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To: IamConservative
"I would guess 308MBR is spending his Sundays at the local drag strip running alcohol in a big block V-8 gas motor."

Yeah, I came to a similar conclusion after posting my comments. What I should have more correctly said was that it certainly didn't sound like any NORMAL car engine conditions.

A dragster engine has HUGE temperature gradients everywhere, causing water (and methanol) to condense in lots of places and cause corrosion. A NORMAL car engine comes up to temperature slowly, and the temp gradients aren't anywhere near as bad.

As long as the methanol stays in the vapor phase, it isn't going to corrode anything (boiling point of methanol = 65 deg C). Some small amount may condense on engine shutdown, but I doubt it would be enough to cause any significant damage.

70 posted on 08/01/2006 5:17:43 AM PDT by Wonder Warthog (The Hog of Steel-NRA)
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To: Wonder Warthog
Some small amount may condense on engine shutdown, but I doubt it would be enough to cause any significant damage.

I remember when gasahol (Methanol/gas blend) first came out, car enthusiasts all decried the long term effects; corrosion, oil wash off the cylinder, water in the oil, etc. The only negative effects I have ever seen conclusively tied to gasahol was damage to two stroke engines, in particular, higher performance 2 strokers.

Would you anticipate any decrease in 4 stroke passenger car engine wear from running E-85? Based on my experience running alcohol in racers, I am skeptical. In particular, very short runs, short stop, short run - like a soccer mom going from one strip mall to the next running errands.

71 posted on 08/01/2006 6:32:36 AM PDT by IamConservative (Humility is not thinking less of oneself; humility is thinking about oneself less.)
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