Does the ethanol in gasoline damage the fuel lines and other components of older classic cars?
I ran into someone who had a ’70 Camaro who told me this…I drive a ’69 LeMans. He said that I should put 93 octane when I fill up and also suggested that I put one gallon of racing fuel when I fill up all the way with 93 octane. Is that a good idea?
Also, he said that Hess sells gasoline without ethanol but it’s more expensive.This true?
Its a stock Pontiac 350 V8 engine
i wouldn’t do it cause they are different density so it would probable wreak your car
It only has a max of 10% and they have been using it in the midwest for years. Your fuel lines should be fine. Unless your compression is over 10-1 you don’t need to add racing fuel and probably don’t need 93 octane either.
The Octane rating is a requirement of higher compression engines. Regular is fine for compression up to about 9:1 If your engine makes a pinging sound, kind of a crackle when you step on it… well that is not good! also if it “runs on after you turn off the key… that is a sign of detonation or “diesel like performance” and caused by hot spots and unburned fuel left over in your cylinders. In either case a higher octane would help and be better for your engine. Ethanol is a “drier” fuel and can corrode aluminum more so than steel, but usually doesn’t hurt stainless or rubber. It depends also how much ethanol you are using. Gasoline being a petroleum product has natural oils in it that reduce corrosion so up to 1/3 ethanol to gas mixture should be fine. Unless you have had previous leaks. If so, replace your lines with Stainless tubing.
The big problem with ethanol in older cars is that the gaskets were not designed with ethanol in mind. SOME of them, not all mind you, will swell in contact with alcohol.
Few gas line problems have been noted.
Wow! Those answerer’s are very mechanical.
Did they clear anything up?
While ethanol is a new chemical in the life of steel it does cause
corrosion over a prolonged period of time(about 5 plus years). This is very dependent on the concentration of the ethanol mix(don’t believe for one minute that your ethanol mix is less than 10 percent).
As far as Octane is concerned, an alcohol based fuel has a higher Octane rating(E-85=105/Ethanol has 116 octane),
So when you go to rebuild an older vehicle I always suggest you use the current neoprene plastic molded fuel hoses to replace those pesky steel hoses.
Yes! Gasoline without ethanol will be slightly more costly.
I hope this was clearer than mud.
Good luck