Hey fellow MC owners,
Just throwing this out there- Will the blending of more ethanol in our gas ruin or screw up engine components? I have the 3.4 Liter in my Monte and the manual isn't very specific. It just says that "GM recommends the use of blended fuels". It runs ok on E10- which every gas station I've been to has unfortunately. Car hasn't seen pure gas since early 2009, and gets slightly lower fuel economy (33 to ~31MPG highway) I know for sure E85 won't work in it, (no yellow fuel cap or FlexFuel Badge) not to mention I don't want to put that trash in my engine. The E15 mandate was passed by the EPA last week.

 

Ethanol won't really hurt your engine (don't use the E85)

They are adding it everywhere because it burns cleaner, and we will see a decrease in our MPGs unfortunately

 

Here's the thing about E15. Yes, it is 15% Ethanol and 85% gasoline which is more then before, but there will be very little difference from E10. The next question that needs to be addressed is what is Ethanol? Ethanol is almost pure alcohol (around 180-200 proof). Straight Ethanol is drinkable, but I wouldn't advise it because it would knock you on your butt and you could die, lol. Alcohol is a good race fuel because it allows you to advance your timing therefore making more power. E85 makes an excellent cheap race fuel because the equivalent octane rating is somewhere around 105-110 octane. So, if you're into high performance automotive stuff, would you like some $2.30/gallon race fuel?

Ethanol is also a cleaner, which is because it's alcohol (made from corn or sugarcane usually). This means that it will go into your gas tank, clean that, then go into your fuel filter and fuel lines, clean them, and then go into your injectors and clean them too. Where people run into problems with Ethanol is not because it's "junk" but because it cleans everything of it's hydrocarbons and plugs things up (such as the fuel filter and injectors). Also, if you take the heads off of an engine run on E85 for example and compare it with an engine run on pump gasoline you will see that the E85 will be almost spotless (depending on how long the engine was run on E85) and how dirty the gasoline engine is. Plus E10, E15, and E85 all polute less then pump gasoline.

My advice is after filling your tank a few times with E15, change the fuel filter and you should be good. E85 has received a bad rap especially when it was first introduced because people didn't understand it and they didn't know why they were having vehicle problems. When you actually look at it, it's good for people who like spending less on fuel, who like a semi-renewable fuel, who like to pollute less, who like cheap race fuel, and for those who like their engine's clean.

 

Very cool explanation Zipper!

 

No problem. I'm actually taking some classes on alternative fuels right now and I've really learned a lot about them, not just Ethanol, but also CNG, LPG, electric cars, hybrids, and a few others too. It's been a great experience so far. My favorite project to date has been adding a LPG injection kit to a 2000 Ford F-350 extended cab dually.

To be honest, if you look up how to make Ethanol you can do it at home, and then mix in the 15% gasoline by yourself. It's pretty cool stuff.

 

Thanks you guys
I plan on keeping my Monte a while and I'm glad I don't have to worry about getting corroded fuel lines, injectors, etc. because of ethanol. (E15 anyway.) Dash panel lights, however are another story, even though they're all working at the moment.