Gasoline quality

[SinistrV6]

Where in "Dixie" are you now? Try to get back down here in October for "Cruisin' the Coast" you'd love it! www.cruisinthecoast.com

All of the components in gasoline have octane, some are high some are low. MTBE was very high octane but is now illegal (shows up in ground water samples even from exhausts and outboard motors in lakes). It's all about getting the right combo of ingredients (up to 13 at times ) to have the tank samples come out at exactly 87.0 or 93.0. Doesn't sound tough until you realize that we're putting all the components in at one time and that we make over 220,000 barrels (42 US gallons = 1 barrel) per day. That doesn't include blending Jet fuel, Low Sulfur (on road) diesel, off-road diesel, and 6-0il (heating oil). We keep track of the quality during the blend with in-line analyzers and lab samples serve as back-up.

 

[ThikStik]

Yea, Im in Birmingham. I did go to cruise the coast in 2002. Awesome! I did 5 serious rolling burnouts in my 71 gto convert. White w/black top if you may have seen me. I heard that popo has now clamped down on any fun just like pigeon fprge so i dont want to go. I have no self control and am afraid of getting a ticket.
Someone old couple in a Buick Roadmaster got killed or killed someone walking? while we were there. It resulted in a lawsuit against city of course. But it didnt involve any reckless driving or not even a cruiser. Thats why the crackdown.

Of course my new buick motor (300 miles) has a rod knock and the gto has a Richmond 6 speed that they have admitted is defective-4th time ive sent back to them and still wont work.
Machine shop got me on bearing clearances.

Do you ever get mad about everyone blaming oil companies? When its mostly environmental regs and OPEc causing price jumps?

 

[SinistrV6]

Originally posted by ThikStik
I heard that popo has now clamped down on any fun just like pigeon fprge so i dont want to go. I have no self control and am afraid of getting a ticket.

Cops aren't that bad and it's still a blast. Over 5000 registered cars last year, + all those that just showed up and didn't register.

Originally posted by ThikStik
Do you ever get mad about everyone blaming oil companies? When its mostly environmental regs and OPEc causing price jumps?

Mad? Nah! I don't even attempt to correct them most of the time. It doesn't work and wastes both of our time.

 

[Turbo6inKY]

Interesting note about RFG

For those communities that are about to get RFG when the new EPA standards take hold (and people that already have it, like Chicago and here in Louisville):

Don't run it in your Buick. Drive out of town and get regular gas some where.

My reasoning, and it is pretty solid:

I recently had to replace my MAF with a new LT1 and a translator. When I pulled out the TurboLink so I could set the translator up, I noticed my BLMs were pegged at 150 at idle. I started a month long process of identifying and eliminating vacuum leaks. I found a bunch, but my BLMs never came down from 150. It also knocked on stock boost (stock chip, stock wastegate solenoid, stock non-adjustable actuator).

Well, I just got in from the garage. I emptied the tank into one of my other cars and dumped in 10 gallons of gas I bought from Southern Indiana (which doesn't sell RFG). Fired the car up and BAM, BLMs are 112 @ idle.

The only thing I changed was the fuel.

If you're reading this and aren't familiar with the BLM issues, do a search on the board. There are hundreds of posts about high BLM problems. Some guys chase this problem down for months or years at a time on a car. I spent a month on mine, and eventually even blocked off my PCV valve, and all along, it was primarily the gasoline. Now my BLMs are actually too low.