Gas in the 80's vs Today

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I saw a video of a dude adjusting the tension on his older car from the 1980s that uses Air Flow Meter (flap type).
He was basically tightening the spring so that the flap door opens less and the ECU would think the engine is getting less air, hence inject less fuel (less rich). He said something about the stock tune was for Gas of that time, the 80's.
Which got me thinking, not counting lead, what else has changed in regards to Gasoline formulations then vs now ? Does it burn differently ?
 
I remember pumping Premium gas back in the 70s. It had a reddish tint to it and a sweet smell. Nothing like what we have today.
 
1980s car engines required unleaded---as did most from the late 1970s as well. They shouldn't need any mixture correction for 2020 fuel, as far as I know; if so, small. My 1981 car ran well on 2014 gasoline.

^ That reddish tint indicated presence of lead.
 
Originally Posted by alcyon
what else has changed in regards to Gasoline formulations then vs now ?


Gas now has crappy ethanol in it.
 
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
Originally Posted by alcyon
what else has changed in regards to Gasoline formulations then vs now ?


Gas now has crappy ethanol in it.


Yep. With less MPG. Less power. More pollution.
 
Originally Posted by CR94
That reddish tint indicated presence of lead.

Premium gas had red dye. Basic gas had amber dye. And purple gas had....wait for it.... purple dye.

Purple gas was for off road use only, agriculture and the like. And I've always believed (could be wrong) that the red and amber colours were simply to make sure you were getting what you paid for.

Come to that, they all had lead in them.
 
Actually "crappy ethanol" can make slightly more power. It does not give better fuel mileage as the ratio of race engines, or drag racing engines like TA/FC burn 2.3/ 2.4 times the amount of methanol as a gas motor would.

Research E85 turbo tuned vehicles. they burn a heck of a lot of fuel, and can't pass a fuel station, but they are faster than any gas tuned turbo.
 
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
Originally Posted by alcyon
what else has changed in regards to Gasoline formulations then vs now ?


Gas now has crappy ethanol in it.



One of the FEW things I miss about Oklahoma was a CHOICE of non-ethanol fuel. I ONLY run non-ethanol 91 octane in my 82 Trans AM KITT


Dave
 
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The rumor that Gale Banks had the fastest altered 1/4 mile Drag racing truck on diesel, it never smoked? Why.... Everyone that know jack about diesels figures he was running mostly alcohol, not diesel.
 
Originally Posted by GMguy84
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
Originally Posted by alcyon
what else has changed in regards to Gasoline formulations then vs now ?


Gas now has crappy ethanol in it.



One of the FEW things I miss about Oklahoma was a CHOICE of non-ethanol fuel


Dave


I can buy it here all over the place, but its 70 to 80 cents a gallon more for a mile or two per gallon.
 
100 ctane leaded fuel was available at the pump in the 80s. they called it 5 star. 5 star was the goodness.
4 star was 98 octane leaded
3 star 93 octane leaded
2 star 87 octane leaded.

32/33/34 pence per litre compared to todays 125 pence per litre
 
Originally Posted by KneeGrinder
The rumor that Gale Banks had the fastest altered 1/4 mile Drag racing truck on diesel, it never smoked? Why.... Everyone that know jack about diesels figures he was running mostly alcohol, not diesel.



he was using diesel at a sensible and realistic AFR. Smoke means too much fuel, the easy solution then is to add more air and PRESTO! no more smoke
 
Originally Posted by Olas
Originally Posted by KneeGrinder
The rumor that Gale Banks had the fastest altered 1/4 mile Drag racing truck on diesel, it never smoked? Why.... Everyone that know jack about diesels figures he was running mostly alcohol, not diesel.



he was using diesel at a sensible and realistic AFR. Smoke means too much fuel, the easy solution then is to add more air and PRESTO! no more smoke


Its not that simple...He was cheating, everyone knows it. Lean out too much too quick and kaboom, or melt down. His truck ran clean like an alcohol motor. It had some diesel, but it had ALOT of alcohol in the fuel.

Had you ever seen his truck some 15 years ago, it was a tube chassis running 7's
 
oxygenated diesel is common and available, same as oxygenated gas. its doesnt change the fact that 'rolling coal' comes from too rich an AFR, and a properly tuned diesle engine will make plenty power without smoke as a function of correct AFRs. SMoke is rich, no smoke is correct.
 
Originally Posted by GMguy84
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
Originally Posted by alcyon
what else has changed in regards to Gasoline formulations then vs now ?


Gas now has crappy ethanol in it.



One of the FEW things I miss about Oklahoma was a CHOICE of non-ethanol fuel. I ONLY run non-ethanol 91 octane in my 82 Trans AM KITT


Dave



Dave have you checked out the website listing all ethanol free gas stations ??

Maybe some in your area... An idea to think about.. I'm guessing.
 
No smoke means lean on a diesel and you have limited out on power, unless you have some alcohol. Not a single other truck in the division can run anywhere near that clean, and Gail is no genius.

They don't need oxygenated diesel but they could use it, they use NO2, as much as they want, its an unlimited class. there is no rule against spraying alcohol either. But putting it in your fuel tank and entering in a diesel class is a little unscrupulous.
Trust me, he mixed alcohol in his diesel.
 
Originally Posted by oldhp
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
Originally Posted by alcyon
what else has changed in regards to Gasoline formulations then vs now ?


Gas now has crappy ethanol in it.


Yep. With less MPG. Less power. More pollution.


There are plenty of cases of vehicles making more power on e85 than even 114 race gas.
 
Originally Posted by KneeGrinder
No smoke means lean on a diesel and you have limited out on power, unless you have some alcohol. Not a single other truck in the division can run anywhere near that clean, and Gail is no genius.

They don't need oxygenated diesel but they could use it, they use NO2, as much as they want, its an unlimited class. there is no rule against spraying alcohol either. But putting it in your fuel tank and entering in a diesel class is a little unscrupulous.
Trust me, he mixed alcohol in his diesel.



Maybe its a cultural thing - ethanol in diesel is common hround here.. Etamax-D is an ethanol-diesel blend used in all the diesel engined public transport vehicles. Not unscrupulous or disingenuous, just cheaper.
I still maintain that black smoke is unburned fuel from an over-rich condition and that by adding more air the smoke would diminish. more power and less coal is win-win, right?
 
Originally Posted by Skippy722
Originally Posted by oldhp
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
Originally Posted by alcyon
what else has changed in regards to Gasoline formulations then vs now ?


Gas now has crappy ethanol in it.


Yep. With less MPG. Less power. More pollution.


There are plenty of cases of vehicles making more power on e85 than even 114 race gas.


The extra power on ethanol means you can get to the next gas station quicker to flll up while the guy with 20% less power can cruise by 9 out of 10 gas station sand win the race with less power.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Olas

The extra power on ethanol means you can get to the next gas station quicker to flll up while the guy with 20% less power can cruise by 9 out of 10 gas station sand win the race with less power.


Everyone running e85 on a custom tuned vehicle is running a flex fuel sensor. With modern computers and tuning software, you can have your cake and eat it too, it ain't the 1970's anymore
wink.gif
 
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