Ethanol Fuel Injection Explained

The fuel injection system in your car is part of your vehicle’s engine management system, but what if you have made the choice to switch over to ethanol as your primary fuel? Will the ethanol have an effect on your fuel injection system? If you are running a regular car engine, it could. You need to have a conversion kit applied to your engine if you want to use ethanol and not damage your fuel injection system.

The fuel injection system inserts fuel into your engine through a small nozzle under high pressure. The thing is that your fuel injector has to interact with the carburetor which is used to having gasoline sent through it. When you introduce ethanol as opposed to gasoline, you will have to convert the carburetor to accept the ethanol once it is sent through with the fuel injection system.

The functional objectives for fuel injection system can vary – especially with Ethanol being introduced. All of the objectives share the central task of supplying fuel to the combustion process. However, it is a design decision as to how a particular system will be optimized whether it’s with gasoline or with ethanol. There are several competing objectives. These include:

* Power output
* Fuel efficiency
* Emissions performance
* The ability to accommodate alternative fuels – like ethanol
* Durability
* Reliability
* Drivability and smooth operation
* Cost for the injection system
* Maintenance costs
* Diagnostic capabilities

Certain combinations of these goals are conflicting when it comes to fuel injection and ethanol. It is impractical for a single engine system to fully optimize all criteria simultaneously. When you are using ethanol as your alternative fuel, you will need to look closely at your fuel injection system and determine how you can make it perform in the best way possible as you make the switch over to ethanol as an alternative fuel source for your car.

There are many ways that you can make your fuel injection system compatible with an ethanol fuel. You will simply need a conversion kit and the help of an experienced mechanic. They can switch your engine over to an environmentally safe fuel burning car that can actually save you money. Sure, you’ll pay for the conversion, but in the long run, you will find that using ethanol as your main fuel source will actually help maximize the performance of your fuel injection system rather than hindering it.