Gasoline Or Gasohol

[Spaniel]

This letter was in today's Bangkok Post Postbag. I'm still using gasoline-91 and had been thinking of switching gasohol but now not so sure.

Comparing Fuels

The government is urging a switch from gasoline to gashol. I kept careful records of distance, litres and speed for three months, using gasoline 91. I then did the same with gasohol 91. (I drive a Honda Jazz). While these are not accurate laboratory studies, I managed to duplicate both conditions almost to the litre and distance. I concluded that although gasholol might be 2-3 bhat cheaper per liter, it also gave me 20% less distance per liter then gasoline 91.

Would the Minister for Energy kindly tell me how I am sacing money? If more fpeople would bother to write down their comparisons between the tow fuels, they would find they are actually spending more for gasohol in the long run. This may be good for government revenue , but it is not economical for drivers.

There is no substitute for the real thing, price or not, like it or not.

Jack Gilead

Thanks Jack for the information.

[Murf]

It's been discussed on here before mate, with roughly the same conclusions...

[sgunn65]

I have a new CRV which runs on Gasohol. I had never even heard of this stuff and am still confused. In the UK its petrol or deisil generally. So does it mean that I can put ordainary petrol/gasoline in my car as gasohol is not sold everywhere.

[initiala4]

Gasohol is crap thats it!

[Heng]

Yeah, still using 95 benzene myself, and sometimes 91 (runs 99% as good, with the exception of a little acceleration hiccup now and then) when we come across a gas station that has phased out 95.

[Gary A]

I have a 2007 Ford Focus and I can't tell any difference in performance or fuel economy between 95 octane gasoline and gasohol. If anything, I think the performance is better with gasohol. I suppose it's possible that there is a difference depending on cars.

If your car has been designed for gasohol, give it a try and make your mind up as far as your results.

[Mamboking]

I do switched about 3-4 month ago. Can't see any difference for my Audi A4 (1995).

[culicine]

I've also been keeping records for my honda civic 2.0, 2004 model. It runs mostly on gasohol now except when I can only get 91 regular in the vicinity. I have found the mileage is almost identical, though the 91 gasohol is slightyl less economical. Multiplying these figures to the current cost of petrol (91 regular is ridiculous now!!), gasohol was more economical (enough to be worthwhile to use). HOWEVER, the risk of engine damage / wear COULD be increased in the long run. That's the great unknown. Any engine damage would negate the use of gasohol. Honda officially say its ok, but I'm not convinced; not until someone does 200K on gasohol and shows no unusual engine wear.

I do think performance decreased, albeit marginal, with the use of gasohol. Infact, modifying my air filter airbox made a greater impact on economy and performance (seems to have gotten rid of the torque dip about 3500rpm).

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi.

In my '94 Volvo 460 2.0 there is no difference in either mileage or power when i compare gasohol 95 with benzene 95. I have been driving on gasohol since it became available and only sometimes get regular benzene (such as up country when i really need to fill and the next station doesn't have gasohol).

I will try the new E20 as soon as i find a station that actually sells it.

Best regards....

Thanh

[initiala4]

You dont feel much of a difference but thats because of the ECU adapting to certain conditions.

[rickgyles]

Hi you want feel much different but the car is going to use slightly more fuel and the engine will die about 50000 Km before I work for Mercedes since a long time and they made studies in South America (not published)

And find out the amount you save you going to pay more as the car use moiré fuel so you actually not saving anything. is just politics

Plus you going to kill your engine slowly (same with smoking you not die instantly)

I don't touch that stuff I love my car and bike.

Take care

Rick

[indothai]

Gasohol was not ment to save the consumers any money. It was ment to REDUCE oil IMPORT, or reduce dependence on foreign oil.

I drive the new CRV and been using Gasohol for over a year now without problems. 3 weeks ago I switched using regular 91 to see if I can "tell" the difference,... and... NOPE., except that my wallet was a tad lighter. I think the newers cars can compensate better for the difference in fuel types.

Gas prices going up every other week... thanks.. i'll go fill 'er up with the cheapest i can find.

Just check with your car manufacturer if you car can support Gasohol... example from Shell Thailand:

http://www.shell.com/home/content/thailand..._faqs_1130.html

Scroll down a bit to see a list of cars that can use gasohol.

[MikeWill]

Another reference is at: http://www.bkkautos.com/node/17

[thetravellingcat]

I agree the main reason for the creation of Gasohol and Bio-ethanol was to reduce dependence on foreign oil.

Nice idea but it is really a bate-and-switch while giving people the false sense that they are doing something good for the planet. Gasohol is also partly responsible for the price of food going up. As food sources and crops are diverted to make Bio-ethanol this leaves less for the global food market. I would also like to mention that the cultivating and refining process for turning crops into Bio-ethanol is very energy intensive, I don't have the figures but you might as well continue to buy regular gasoline because the Bio-ethanol plants use fossil fuels to operate! I find my skepticism well placed here.

I am also a member of a forum who are increasing the performance of cars using non-standard engine upgrade kits, as with other performance enthusiasts the consensus is to stick with regular gasoline. Writing gasoline is weird, i'm used to writing petrol

[bino]

It's been discussed on here before mate, with roughly the same conclusions...

Indeed it has, Murf.

Here is the recent thread - where I posted on the same topic.

[PattayaParent]

I've used both gahohol 91 and petrol 91 in my new car and they both give me the same mileage.

One thing I do notice with the gasohol 91 compared to my 13 year old petrol (95) driven car is that the new one has less ooommph when I floor the accelerator.

Less power from the gasohol 91 I'm assuming?

[Bangyai]

I've used both gahohol 91 and petrol 91 in my new car and they both give me the same mileage.

One thing I do notice with the gasohol 91 compared to my 13 year old petrol (95) driven car is that the new one has less ooommph when I floor the accelerator.

Less power from the gasohol 91 I'm assuming?

[/quo

Correct. Gasohol produces less energy per litre than ordinary petrol . Also, in older cars particularly ,it is likely to wear out the engine faster. I am surprised the govournment doesn't encourage people to switch from automatic transmission to manual. This will cut down your fuel bills a lot better than using alternative fuels. Also, an automatic can't be jump started or pushed if the battery gives out. This can be really inconvenient if it happens in the middle of nowhere. Unless you have to drive up and down Sukhumvit every day I don't see the advantage of an automatic. I think the only reason Thais love them so much is that there is a percieved loss of face if you drive a manual, as if your finances couldn't quiet stretch that far.

[fruit]

I have an 01 Altis and have been running normal 91 for years without any issues. However it is proving increasingly difficult to find.

I was forced to use the Gasohol 91 recently, and I noticed that the car became difficult to start, it would turn over for about 5 seconds before actually starting, whereas prior to the Gasohol it would start immediately. After about 100km's this problem stopped, I assume the ECU adjusted itself to account for the fuel. If the octane of Gasohol was really higher than Benzine as claimed, then why would it have difficulty starting?

I didn't try to record any difference in fuel consumption, and didn't try to notice any difference in performance. This site makes Gasohol sound very attractive, but it feels a bit biased somehow.

[Upcountry]

Just got a 2007 Jazz. The seller told me to use 95 gasohol or 91 benzine.

I guess the higher octane gasohol makes up for the lower power output somewhat.

The car drove fine on the highway, but I park my car for days at a time, so benzine is better for me.

Recently I found that Shell stopped selling 91 benzine in my area (very ironic, because I recently sold an old 95 burner since that was too hard to find).

At first I though they were just cheating (waiting for the price to go up) but I guess they're just interested in forcing gasohol on the market.

Is this true, part of trend that may take benzine off the market here in Thailand?

[indothai]

Higher octane rating does not equal higher power.

Higher octane rating does not equal higher quality fuel.

The links below will explain what octane rating means, read it carefully and thoroughly. And then read your owners manual to see what is required in your engine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question90.htm

http://www.theserviceadvisor.com/octane.htm

Always check with your manufacturer if you car can take gasohol.

I'm not flaming, just trying my best to inform.

[JimsKnight]

Still using 95 octane non-gasohol and loving it

Tried using the gasohol sht and the bike runs like crap and the economy isn't worth it.

Mind you having a CBR 400 isn't the same as a scooter so for some it's worth having gasohol.

The shell garage around Hua Hin still stocks 95 benzine. It costs around 34 baht per liter but there you go

[Upcountry]

In Phitsanulok, only one station sells 95 benzine, one reason got rid of my old 95 burner. That's why I found it very ironic that Shell suddenly made 91 unavailable here just as soon as I got a 91 burner! Interesting to hear that Shell in your town sells 96 benzine. Actually, it is probably up to the owner of the station. I think one owner has both of the Shell's I have visited.

According to my wife (Thai manual, waiting to get an English one), my '07 Honda Jazz can use 91 or 95 octane gasohol. The previous owner liked 95.

I'd prefer to use 91 benzine since my car sits in the garage for days at a time, and I think that gasohol will evaporate, even in a new-ish car.

[mdechgan]

In theory ethanol has only 50% of the btu or power that regular petrol does. So gasohol is 10% ethanol therefore one should experience 5% less power or mileage depending on the engine tuning, maybe 3% is properly tuned. To tune an engine for gasohol one will need the to do following:

Richen the mixture, increase the exhaust and intake for more air, increase the compression ratio and advance the ignition timing. Sometimes it also helps to use a slightly hotter spark plug like from a 6 to a 5 heat range.

The reasons for the tuning is gasohol has less energy per liter of fuel but it does had better anti knocking capabilities which can be used for a better advantage. So for the same power output one needs to use more fuel and air but if tuned properly gasohol can make an engine more efficient if tuned properly. Also gasohol evaporates easier so make sure the fuel lines, injector seals, fuel filters washers and fuel cap have no leaks.

Gasohol won't have benefits for a low compression engine like those V6s or V8s or older BMW or Benz. However if your car has a higher compression like a turbocharged Audi or higher performace honda engines like the K series in the 2.0 civics and the new 2.4 CRVs I would actually recommend gasohol.

Power and mileage is so subjective because so many variables are involved tire pressures, etc.. So many variables are involved even the altitude and ambient temperature can affect mileage and power. Driving at night is more efficient than driving during the day because of lower ambient temperatures, less traffic, the a/c compressor turns on less frequently, less traffic, etc. It also matters how long one warms up the engine and if the tanks are full or not. Because an extra 25 liters of fuel is about 20kg of added weight.

My car was running fine with 95 benzine until I had no choice but to use 95 gasohol. Then it ran like crap with no mileage until I re-tuned the engine. I think I lost like 50km per tank after the switch. Now it runs even better than before with the same mileage. But what is important is than I saved a bundle in my wallet. @ 35 baht per liter compared to 20 baht per 95 gasohol liter I get like 2 free tanks at the end of the month. I think there will be less differences with 91 octane. I do not recommend E20 because its only 1 baht cheaper than 91 gasohol and is definately not worth it in terms of mileage and power lost.

In the end if I'm stuck in traffic in BKK for hours at a time I won;t care about power, just give me a cheap enough fuel to keep my engine running and my a/c cool.

Edited February 7, 2009 by mdechgan