RoBD305

Noticed that here in the North, during the winter, the gas companies add 10% ethanol to the gas. Is this bad for the engine????

Road Rage

No, just bad for power and your pocketbook. Ethanol has lower BTU output per unit of measure, hence it reduces power and increase fuel consumption. It likely produces the same amount of pollutants - "reformulated" or "oxygenated" fuels use alcohols.

In the Spring, run a quality injector cleaner like Red Line or Techron - those alcohols are notorious for leaving deposits on injector pintles.

xviper

RR, the last time I looked at a bottle of gas line antifreeze, it was made up of mostly methanol (methyl hydrate). I guess there's not enough in a small bottle to harm anything but is MeOH worse than EtOH for the car?
I routinely gas up with locally available Mohawk gas (10% EtOH) every 3rd tank or so just to keep the water in check in the fuel tank during the really cold winter months. As you may already know, I also routinely add one bottle of fuel injector cleaner at about the same time as my oil changes.

Road Rage

[QUOTE]Originally posted by xviper
RR, the last time I looked at a bottle of gas line antifreeze, it was made up of mostly methanol (methyl hydrate).