different> > > > > That sounds like a crock to me Chris. Har har har. > > Gee, I've never heard THAT one before!> > > > > Seriously though, how do you figure that oxygen in the fuel is any
Your mass flow logic is somewhat sound, however; Gaseous O2 will not stay dissolved in gasoline, and will exit the liquid either in your tank, or before it is even pumped. The oxygen in oxygenated fuel is bound in a compound, (the composition of which I don't know.), and is freed during the combustion process, possibly even downstream of the combustion chamber in the exhaust pipe, in hopes of achieving a more complete combustion and minimizing the formation of carbon monoxide in favor of forming carbon dioxide. Unburnt hydrocarbons form smog don't you know. It really isn't a very good solution, as oxygenated fuel vapors have been proven to be severely irritating to some people. Jeff> > than oxygen from the air? > > I'm thinking in terms of the mass that enters the engine. In the carb, > a given flow of fuel comes in the fuel side for a given amount of air > coming in the air side. If there is oxygen in the fuel, it is taking up > mass in the fuel circuit that could be taken up by more fuel instead. > Thus, the engine is burning leaner, and you aren't packing as much > energy into the cylinder as you could. In other words, the carb doesn't > know that oxygen is coming in through the fuel circuit, so it keeps > pumping in the same amount of air. Does that make any sense? Parts for > the wind tunnel arrive tomorrow, so I have to get things ready, and my > posts aren't as well-versed as I'd like them to be! > > Granted, I'd think that this would give you better gas mileage, since > you are running leaner. But, you have to open the throttle more to get > the same amount of power as you would otherwise, so you end up burning > more fuel overall. > > Chris >