Gasoline contains approximately 116,000 BTU of energy per US Gallon.
Ethanol contains approximately 76,000 BTU of energy per US Gallon.
A blend of 8% ethanol with 92% gasoline would result in a fuel that contains approximately
112,800 BTU per US Gallon, which is about 2.8% less energy content
than pure gasoline, which means one could expect about 2.8% less power available
with this blend compared to gasoline without the ethanol.
Ethanol increases octane but does NOT add power, it reduces power available from
the fuel. Power and Octane are unrelated as long as the octane of the fuel is
adequate to prevent detonation. If the engine is designed to take advantage
of a higher octane (higher compression, different cam and ignition timing, perhaps)
then it might not suffer a loss of power with the ethanol laced gasoline.
Otherwise, some power loss from addition of ethanol is a given. You may not
be able to notice a 2.8% drop in power but a dynamometer will.
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Thom Riddle
CFI-SP
Power Plant Mechanic
N221FA Allegro 2000 912UL
N197BG FS1/447
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Scratch any cynic, he said, and youll find a disappointed idealist.
George Carlin
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