ethanol in gas bad for our cars?

Many (and ever more) of us don't have a choice to run straight gasoline; in more and more areas you can only buy gasoline that contains ethanol (or as many carburetor men call it, "deathanol"). It's not corrosive like methanol, but it does create problems by dint of carrying water through the system so parts that never saw much of any water on straight gasoline now are exposed to water fairly constantly. As others have mentioned, the big aggravator is sitting; this steeps the carburetor and other fuel system components in a brew that contains water, and corrosion is the result. This is why you see white "metal mould" corrosion when you open up a carburetor that's been running (and sitting) on gasoline that contains ethanol. There are plenty of additives marketed as preventing the damage. Does any of them work? Don't know. Sta-Bil makes one such additive and I use it when I have to leave my carbureted cars sitting for extended periods of time. There is no additive that is worth using on a continuous basis in an attempt to counteract the ethanol.

Ethanol is also deleterious to various soft parts -- various plastic and rubber materials. This is a pretty easy to manage issue: replace the fuel hose with fuel injection hose marked "30R9", which is proof against whatever flows through it and has much less permeability and much higher burst strength. It's expensive by the foot, but most cars don't need much of it -- a few short lengths in the engine compartment and one short length back at the fuel tank. Be sure and use the correct Fuel Injection hose clamps, which have rounded-off edges that won't dig or cut the hose. And use a fuel filter with a metal can, not plastic.

Gasoline with ethanol causes and aggravates issues with cold starting, hot starting, and driveability. Slant-6ers can do the Fuel line mod; everyone can add a carburetor heat shield, and beyond that you pretty much just have to live with it.

Ethanol contains less energy than gasoline, so a gallon (or litre) of gasoline with ethanol contains less energy than the same amount of gasoline without. That means you get less work out of any given amount of fuel, which means reduced fuel economy and reduced maximum power.

Time was, ethanol was considered a contaminant in gasoline. Now that the ethanol industry has bought the best government money can buy, we're all supposed to learn to say "ethanol enhanced" gasoline instead. :roll: