Fuel these days...

[yellowboxster01]

It's possible here to find gasoline that doesn't have ethanol. They usually have a large sign outside that says, "100% gasoline sold here". A few stations here also have both. Although it does cost more for pure gasoline, I've noticed a change of about 5mpg switching between them.

I asked my mechanic a while back if there were any adverse effects to using ethanol fuel and he told me that over time it will etch the inside of the tank and send metal shavings through the fuel system. There happened to be an older Porsche there that they were flushing the lines and changing the fuel filter. I was skeptical to his claims until he showed me the fuel filter and to my surprise there were metal shavings. They also showed me the waste bucket from flushing the lines and there were little metal shavings all over the bottom of the bucket.

I can't think of anything else that would cause such a thing. I've since switched to using pure gasoline.

[mptoledo]

I asked the mechanic (at the dealership I ran) the difference between an ethanol and gas vehicle. He told me that the ethanol car had a different lined tank, fuel lines and special gaskets as the ethanol was more corrosive than gas and would eat through normal lined parts. I know its only 10% mix(in most cases) but as the rest have said it can damage your car over time.

[blue2000s]

Ethanol is a solvent and will react with some plastics. Cars made in the 70s and before weren't designed with ethanol in mind and so it's use may cause damage to fuel lines and seals. It also absorbs moisture more easily, so if it sits in a gas tank for a long time, it can encourage the formation of rust.

All modern cars are designed with ethanol-safe materials. There's no risk of damage to your Boxster directly related to using 10% ethanol in your gasoline. It will lower gas mileage, though, due to it's lower energy content.

[mptoledo]

Only a car that states e85 ready or flex fuel is truly compatible with ethanol. As stated before cars(even 2000 model cars) are not fully able to run ethanol over a certain %.
Ethanol is a hoax perpatrated by our politicians to get the midwest vote. It is less fuel effecient and if you actually take the amount of water and energy to make ethanol, you are better off with gas only. The amount of polution given off to make ethanol is much greater than the savings it claims as burning cleaner than gas..

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by mptoledo

Only a car that states e85 ready or flex fuel is truly compatible with ethanol. As stated before cars(even 2000 model cars) are not fully able to run ethanol over a certain %.

All cars from about 1985+ are compatible with 10% ethanol. Only cars designed for E85 have ignition and fueling systems able to recognize and operate the engine on E85.

Originally Posted by mptoledo

Ethanol is a hoax perpatrated by our politicians to get the midwest vote. It is less fuel effecient and if you actually take the amount of water and energy to make ethanol, you are better off with gas only. The amount of polution given off to make ethanol is much greater than the savings it claims as burning cleaner than gas..

I like to keep out of political conversations, everyone's right and there's never a resolution.