Posted by Hogryder on April 09, 2000 at 07:35:10:
I just finished some fuel analyses last week so I thought I would rant about them a bit here. Now that MIBK has been outlawed as an additive you're going to be seeing a lot more "gasohol" (gas/ethanol mixture). Avoid this stuff for all your vehicles whenever you can. It's a good idea, but the problem is with the "industrial grade" or "agricultural grade" ethanol they mix with the gas. I can't give you exact numbers or tell you which companies I tested fuel and ethanol for but lets just say they're all about the same. If you're lucky, the "ethanol" being put in your gas is about 50% ethanol, 40% methanol (wood alcohol), and about 10% WATER. If you're not lucky, the water content is higher. Also, this stuff absorbs water out of the atmosphere while it's sitting in the storage tanks so by the time you get it in your vehicle, it's pretty bad, especially if you live in a humid climate. In a 90% gas / 10% "ethanol" mixture you're really getting 90% gas, 5-9% ethanol and/or methanol, and AT LEAST 1% water, maybe as much as 5%. This can do serious damage to your engine.
OK. Rant's over. Now get out there and ride.