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Brazil Posted by Bill Homer [Email] (#3427) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Bill Homer) on Wed, 25 Aug 2004 10:58:13 In Reply to: Re: OT: Ethanol conversions?, Dean, Wed, 25 Aug 2004 10:32:00 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
When I was in Brazil about ten years ago, the vast majority of cars ran on alcohol made from sugar cane - I don't know the current situation. Alcohol fuel has a few shortcomings, such as reduced volumetric efficiency and harder cold starting, but the goverment-controlled pricing made it an attractive proposition compared to gasoline. The cold starting is not a big issue in a tropical country, and is helped along by a small (half-gallon?) tank of gasoline, which is added to the mix during the starting process.
Under the hood, I saw very little difference between my friend's alcohol-powered VW Passat and my former US-spec Audi, save for some additional stainless steel parts and the previously mentioned auxiliarly gasoline tank. As previously mentioned, some plastic and rubber parts may have been slightly different and a few engine parameters (timing, compression, etc.) mgiht have been changed, but I can't imagine that this made a significant change in the price of the car.
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