It’s The Latte Latte Delta Tea Break 2018

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

You'll be safe I think John. For whatever reason Bauble doesn't seem to be around on here so much lately!
(This is what my wife would call 'fishing', setting the bait to see if he bites and makes a reply!)

He's probably busy writing Christmas cards to his many friends & admirers, Viva.

[VIVA GT]

OOPs! Double post!

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by John Elwin

He's probably busy writing Christmas cards to his many friends & admirers, Viva.

Good point John, I will camp out around my post box and await mine...

[Gerard C]

You're welcome, John. I avoid the expression "be my guest", cose I think it could have different meanings… You must know about carbu.com website, supposed to help you to find the best price nationwide or around your location.

We still dont know whether Bob displays his fluoro or not… Shome shay the answer could be something like wtf!

[justracing]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

When the added ‘you can hear more by watching our documentary tonight’ was broadcast the whole thing made sense- Another Promo!

Paint drying

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by justracing

Paint drying

No, no- I’m sure it will be riveting.......

[Gerard C]

John, do "they" have the super ethanol thing in UK? If yes how is it. Any neighbor in France using a kit? I'm very close to convert at least one car. Did anyone experience super ethanol in a race car? Cant be more corrosive than the 102!

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

John, do "they" have the super ethanol thing in UK? If yes how is it. Any neighbor in France using a kit? I'm very close to convert at least one car. Did anyone experience super ethanol in a race car? Cant be more corrosive than the 102!

I'm sorry Gerard, I don't know.

[grantp]

From what I understand of the economics and moral aspects of ethanol it's useful as a performance fuel - used in the USA in particular for many years especially in oval racing - for added power from vehicles with engines appropriately built and tuned. Drag racing comes to mind.

Pretty poor on any other basis and most likely would not be in use if not mandated by governments.

I think E10 might be in fairly wide use but not necessarily labelled as such. It may allow fudged national CO2 emission numbers. Numbers are everything.

I don't think we have E85 (or at least I don't recall seeing any) in the UK.

I think it sells where the after tax price is significantly reduced compared to regular fuel grades because people think they are getting a price bargain. I wonder if they really are?

Here is a link that sort of discusses the economics aspect related to a flex-fuel car.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/car...se-to-buy-e85/

I also recall that when hi-Ethanol content fuels were introduced in Scandinavia Saab and Volvo introduced special Bio models designed to work with those fuels. It might have been simply a ruse to tap into potentially higher profit margins by those who could afford to be virtue signallers but as I recall they used different components - especially anything related to rubbery pipes and some metal items - to reduce the adverse effects of the ethanol.

As for the economics .... a decade or more age I read that if the source cropp was grown more than 50 miles from the ethanol product plant and the resulting fuel was used more then 50 miles from the plant the real cost of manufacture and distribution, compared to fossil fuels, was not competitive.

So the conclusion then would have been that it would be a great option if you could harvest material and distil the ethanol yourself but somewhat poor if not. Likewise maybe ok if doing your own car maintenance but not so good if paying others.

Whether any of that has changed I don't know. It might be worth a dedicated thread ?


ETA: If you have 25mins to spare here is an interesting take on things from Australia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltWcgiCm4NY

[grantp]

A little more on ethanol from a technical POV.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATGSBi1kBl0

[Mike Bell]

According to Classic Car Weekly this week the government minister responsible (if any are) has told them that even after E10 becomes the main fuel available here, a lower ethanol (E5 perhaps) version will still be on sale.....

[SamBinfield]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

According to Classic Car Weekly this week the government minister responsible (if any are) has told them that even after E10 becomes the main fuel available here, a lower ethanol (E5 perhaps) version will still be on sale.....

Here in Germany I have a choice of E10 or ethanol-free 95 octane in my local Shell garage (also 98 octane, 102 octane, diesel and high-performance diesel). The ethanol-free is about 2 cents more expensive per litre.

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by SamBinfield

Here in Germany I have a choice of E10 or ethanol-free 95 octane in my local Shell garage (also 98 octane, 102 octane, diesel and high-performance diesel). The ethanol-free is about 2 cents more expensive per litre.

That’s a good selection! Never seen 102 octane on a modern forecourt here, V-Power 99 the best available.....

[grantp]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

That’s a good selection! Never seen 102 octane on a modern forecourt here, V-Power 99 the best available.....

Momentum 99 at Tesco.


Other retailers seem to offer 97 octane as their top offering.


2 cents per litre price reduction for 3% or so less energy content does not seem like a good deal to me ... about par on total cost per km I suppose.

[delta]

Lots of my engineering /racing mates swear by the 99 Tesco fuel .

[Mike Bell]

And some racers don’t.....

[Gerard C]

Thanks all for the wise advices and interesting links. To my knowledge, we have only one car available here equipped from new, a Golf model.
We are "encouraged" to drive clean, we have a lot of beetroots and we'd like to pay less taxes. So lets go for it!
If you want to convert an existing car you must:
Buy an electronic homologated device, plus taxes, have it installed by an authorized dealer, plus taxes, change your V5, plus taxes, and send a letter to your insurance company, plus taxes…

At the end of the loooong day, phew, based on the average mpg of a mid size car, you "could" start to have your investments back after roughly 30k kilometers. But -there is a but!- all this works on today's super ethanol price. If you dont reach the 30k kilometers very quickly, you might see a price increase and a… new tax on it too because of the success!

[Gerard C]

When using beetroots, I guess a good side effect would be a strong fudge smell alerting you when the head gasket is going! Who knows! Replace the oxygen sensor by popcorn, may be…

Lucky German, they know how to feed race horses.

[grantp]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Thanks all for the wise advices and interesting links. To my knowledge, we have only one car available here equipped from new, a Golf model.
We are "encouraged" to drive clean, we have a lot of beetroots and we'd like to pay less taxes. So lets go for it!
If you want to convert an existing car you must:
Buy an electronic homologated device, plus taxes, have it installed by an authorized dealer, plus taxes, change your V5, plus taxes, and send a letter to your insurance company, plus taxes…

At the end of the loooong day, phew, based on the average mpg of a mid size car, you "could" start to have your investments back after roughly 30k kilometers. But -there is a but!- all this works on today's super ethanol price. If you dont reach the 30k kilometers very quickly, you might see a price increase and a… new tax on it too because of the success!

You might also need to check hoses and gaskets and, indeed, the manufacturer's specification for the engine and fuel system, filters and so on. Especially for anything more than about 6 years old.

[Gerard C]

You're right, Grant. In a perfect world, we could adjust the timing too and may be the camshaft and/or CR. Ignition timing is supposed to be monitored via the knock sensor(s) and adjust at its best.
Bio ethanol has more energy and the octane rate is higher but in a standard engine, the mpg is lower.

The first test I was invited to, was the initiative both of Ford France and representing people of bio energy in France. When passing from 95 to bio carburant on the C-Max, the results were terrible (10 years ago).

In principle, the reliability of the engine should be at least the same if not better with a smoother running. The solution of adding the homologated device is reversible though. Changing the calculator settings is less conservative. The solution of mixing 50% bio and 95 for instance could be good but I couldn't find any feedback about that.

[Mike Harte]

A little excitement on the A11 along Six Mile Bottom: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-eng...near-cambridge

[bauble]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

And some racers don’t.....

Ah! But some girls do.

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

A little excitement on the A11 along Six Mile Bottom: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-eng...near-cambridge

What the heck was going on there! That’s where the old A11 joins from Newmarket going south. As an aside, in the video you will see 50mph limit signs at the junction. These have been there for months, and go down to a 40mph limit for a short stretch. Thing is, there is zero obvious reason for them being there, and no ‘explanation’ by means of a sign. So it leads to regulars cruising through at slightly less than 70, while those not familiar slam their brakes on to reduce speed. Would be safer if they took the signs away, IMHO...

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

What the heck was going on there!

I'm guessing that the driver of the off-roader (is it a Land Rover?) drifted onto the centre reservation, over reacted by swinging too violently towards the left with the result to be seen. The camera picture does seem to suggest that the gap between the two cars was far greater than the car that previously passed.

[morninggents]

That's my take on it too, Mike. But the question is why was he/she too far right? On the phone? Texting? Falling asleep?
If none of the above and he/she was just reacting to the 50 sign why brake so hard to lose control? There was sufficient distance to the car in front to lose speed more gently.


Dashcam guy was lucky he/she wasn't taken out. Also tranny driver probably needed a change of trousers.