Ethanol Blended Gasolines

[jgrams@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx (John Grams)]

I'm wondering if anyone out there has any information on the effects of
using gasoline oxygenated with 10% ethanol in my '88 M5?  I understand
that ethanol will have the effect of "drying out" certain types of
rubber seals and other rubber based components, and that newer vehicles
are manufactured using materials that are not supposed to be adversly
affected by ethanol.  Does anyone know if the S38 engine in the E28 M5
is OK with ethanol?  The owners manual says to use fuel "with a low
alcohol content."

Any why, you may ask, am I using ethanol blended fuels?  Because the
state of Minnesota, in its infinite wisdom, has mandated the use of
ethanol blended fuels year round.  This even though the higher
volatility of these fuels actually increases evaporative losses in the
summer, which in turn results in greater formation of ground level
ozone.  But hey, it's great if you're into corn processing!

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