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On 22 Apr 2002, at 23:32, Jeff Palmer wrote: > If I recall the 'regular' gas that includes ethanol is 89 and regular > without ethanol is 87 octane? I always thought ethanol added power too. You can vary the blend to get whatever octane you want with either alcohol additive. Different gas brands will also do this differently. You will also find different practices in parts of the country. Alcohol DOES provide some degree of anti-knock protection, but I assume that this is taken into account in the octane rating on the pump. Note also that pump gas is sold in different parts of the world using different Octane standards. In the US I only see it sold by (RON + MON)/2, but the requirements on the filler flap of our cars specifies only one of these. I can never remember which it is, however. From this I assume that this is the way gas was sold in Germany at that time. Is it still? (Was it ever?) I guess I really don't know how the power of an engine will be affected by gasohol since a change in viscosity will also change the amount of fluid that is delivered, but alcohol and gasoline seem to me to have pretty similar viscosities and so a 10% addition of alcohol should not make much difference in the overall viscosity. The energy content of alcohol is, however, still somewhat less than that of gasoline. The difference is not large, it's maybe 80-90% of gasoline, but it is known. Still, a 20% energy reduction in 10% of the mix is only a -2% change, and most people won't ever notice that. - Jim Adney jadney@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711-3054 USA ------------------------------------------------------------------- Too much? Digest! mailto:type3-d-request@vwtype3.org Subj=subscribe