Gasoline is back!

[jimbo]

Bingo!

[invalid unparseable]

The requirement was oxygenate content which refiners could satisfy most easily and cheaply with MBTE. Then the problem occurred with MBTE containing gasoline leaking and MBTE ending up in the water supply giving it an off taste even at maybe less than one part per billion.

The governments, that includes states like CA, pissing around with what the refineries should make giving us all kinds of localized mixes just adds to the cost of gasoline. You don't want politicians dictating science.

[dpb]

...

Actually the EPA rule on E15 finally came out in 2012 after some 15 years of lobbying against by big oil, mostly. The year-around use continued to be blocked effectively mostly by their pressure; what has done is provide the waiver temporarily to break the impasse.

...

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[trader_4]

The rest of us driving cars that run mostly on gasoline also change spark plugs at long intervals today. That was already happening before ethanol was introduced here. It's a function of much better engine designs AFAIK, not the fuel. There should not be any oily residue in modern cars. And oil is introduced into the combustion chamber from the cylinder walls regardless of the fuel.

Must be a crappy car or something peculiar with your situation. Here cars using gasoline typically go 100K without changing the plugs. I've changed them at that interval and they still looked fine.

[Rod Speed]

I havent changed mine in 75K Km and use no alcohol in my car engine.

Haven't seen mine for that reason.

What model is that ? Must be a real dinosaur.

[Rod Speed]

Mine that I kept in real jerrycans didn't in decades.

[gfretwell]

You change plugs every 6000 miles ? Did you drop a zero there or something? My 97 Honda has over 100k miles and I wouldn't be surprised if these are the factory plugs. I have had it since 2002 and I never changed them.

[gfretwell]

Ethanol absorbs water and comes out of solution from the gasoline (phase separation).

[rbowman]

Going on 80,000 miles I know there are spark plugs someplace in my Toyota's engine, but I've never seen them. Changing plugs is so eighties...

[gfretwell]

Mostly getting rid of the lead and high energy ignition systems that can live with wider spark gaps.

[gfretwell]

Plugs were good for 15k miles or so way back in the days of leaded gas and wimpy ignition systems when the had carburetors that were always a compromise on the mixture. Most could still be cleaned, gapped and used again. They were just so cheap, nobody bothered.

[Shadow]

Duh. Pure (almost) alcohol in Brazil. Much cheaper than gasoline. Sugar cane. Making it from grains is a waste. []'s

[gfretwell]

I am thinking more 60s 70s. By the 80s we were running unleaded, with computer controlled fuel injection and had high energy ignitions

[Clare Snyder]

Virtually all pomps now are "custom blended" The refinery produces regular and premium. Your "mid grade" is "custom blended" That is exactly what Sunoco did way back when. The "octane wheel" showed the metering of the "hightest" into the mix. Mixed at the pump.

[Clare Snyder]

OK - etanol BLEND fuel if you want to be picky - - -

[Clare Snyder]

That is PART of it. It is also an "oxygenator" and ethanol blends oxidize faster than "pure" gas - causing varnish and other deposits in the fuel system. Yes, ethanol "disolves" varnish too - but it still leaves a mess.It is particularly bad when it is better than half saturated with H2O

[Clare Snyder]

Been changed twice, I think, on my 24 year old Ford. I know I changed them once at about 320,000km and it was time - - -

[Clare Snyder]

Oily residue from the PCV system is often an issue - and going too long on an oil change causes coking and sticking piston rings - as well as deteriorated valve seals (and worn guides) that cause oil consumption and can cause fouling.

Lead free fuel was te cause of the greatest increase in engine life since the late twenties - when "ethyl" gasoline became common - - -

[gfretwell]

It still absorbs water and without the boost of energy pure ethanol is not going to give you a lot of performance. I had a rented Suburban in the Dakotas and just as a hoot, I filled it up with E-85 (15% gasoline). This thing had a continuous MPG read out on the dash and when that E-85 hit the engine, there was an immediate drop in economy. That wasn't even real E-85 because I had about a quarter tank of E-10 in there when I filled up.

I also question the environmental impact of draining wetlands and burning the rain forest to grow sugar cane for your car.

[gfretwell]

I haven't replaced a plug in a car for 30 years. Right now I have a 97 Honda, a 2000 Ford Sport Trac and a 2008 Lincoln. They are all running the plugs that were in them when I got them.

This is a 1500 hour plug out of my outboard. EFI

I don't think I would want to own stock in a spark plug company