Mark
wrote:
Most are just plain scared to run their
engines lean of peak where they are able to get close to the
"advertised" bsfc.
That seems to be
the rule. I chatted yesterday with a hangar neighbor with his
beautiful Lancair Legacy with Continental 550. Does he run lean of
peak? “Eh-h, well, I tried it, but it sounded different, and I hear the
valves don’t last as long; so I run it rich of peak. It’s a few more
dollars, but cheap insurance”
Alcohol and possible vapor
lock are the only issues I know of, and with a properly designed
EFI fuel system, vapor lock isn't an issue. As long as they don't
start blending alcohol in the fuel in my neck of the woods, I'll
keep burning mogas and pocketing the difference.
I did the ethanol
test on my auto fuel yesterday. Within the accuracy of the test, the fuel
had between 4 and 6% ethanol – consistent with what Mike said regarding CA
fuels. So I got out my light and little my mirror and stiff wire with
a sharp end; and inspected my fiberglass/EZpoxy fuel tanks. No sign of any
softening of the surfaces; no sign of anything happening. Nothing in the
fuel filter. So far, so good.
So I’ll keep
runnin’ with auto fuel – certainly when near my home base. Saves close
to $15 for every hour of flying – including the 6 – 8 cents/ga for the
2-cycle oil (SuperTech 2-stroke oil, $10.97/ga at Walmart, mix ¾ oz per
ga.).
You stated, "But really the biggest
motivation was to do something a little different." As for that
statement... I couldn't agree more, but how do you quantify something like
that?