ad356

gasoline is no longer easily available? i guess what im trying to say is what is going to happen to our hobby? if we can no longer get gasoline what is going to happen to the muscle car/third gen. is is going to be possible to convert our cars to an alternative fuel? ethanol? i know alot of newer GM cars are ethanol ready.what make these modern small block 5.3L that GM uses ethanol ready? what the difference between the fuel system used in these cars vs. the 305's and 350's that we are used to? are our cars going to become museum pieces of the "end of the gasoline age"? or will a modern solution be found to allow our cars to continue run the streets? its something to think about that may become reality sometime in the future. we will all have to come up with new ideas to continue to make our cars fun, usable, and enjoyable. i would go nuts without my t-top, fun loving camaro.

discostu

The "end of the gasoline age" will not come in our lifetimes...
More people will be using alternative fuels, but we won't see an end in sight within the next 50 years or so.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

I'm running 85% ethanol in the '57 right now. The difference is materials compatibility (not so much now as it was in the '70's), and mixture ratio. The "flex fuel" vehicles have the capability to detect how much ethanol and how much gasoline is hitting the engine, and compensate MR accordingly.

Ethanol is possible on a mass production basis (Brazil has been for decades), we just don't have the infrastructure in the U.S. right now to handle the demand. The nay-sayers are full of , and some of them are people whom I otherwise generally agree.

To get the most out of ethanol, you also need to increase compression ratio, but that isn't as easy to make variable.

SpitotRs305

i deffinitly do not believe we will run out of fossil fuels for a LONG time... however i am also not against using E85 or even the 10% found in all gas in the northern US... how ever I am very very against the fact that government has mandated its inclusion in gas and has yet to regulate the actual mixture not to mention the fact the ethenol binds very easily to water...

i learned the hard way about the actual regulation of the 10% mixes found in northern US when i first went for gas with my new engine...10.9:1 CR doesnt play real nicely with 93 to begin with but i got gas at a older gas station... not run down just not newly built... fire the car made it about 100 feet down the road and it started to detonate bad... hypereutectic pistons... i wasnt happy when i returned to the station i asked when they last got 93.. a few days ago... then i asked if it had ethenol in it they said it has to... but 93 doesnt come mixed like 87 does... the transport companys mix the 93 with a percentage of 87 to simulate 10% ethenol... and cars wont know the difference neither will you... well unless you have a engine that is sorta riding on the edge to begin with...


so GO E85... SCREW CONGRESS

ad356

i read some article on the internet an it said that production capacity of oil will be pushed to its limits sometime around 2012. i thought that might mean an end of easily acessable fuel. that article might seem a little paranoid but i dont know. i just wondered how much longer we would have before we have to worry about it, and what alternatives we might have if that day came sooner than expected. why is E85 have to be blended with that 15% fossil fuel? why cant cars be run on pure ethanol?

pentiuman

Don't believe everything you read. WE HAVE PLENTY OF GAS, and will for at least 40-50 years! (Though I admit, I have wondered the same thing). We have oil in Alaska, Mexico, Texas, and other places, I understand. I feel it's very likely that 15-20 years after new cars went fully electric, ethanol, whatever, etc., there will still be gas around, but it will more likely be too expensive to use. Essentially, priceing us out of using our cars, at least on a regular basis. There will be no need to make a law to deny gas powered cars - the market prices will take away any real choice.

-This comes from a 40+ year old, who was a kid in the 1970's and went through the alleged "gas crisis", with everyone saying we were running out. This also comes from a person who is concerned about the environment and can't believe the exhaust from millions of cars hasn't already killed us all. Furthermore, from a person who is all for electric, solar, hybrid cars, and is willing to buy a tiny plastic car w/ no power, when those environmental cars sell at a reasonable cost.

So, my prediction is that by the time we actually run out of gas, we will all be dead, AND, for those few cars that are still around, you'll be able to convert it over to whatever technology powers vehicles then. Have you ever seen or heard of the van that runs on used vegetable oil? May smell like burnt french fries, but it works. Maybe McDonalds will have fast food on one drive through, and used oil for your car as a side item - Hey - you want fries with that used oil?

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

The same people that want to outlaw cars want to outlaw McDonalds.

SpitotRs305

jeez.. mcdonalds... when is someone going to take control of these LOONY TOONS!

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

When people stop voting for Democrats.

SpitotRs305

sounds like a plan... REP. all the time... just want to punch AL gore right in the NUTS really bad. nobel prize winner my ***