I get 5-6mpg less since gas got poluted.

I would like to know what I can do to make my poor poor rex digest this poison better.

OR

Anyone know of a way to remove the ethyl from it?

 

Nothing. Ethanol has a lower energy content than gasoline. You will get less MPG no matter what.

If you try and seperate it, you would still be paying for it as you can't tell the fuel pump to somehow just give you the gasoline only. It's not trivially seperated from gasoline itself, and the pump outlet itself is downstream of the metering device. You would either need a fractioning tower, or some chemical process that binds with the ethanol and allows it to be removed that way. In other words, dont bother.

Janos

 

yes I know ethyl has less energy per vol.(about 30% iirc)
I was more concerned with any potential issues like plug fouling, 02 fouling, water in fuel, and any others.
also does it need a timing adjustment? not for power or mpg, but to insure better combustion? (or not)


so understand I do not think I can recover the lost power/efficiency,
but I want to be sure that all other maintenance related differences are accounted for

 

Ethanol has 30 less energy per volume, but only is 10% of the total volume of the gasoline. So by basic math I'm assuming that you only lose 3% total energy, not that bad.

 

it equated to 6mpg less

yes that bad.

but again,
I am NOT asking how to get the mpg back. got it now?

I am asking what if any "harm" the different combustion properties cause, and how to minimize them.

 

It should not equate to 6 MPG loss. If it is, look elsewhere for your cause, that or you're running E85.

A 3% reduction in energy content, and 6 mpg loss is equalivent to a initial MPG of 200. Not happening.

To address your other concerns, water bonding with ethanol is avoided as much as possible so that should not be very common. If this is the case, you may have water in your gas tank. The ethanol should take care of it eventually as it mixes with it and is drawn into your engine (which is not harmful, otherwise people would not be using water injection). Otherwise, your source for gasoline is crappy. Kind of like those cheapo gasoline places with the lowest gas prices, and god knows whats in there.

Ethanol would not be used at all if it was deterimetal to the engine components. The EPA would not allow it to be used if it would mess up the O2 sensor, and especially the catalytic converter (they both use the same metals, and are poisoned in the same way). It will not affect the spark plugs, nor the O2 sensors, nor the catalytic converters.

I'm not a petroleum engineer, but I would imagine that you do not need to adjust your timing. While Ethanol does contain a higher octane rating, the other components of the gasoline would have been tweaked to offer the same octane rating.

Janos

 

ok thanks for the info

as far as the mpg drop
I only buy Chevron. so cheapo gas station is not the cause. I also use the same gas station, so it's not that I went to a bad chevron
The fuel is the only thing that changed.
I watch my mpg constantly, and every tank after they started selling ethanol has gotten 5-6mpg less (I was getting 45-46 before).
driving style has not changed


here is an idea ...could the ethanol have flushed stuff into the fuel filter and filled it up suddenly? the filter is only 6-7k old.

I watch my car closely. I check timing a several times per year. I look at plugs, air filter kept fresh, I spend time under the hood more than most so I would know if something had gone out of whack
only the fuel changed

 

How long has it been, and how many miles?

Doubt its the fuel filter. Crap tends to block it up, reducing fuel pressure so the mixture becomes leaner, not richer. But hey, if it makes you feel better, go for it

Another option you may want to try, use a different station/company and see if theres a change. That's about a 13% drop in fuel efficiency.

Janos