Item Subject: cc:Mail Text
Jim,
You must have forgotten to say YMMV. Mine sure has. After 8 years of
sitting the fuel in my TR8:
A: Was darker red in color
B: Cloudy
C: Smelled very different from the fuel I used to buy.
Yes I know new fuel smells different than what we used to buy.
My car ran poorly on the 8 year old fuel in the tank after a general
tune-up. I pumped all the fuel out and drained the remaining fuel when I
replaced that little bit of fuel hose that lives inside the tank. Added
new fuel and it ran much better. Re-tuned and it ran even better yet! Put
the old fuel in my riding lawnmower and it knocked under heavy load! It
never knocked even under full load before (or since).
The alcohol based fuels may pick up water, and the ether fuels may just
lose volatiles, I don't know. But something changes. The crap they call
gasoline (actually it's "motor fuel") sometimes boils out of the carbs when
you shut off the engine at 5,200 feet altitude. The crap is just too
volatile to be stable. Measured fuel vapor pressures prove the fuel isn't
what it used to be. In the mountains (around 11,000 feet) you see lots of
cars vapor locked. Especially on the oxygenated winter mix they force on
us. That garbage comes in early and stays late. It seriously affects
drivability in warm weather.
Here in Colorado we have to pass smog. My advice is to always flush the
old fuel if it is over 2 seasons old before trying to pass smog, maybe
older in a tightly sealed, unvented fuel system. It's not that expensive,
and I believe it improves the odds of passing the test.
Another thing that sometimes happens is a supplier may deliver some fuel
that isn't quite right. I have a friend that is a UPS fleet mechanic and
occasionally he sees problems with their trucks that relate strictly to
fuel quality, usually fuel vapor pressure- hence vapor lock. Sometimes the
octane doesn't seem correct. If you get a suspect tank of gas, drain it or
buy the next tank elsewhere. And never buy fuel when they are filling the
tanks, it stirs up the sediment and water in their storage tanks.
Maybe it depends on your definition of "bad gas"? When the vehicle
performance/emissions change because of old fuel, I call it bad. I'm
curious what evidence you have that ten year old gas has not changed enough
to be out of "shelf life"?
Clay Scott
2 1980 TR8's (the twins)
Both smogged in July after 3 and 8 years sitting
Both passed on the first try with fresh fuel
>Date: Fri, 8 Aug 1997 14:02:01 -0500 (EST)
>From: James Charles Ruwaldt <jruwaldt@indiana.edu>
>Subject: Re: Rough running TR6
>Chris,
> Gasoline doesn't go bad. You'll probably hear it has a shelf
>life of about three years, but it can for ten without any problems. I
>can't imagine you'd suddenly have problems from the gas after running
>your car regularly. You should check for rust in the gas tank and
>clogging of the injectors, since that's where fuel problems are most
>likely to occur.
>Jim Ruwaldt
>'72 TR6 CC79338U(being restored)
>Bloomington, IN
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