10% alcohol or straight gas I wonder what other have experienced with either or? I usually only visit station with straight gas but got some 7-11 gas the other day which is 10% alcohol. Wow the car sounds smoother and quieter. Quite a bit less grumble on the down shift and I was almost thinking my tail pipe had been plugged up or something. It sounded like a different car. I wonder how or why it would be so much smoother from just a gas change? Either was it seams to like it better. And I assume GM tune the V6 to run with that 10% alcohol stuff as it was big new in the 80's???

alcohol and gas don't mix. how does 7-11 gas have 10% alcohol?

Likewise....never heard that one..

Sure they do, ever heard of gasohol?

Ethanol / Alcohol same difference to me.

but people have used a super heavy mix of dry gas or rubbing alcohol to pass smog. it does mix.


[I hope your just confused and not being a smart "bleep" just for fun?]


Most cheap station use a 10% mix. most times the sticker is on the side of the pump is near the bottom but it must be labeled somewhere on the pump that is either 100% gas or 10% ethanol.

7-11, Myers, stop n go, clark n other "of brand" station use that 10% mix.

i have also hear companies such as wawa and racetrack use "washout gas"

ok, when you said alcohol, i thought you meant methanol. i run that in my racing kart and that'w what came to mind, it doesn't mix with gasonline. it also takes a great deal more meth. to run an engine than it takes gasoline.

Methanol mixes with gasoline too. It's not used as commonly as an additive as ethanol though.

I used to work with this guy who was a scientist and I asked him what could I put in my gas to make the car run better he told me to use Tertiary Butenol (not sure if that spelt right). He said they use it in Octane boosters and things like that. But if I could run across that stuff it wouldn't hurt a thing he said I would "get more bang for the buck" he said it makes it burn hotter and faster and more efficiently and alot less emmisions.

A quick Google search will turn up a few pages on home-made fuel additives. There are all kinds of things you can add to gasoline to increase the octane rating. Most of them are pretty nasty chemicals that I'd rather not mess with.

was always under the impression that the higher the octane rating, that the slower the fuel will burn. and was also thinking that a slower burn was cooler, however that might have been a slow flame is hotter....hmmm, not sure.

I don't care but on few board people have gone ape bleep when people said octane made gas burn slower. as technically the burn rate is still the same just at a high temp or something or other. But have seen several nasty flames wars over that.

But it is easier to think of it that way.



Myth Busters found that mothballs raise octane.
sugar in the gas did nothing
drain cleaner did nothing
bleach in the gas made it run funny for a sec but a quick rev n it smoothed out

Though bleach in the oil was the demise of that engine.


I have looked some at gas additives. Most can be found at a good paint store bur never got an answer on prices. The performance gains aside if the stuff is cheaper than $1.50 a gallon.
Id buy a few gallons of odd chemicals to save a few bucks over time.

If you really want to increase your octane rating, the thing to use is tetraethyl lead. Unfortunately it fouls your sensors, kills the fish and makes your kids stupid.

stations are required to post the use of 10% alcohol or more ... alcohol attracts water,is corosive to aluminum,takes more to produce the same btu's as regular gasoline and makes the eng. run hotter ... none of which i find to be desirable but then that is just my opinion ... tao

Maybe it wasn't the gas, maybe they got some good detergents in 7-11 gas???

I had gotten the gas on the way home say around Thur's, and the car sat till yesterday as I had to install another valve stem in my right rear tire.

I have done it twice so far this year. I get to close to curbs or something and I end up with a flat from a broken valve stem.

Though having my own tire changer makes it cake.

actually, methanol alcohol helps the engine to run cooler. carbs and intakes will get condinsation and possibly ice on them from the alcohol flowing through. it does run cooler and cleaner than gasonline.

eh for some it's already too late

Isoproponol alcohol or rubing alcohol mixes with gas readly it is the commen deicer because it make water, gas and it's self mix so good even in small amounds.
Ethanol, grain or ethly alcohol is a better fuel, it raises octain the count and can be run straight in most gas cars with little modification.
Methanol, wood or methaly alcohol doesn't mix good with gas some time, when it is soly burned it likes to get burned in a high compression hot running engine be cause it has an octaine of around 118 and needs a harsh engine enviroment to set it off.
Regular gas has more hexane in it whch burns hot and fast.
Premo gas has things that have higher flash points unlike hexane, but they can burn hoter or cooler then the hexane.
It is gas that has chemicals to change its flash point so is more resistan to detonating.
It can burn hoter or cooler then regular gas depending on what it is made of.