Since it is not mandated, I hope we never really see 15%?
It might be just a political may of not passing 15%, I hope.

__________________
Loving my BMW

What sucks is the no ethanol gas station near me has really old school pumps so you gotta go pay inside first...

__________________
"When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all" (Bender, futurama)

You make something idiotproof, they'll make a better idiot

You think professional is expensive, just wait until you pay for amateur.

Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.

Examine what is said, not who speaks.

X5 pics

RIP 4.6is.....

2003 4.6is

but if it's "unbranded", just how do they KNOW it's ethanol-free??? Seems to me they are buying on the spot market. Many of the supermarket & Walmart gas stations out west are supplied by Conoco. The last thing I want to do is put in Exxon. I can still remember my Holley 4-bbl turning red from that stuff. I don't see very many top tier gas stations listed.

__________________
Mark _______________________________
2001 X5 4.4i topaz blue/sand Sport, complete Dinan S2 , hitch, V1, tint, BSW Stage 1, Alpine INA-W910BT
___________
Life is not fair!
You can't protect people from their own stupidity!
Laughter makes life worth living

The ethanol free station by me actually uses Louisiana refinery gas so it helps support local economy too. The truck even seems more peppy and gets more MPG when I run their gas too.

We have a very easy test we do at the dealer to check the ethanol levels in gas with a small sample. So easy anyone can do it, so if I remember I will scan a copy of the directions. And I'll say that even with Shell premium that is labeled to be no more than 10% ethanol I've tested I've found 15-18% on average....... scary.

__________________
"When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all" (Bender, futurama)

You make something idiotproof, they'll make a better idiot

You think professional is expensive, just wait until you pay for amateur.

Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.

Examine what is said, not who speaks.

X5 pics

RIP 4.6is.....

2003 4.6is

I wonder the same thing sometimes, espcially since there are reports that even the 10% ethanol stations are reporting over 15% currently, so who's to say if the stuff I buy from my "ethanol-free" doesn't have 5-10% still.

Guess it's time to start running 100 octane racing gas instead...it'd be just like paying for Euro pricing on gas!

__________________

It replaced lead...besides MTBE being cancerous and it's acute health effects, it was leaking into ground water from under ground storage tanks. There were extensive tests performed nationwide in the 90's...I recall reading the alarming results for the North East.

Re: Ethanol, my curiousity is with it's long term effects on older engines.

Fix the leaky tanks, problem solved. It seems natural that fixing a leaking tank full of gasoline would be the priority anyways, no matter the MBTE or not.

__________________

If only it were that simple. It isn't the likelihood of a tank leaking, but rather the extreme consequences when one does leak, that creates the very high clean-up costs.

MTBE is water soluble, that is the largest problem. There are so many tanks across the country, in every filling station. Even in very low quantities it gets into the ground water supply and travels long distances. It can make the drinking water non-potable. And if motorists paid the true clean-up costs for the occasional leak, in their fuel bill, fuel would be much more expensive than it is.

I would take issue with it being termed a carcinogen, as it isn't one.

I think the solution is for the refineries to start with better fuels, so they don't need so many additives to raise the octane level. Of course, that costs money, and as long as the public uses a lowest-bid approach to buying fuel, there isn't a market for any sort of quality fuel. The much-vaunted top-tier designation doesn't cover any of this.

We have much better fuels locally here than many locations in the US, so for me the 91, or the 94 with no ethanol, works very well.

__________________
2007 X3 3.0si, 6 MT, Premium, White

Retired:
2008 535i, 6 MT, M Sport, Premium, Space Grey
2003 X5 3.0 Steptronic, Premium, Titanium Silver
2002 325xi 5 MT, Steel Grey
2004 Z4 3.0 Premium, Sport, SMG, Maldives Blue

And, back at the Corner Vegetable Stand Ranch...without writing term papers as it's all been covered in other arts., the whole ethanol deal is a pork barrel piece of crap that helps/might help some farmers growing corn, and prop up the price of that commodity.

I love farmers; a couple of my best friends are farmers, but none of them need more of a subsidy for corn growing than they are already getting. Ethanol, in the US, is corn based; we could feed Africa, or much of the world with our corn. Using it to make ethanol, supporting the few, barely funded, and going broke ethanol plants in this country, is absurd. Add in a complete lack of infrastructure to transport the ol'demon rum, (pipelines need to be dedicated to ethanol; thus it gets trucked, most of the time), stir in the politics in corn growing legislative districts, support for those crummy ethanol processors, add "anti-oil"/anti-middle east pressure, wave the flag, and you have a gallon of so-so gas that just gets crummier by the year.

This isn't Brazil, with their system(s) for ethanol, and no one in private industry will line up to get to their situ. So, the gov't/EPA waves its arms, sitting in that big fookin EPA building in DC, and decides to add more, all supposedly "above politics", etc.

Only in America...we continue to deserve what we get.
GL, mD

__________________
Ol'UncleMotor
From the Home Base of Pro Bono Punditry
and 50 Cent Opins...

Our Mtn Scenes, Car Pics, and Road Trip Pics on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/4527537...7627297418250/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/4527537...7627332480833/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45275375@N00/

My X Page