Ethanol
I think (correct me if i'm wrong) it's a cheap way to get octane numbers up, but it causes premature detantation or however you spell that....like i said correct me if i'm wrong. I have heard that sunoco has always done that, but i haven't had any trouble running 94 so i'm sticking with it.
Yeah, Sunoco is deffinatly using methanol or ethanol in their fuels (atleast the 94). It made my regular style piston seal on my fuel noid swell up like crazy. What pisses me off is that they don't disclose it on the pump like they are suposed to.
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Launching!
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 289
Likes: 0
From: Wallingford, CT
Auto fuel in CT and NY has not been pure gasoline for quite some time. Last year, it was 80% gas, and 20% methonal (MTBE). Because some people have a bad reaction to methonal, it is now 90% gas, and 10% ethanol.
There are not many states that outlaw MTBE. Since Sunoco does not make a 94 octane version with ethanol, it does not exist in those states. Most of the country can still buy Sunoco 94 with 20% methanol.
This was all started to reduce pollution in winter months, and was later adopted year round. There is a slight mileage penalty because you need about twice the volume of alcohol to be equal to the power of gas.
Pisses me off about the 94 because I can't get it now, and I really need the octane.
There are not many states that outlaw MTBE. Since Sunoco does not make a 94 octane version with ethanol, it does not exist in those states. Most of the country can still buy Sunoco 94 with 20% methanol.
This was all started to reduce pollution in winter months, and was later adopted year round. There is a slight mileage penalty because you need about twice the volume of alcohol to be equal to the power of gas.
Pisses me off about the 94 because I can't get it now, and I really need the octane.
Originally Posted by davered00ss
Sunoco does not make the Ultra 94 anymore. 
Guys this is nothing new.... they use the ethanol as an oxygenate to reduce emmisions year round. As stated they used MTBE (methyl-tert-butyl-ehter) as an oxygenate until it contaminated a lake in california. The maximum exposure limit for MTBE is in the ballpark of 6ppb but you can actually taste it in water down to less than 2 ppb. This was the case in cali, the actually contamination was below the safe exposure limit, but people could taste it, so MTBE went the way of the dodo bird. But the feds still demanded an oxygenate in the gasoline to lower emissions, hence the introduction of ethanol in gasoline.
I spent almost two and half years working at sunoco doing emmisions studies as well as dyno testing and synthesis to determine the end user effect of switching over to ethanol from mtbe. Trust me, its no big deal. Some vehicles actually will run off up to 40-50% ethanol. Most companies sell them as 'alternate fuel' vehicles. Ford sells a lot of rangers and explorers like that. You find them mostly out in the mid west though.
I spent almost two and half years working at sunoco doing emmisions studies as well as dyno testing and synthesis to determine the end user effect of switching over to ethanol from mtbe. Trust me, its no big deal. Some vehicles actually will run off up to 40-50% ethanol. Most companies sell them as 'alternate fuel' vehicles. Ford sells a lot of rangers and explorers like that. You find them mostly out in the mid west though.
