxygenated. I'm not certain they don't use ethanol to achieve that.

[Greg]

I can agree with that.  Unfortunately its causing us fits at the dealership.  Is ethanol mandated now or can we still find good ole fashioned go juice?

I believe San Antonio is still mostly ethanol free, however I am sure that it will not stay that way long. I'll ask the Retail folks at work and see what the outlook is.
I know the big fuel distribution center on the South side of town is not equipped to handle ethanol, so all gasoline being distributed from there is ethanol free, I will check on the others next week.

[ducpainter]

Hehe - well ethanol itself is a great fuel, as long as the engine is designed to run on it. The trouble comes when people introduce ethanol fuels into a world of gasoline cars that were never designed to run on them

It hasn't been that for me...a great fuel.

Ethanol seems to be fine as long as it doesn't get stored for more than a week or two.

After that it seems you have a slug of water at the bottom of the tank.

[Greg]

It hasn't been that for me...a great fuel.

Ethanol seems to be fine as long as it doesn't get stored for more than a week or two.

After that it seems you have a slug of water at the bottom of the tank.

Here is the problem with ethanol/gasoline blends. Ethanol absorbs water, which can actually be a good thing if you have small amounts of moisture. However, it can only absorb so much, and once it becomes saturated ALL the water and ethanol fall out of the gasoline to the bottom of the tank. So now the gasoline has no ethanol in it and is low on oxygenates and octane. Also if you are unlucky enough the water/ethanol mixture is picked up by your fuel pump and now you are running an ethanol/water mixture in your engine, once that is burned off you have the remaining offspec gasoline being fed to your engine.

[ducpainter]

Here is the problem with ethanol/gasoline blends. Ethanol absorbs water, which can actually be a good thing if you have small amounts of moisture. However, it can only absorb so much, and once it becomes saturated ALL the water and ethanol fall out of the gasoline to the bottom of the tank. So now the gasoline has no ethanol in it and is low on oxygenates and octane. Also if you are unlucky enough the water/ethanol mixture is picked up by your fuel pump and now you are running an ethanol/water mixture in your engine, once that is burned off you have the remaining offspec gasoline being fed to your engine.

I've never had any luck getting the engines to run at all on the ethanol/water mix. This is most problematic on small engines that receive infrequent use...mowers, tillers, and generators.

My track bike will start, but often runs so poorly it's unrideable.

Call me silly, but I can't call that a great fuel....

[Howie]

I can agree with that.  Unfortunately its causing us fits at the dealership.  Is ethanol mandated now or can we still find good ole fashioned go juice?

E10 is mandated in areas of "non attainment of air quality standards", an ever increasing chunk of the US.  If you live in or near a populated area it is doubtful you can get "good ole fashioned go juice".  

[ducpainter]

E10 is mandated in areas of "non attainment of air quality standards", an ever increasing chunk of the US.  If you live in or near a populated area it is doubtful you can get "good ole fashioned go juice".  

Air quality is pretty good here...

no real gas though.

I think it's easier/cheaper for the wholesalers in Boston to just carry the E10.

[Greg]

E10 is mandated in areas of "non attainment of air quality standards", an ever increasing chunk of the US.  If you live in or near a populated area it is doubtful you can get "good ole fashioned go juice".  

Correct - but some cities voluntarily adopt other clean fuels (such as E-10) in order to prevent non-attainment. Here in San Antonio we are right on the ragged edge of non-attainment, but have managed to avoid it so far.

[Howie]

I've never had any luck getting the engines to run at all on the ethanol/water mix. This is most problematic on small engines that receive infrequent use...mowers, tillers, and generators.

My track bike will start, but often runs so poorly it's unrideable.

Call me silly, but I can't call that a great fuel....

What?  You can't get an engine to run on sludgy water?  You can't call a fuel that doesn't work great?

Fact of the matter is E10, besides being problematic, in a modern closed loop vehicle, reduces fuel economy and power plus increases tailpipe emissions.  Plus we pay more for that crap.