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From: warren@ihnss.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.auto
Subject: Re: methanol question
Message-ID: <1888@ihnss.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 24-Jan-84 09:37:49 EST
Article-I.D.: ihnss.1888
Posted: Tue Jan 24 09:37:49 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 27-Jan-84 07:06:20 EST
References: <202@pyuxnn.UUCP> <4545@rochester.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL
Lines: 38

Methanol causes two potential problems:

1)	It eats some plastics, causing severe damage to some fuel
	systems.

2)	It holds water much more effectively than gasoline.  (It's
	the major ingreedient in gas-line driers and de-icers). 
	This means that unless it's kept very dry, your fuel takes
	on a little water, which causes rust.

Occasionally and in small quantities, I doubt that either of these
is a problem.  After all, I have never seen any warnings on gas-line
de-icers or driers.  I believe that problem 1 is the real thing to
watch out for, and your owner's manual will probably tell you if
your car is a problem.

As to mileage, pure methanol has about half of the energy content
per gallon of pure gasoline, thus you would expect lower mileage. 
In small quantities, however, it may improve mileage because the
gas-methanol mixture burns more efficiently than gas alone.  Unless
you test your car on a dynamometer, or have some fuel system problem
either caused or cured by the methanol, however, I doubt you will
observe any difference.

On another subject, I recently heard some serious discussion by the
Chicago City Counsel on banning the sale (or use?) of leaded gas in
the city.  Since there are plenty of old cars around that really
need the lubrication of the lead aditives, and those cars tend to
belong to people who aren't in a position to trade them, this seems
like a real problem for drivers.  (Though lead in the exhaust is
also a real problem for city residents.)  Is this happening
elsewhere?
-- 

	Warren Montgomery
	ihnss!warren
	IH x2494