i had to make a comment about the "greener racing"
e85 is in no way better for the environment, or the economy for that matter. its a terrible idea and should be shut down.
it takes MORE REGULAR FUEL to PRODUCE the e85! it also raises the hell out of our food prices! it kills our fuel economy and it helps destroy our older cars that weren't designed for it!
and whoever said that our fuel has been 10% ethanol since the 70's, i need to see some evidence on that one. there are many gas stations that i used to go to that have only recently switched to 10% ethanol, and only since the majority of these stations have switched have i heard complaints about fuel economy, power loss, and fuel system break down. fuel pumps are going out left and right on people, even in newer cars. they say you cant run e85 in normal cars because it will destroy seals and eat fuel pumps. so why isnt 10% ethanol bad for our cars? the fact is, it IS bad for our cars. they are TRYING to get our old vehicles off the road. i understand getting rid of leaded fuel, but this is sabotage.
back to greener- fill up an SUV with e85. you just used the amount of corn an average person eats in ONE YEAR. that just a PERSON. imagine how much ANIMAL FEED that is! and since the demand goes up for corn, the price goes up. now it costs more to feed the animals we eat. we just raised the price of ALL FOOD because we thought it would be smarter to run our cars on corn......
what is used to harvest this corn? diesel tractors! for every gallon of ethanol produced, we use 1.3 gallons of fuel. that isnt just a number pulled from my head (altho i am remembering from an article from a while back) but it is about that ratio.
so if it costs more, makes less power, and takes twice as much fuel, why are they pushing it on us? why is it cheaper to buy?
our government helps this problem along (as it does most problems) by adding tax breaks for e85. this makes it cheaper, therefore more enticing to us. they offer tax breaks for flex fuel cars to further assist this plan. then the gas companies switch to 10% ethanol under the guise that its more environmentally friendly, when in reality its only because ITS been made CHEAPER. its a FILLER. i had a gas station employee tell me that the ONLY reason they recently switched to 10% was because of the price increase in fuel, and the owner decided to save some money and go 10%.
now that everyone has 10% gas in their older cars, they are having to refuel more often and their cars are breaking down more frequently! after we dump our money into fixing our old car that we end up having to junk anyway, the only thing we can afford to get is the car with all the tax breaks... the flex fuel car that started this bullshit in the first place!
PLEASE reconsider doing this. i understand its cheaper... and looks real enticing, but its helping destroy old cars and its not really making any real effect on the amount of oil WE STILL BUY FROM OTHER COUNTRIES!!!
ethanol has been around forever, if it were so great as a fuel, why did we not start there? why have we not gone there before? POLITICS AND GREED. they were never so rampant until today....
i'm sure we could all type that much about our opinions of e85 and food/fuel debate, but THAT'S NOT WHY I STARTED THIS THREAD. i wanted to know everyone's take on the effects on performance and the adaptability of engines...which i see somewhere in there you clearly stated that you believe it's bad for them. thanks for your input on that.
once again if you'd like to have this debate, please start another thread on it in off-topic where it belongs. to put it in perspective, i've read all the research that backs up your perspective as well as mine. i've found equal criticisms of both and formed my opinions.
thanks for the link on the pistons, zak. so maybe p29's will be okay with a stock cam? jay said they needed to be hand cut for high lift cams.
Edited by 86rustbox, 12 August 2009 - 10:49 PM.
beer is good for you.