what would running 50:1 gas in a car do?

[udoittwo]

I live in the low mountains of S.E. PA. Very fortunately we are probably the least likely to be affected by natural disasters that would require emergency evacuations but I do live 7 miles form a nuke plant. IF we ever had to evacuate, it would probably be immediately. With all that is going on, I started thinking what would I grab. I can hook my boat up and be ready to go in a minute. I would tow with my classic car because it gets the best gas milage and its worth more to me than my other cars.

My boat usually has 2-6 gallon tanks of premixed in it. So, if gas stations were closed and I have a long drive. If I got desperate, could I run premixed in my car? I am guessing it might smoke some and possibly foul the plugs unless i was at highway speeds? It is carbureted that I would think might fair betther than fuel injection? I wonder if [as long as the reach is OK] if running outboard plugs would help?

If it wouldn't hardly run, could I mix it in at have straight and half 50:1 = 100:1? I'm sure someone here has run or tried to run premixed gas in a clunker before.

 

[REN3G8]

Is that the actual car? nice... I did a search on google and it seems like people say you would be ok for short periods of time as long as you're refueling again to dilute it, rather than running that mix straight for a long time.

Also some people say it's fine with carburated motors, but fuel injected motors would probably complain if you run this mix... I guess you would only know if you try it.

 

[REN3G8]

Quoted from here... https://www.quora.com/Can-I-temporarily-run-my-car-on-two-stroke-fuel

[FONT=&quot] [FONT=q_serif]Larry Curley[/FONT]
Updated Nov 23 2013







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Personal experience.

Yes you can and no damage would occur as long as it was only a very short term measure (less than a few hundred miles) and straight petrol was added afterwards.

Longer term use of two stroke mix will do the following things:

Immediately it will begin to have a bad effect in the catalytic converter probably blocking it over time causing reduced mpg and loss of power.

The oil from the mix that is burned in the combustion chamber will 'coke up' the top of the piston creating a hot spot that could be fatal for the engine.
It also creates a fur on the spark plug that will make the engine increasingly difficult to start over time and fail to start on one or more cylinders as it gets worse.

The oil that isn't burned or sent out the exhaust will run down the bore, past the piston and into the oil in the crankcase. Gradually the oil level will rise, diluting and changing the properties of the oil intended to lubricate the engine. One day the engine will begin to smoke badly and run poorly as the over-full crankcase struggles to cope with the crank running in and splashing a bath of oil. At this point serious damage could occur, worst case scenario is an over pressurised crankcase blowing open and depositing its contents all over the road. Very messy.

How do I know this?
Well I've run left over 2 stroke racing fuel in a Honda generator for several years and although no serious failures have happened yet, if I didn't change the oil and spark plug regularly and occasionally remove carbon buildup from the piston and head then it would fail to start after maybe 30 gallons of purely pre-mix was put through it. I alternate it with straight petrol often and keep a close eye on the oil level and spark plug condition.

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[Chris1956]

Obviously your towing car does not have a catalytic converter, so clogging is of no concern. Also, there is so little oil in a 50::1 mix, I doubt it will affect the crankcase oil in any significant fashion. It will also not foul your spark plugs. Remember 2 cycle outboards had magneto ign, and ran 24::1 mixtures, without fouling. Your ign system is superior to that.

A lot of words to say, running a 50::1 gasoline/oil mix will not harm your vehicle, IMHO.

On a more general note, I doubt that fuel injectors would object to a 50::1 mix. I do not know if a 50::1 mix would clog a catalytic converter, but I would guess it would not affect it. There are quite a lot of gasoline additives that are catalytic converter safe, including seafoam. These are a lot like 2 cycle oil.

 

[bruceb58]

If you are running it in that particular car you are fine. I would not run it in a car with catalytic converter or O2 sensors. That is also why you do not want to run something like SeaFoam in your car. There are many instances where O2 sensors have failed after running that snake oil.

 

[ondarvr]

You have nothing to worry about, you could run it 100% of the time and it wouldn't make a difference.

 

[TyeeMan]

Over the years I've burned plenty of "last years" pre-mix fuel in my fuel injected trucks with no issue at all, couldn't even smell it.

I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[CrazyFinn]

No catalytic converter, no problem. You could run it on that all day...

Newer car with a load of sensors and catalytic converter, you might not want to run it on that on a daily basis.

 

[ahicks]

Here's another spin on this topic. If a 4 stroke or fuel injected 2 stoke is going to be put in storage for a few months, even a year, running straight 40-50:1 in it might be a good plan just prior to storage. I'm not sure why it would be any different in a car or motorcycle.

Even just decent 2 stroke oil has fuel preservative built into it to meet national standards for outboard oil. Without regular use of some kind of stabilizer, unless it's used frequently, your late model (4 stroke or injected) outboard is going to be a constant headache. The latest tip I received from a friend, is to hook up a tank with pre mix in it and run that long enough to be sure the fuel pumps and carbs are full of it, just prior to shutting it down for storage. That should be all you need to do to it....

 

[H20Rat]

Not a problem... I've often dumped a couple of gallons of pre-mix into a vehicle instead of storing it over winter. Not once did any vehicle complain, including modern catted, fuel injected vehicles. Given the choice, just dump it in as early as possible so you aren't running 50:1. (6 gallons of 50:1 premix into 10 gallons of gas gives you 133:1 ratio)

But... I'd reconsider. Dragging a boat reduces your mileage and speed, and in the case of a nuclear accident, you want to get out of dodge immediately. Boats are replaceable, people are not.

 

[jimmbo]

If the vehicle has catalytic converters, and you insist on burning the premix, just add it small quantities, so the resulting ratio is on the line of 2000:1. That lean of a mix shouldn't gum up the device

 

[H20Rat]

If the vehicle has catalytic converters, and you insist on burning the premix, just add it small quantities, so the resulting ratio is on the line of 2000:1. That lean of a mix shouldn't gum up th2e device

2000:1 would take a while! That would be roughly 1 quart of 50:1 pre mix fuel to 10 gallons of gas. There is more water allowed in the fuel that you pump from a gas station than the amount of 2 stroke oil in that quart of premix.

 

[jimmbo]

water can't render catalytic converters ineffective

 

[QBhoy]

Oh jeez....infused to do it at the end of every season....because I'm tight as a duck's A@se and live in the fuel price crippling UK. No problems. Just makes a lovely smell !
Although I must admit I've never ran a full tank of it. Just around 20-30 litres.
Unfortunately and like most over here I now have two diesel cars.......boo

 

[jimmbo]

Diesel. Now there's a fuel I'd love to see banned. Over 80 carcinogens in the exhaust. Plus it makes it very hard to breathe when there is one within 100 ft

 

[QBhoy]

Diesel. Now there's a fuel I'd love to see banned. Over 80 carcinogens in the exhaust. Plus it makes it very hard to breathe when there is one within 100 ft

Couldn't agree more J.
Although...what a machine the 535d is. Could rival most muscle cars and 50mpg on a long run !
Would love that engine in a boat.....maybe not...stick with the GM V8 ! Sounds better !

 

[QBhoy]

Just reminiscing about when diesel used to be so much cheaper than petrol over here. Much more expensive now after the big push for everyone to convert to diesel....what a mistake that was...it will and should be banned soon.

 

[444]

The premix fuel won't hurt anything. It will even run just fine in a fuel injected vehicle. I have done it without problem.

Recently I worked on an old outboard kicker than ran at 16:1. Piston and rings were way cleaner that any old carbed automotive engine I've pulled apart.

 

[bruceb58]

The premix fuel won't hurt anything. It will even run just fine in a fuel injected vehicle. I have done it without problem.

Except that it degrades the performance of your O2 sensors. If you don't mind changing O2 sensors at an increased frequency, go for it.

 

[444]

Except that it degrades the performance of your O2 sensors. If you don't mind changing O2 sensors at an increased frequency, go for it.

For the odd time I have some excess premix to burn up, I can't say I'm worried about it.