Hi, Im still prety new to my Honda and front wheel drive cars. I also own a '91 miata and that community would use denatured alcohol for a quick octane boster and to help clean out the fuel system. Do any of you do the same or will it have negative effects on my engine. Oh, btw, I have 99 vtec prelude.

 

no one?

 

I wouldnt trust denatured alcohol... why not buy a approved product?

 

denatured alcohol = E100

E85 = E100* 0.85

get what im saying?

 

i dont know if what i wrote is going to help you understand, but gas stations use denatured alcohol to raise the octane in their gas and make it premium. so it will work, but there is going to be a limit to how much you can add before you run too lean. not something i would risk personally, but i got about a half gallon of E85 sittin here if you want it

 

alcohol content in fuel is very corrosive but will absorb water from the gas. However in order to produce the same amount of power you will burn alot more of it. Theres alot more about it just cant remember the rest right now. There is pros and cons to it, basically like everything else you do in a car, sacrificing one thing for another.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lude98SH &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">alcohol content in fuel is very corrosive but will absorb water from the gas. However in order to produce the same amount of power you will burn alot more of it. Theres alot more about it just cant remember the rest right now. There is pros and cons to it, basically like everything else you do in a car, sacrificing one thing for another. </TD></TR></TABLE>

if hes just trying to add a little to the gas, its not going to do ****. Hes gonna throw a code before anything. unless he mixes like 50/50 there should be any worries at all. premium fuels can have up to 10% ethanol right out of the pump and as long as you dont get too crazy you're straight. i wouldnt recommend it though.

besides, what does a bottle of everclear go for? $20 for a liter? its not really cost effective. id rather drink it

 

hmm idk if it would throw a code or not...i would have to think about that. However when i said all that i meant alcohol cars in general, some general facts about how alcohol differs from gas. However i do agree with you that its prolly not worth it.

 

what do you need to boost your octane for anyway? are you running FI, nitrous, or high compression pistons?

 

Alcohol is a general term.

Methyl alcohol (methanol) is pretty corrosive and should probably not be used in standard Honda cars without extensive fuel system modification. It requires about 40% more fuel to run stociometric when compared to gasoline.

Ethyl alcohol (ethanol) is not nearly as corrosive and is used in most states in relatively small quantities as a fuel additive. I think that you can run E100 in most modern Hondas without incident but you will still have to add 20% fuel to keep from running lean. E85 is about the same.

Alcohols do not pull water out of fuel. It pulls water out of the atmosphere but if you don't let it sit for long periods of time this should not be a problem.

A couple gallons of ethanol in the fuel tank will boost octane but if you're not careful you can run lean at WOT and potentially ruin something if your engine is not tuned for it.

Pirate

 

this a a great article explaining alot involving alcohol fuel.

http://www.answers.com/topic/a...ology