News From SEMA SAN: Illinois Proposes Bill That Encourages The Sale Of E15 Fuel

The Illinois House of Representatives has reintroduced legislation (H.B. 3369) allowing the state’s Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to provide information to gas stations encouraging the stations to offer E15 as an option for customers. The bill also allows the Department to provide information to gas stations on any financial assistance that may be available to subsidize the cost of providing E15 blended fuel to consumers. H.B. 3369 was introduced despite the fact that a bill is moving through the U.S. House of Representatives which would require the National Academy of Sciences to further analyze the effects of E15 on engines and other components before the EPA can permit its sale.

We Urge You to Contact Members of the Illinois House Revenue & Finance Committee (List Below) Immediately to Oppose H.B. 3369

• H.B. 3369 is being introduced at time when many states are proposing legislation to abandon requirements for ethanol-blended gasoline.
• H.B. 3369 ignores the fact that ethanol increases water formation which can then create formic acid and corrode metals, plastics and rubber, especially over a period of time when the vehicle is not used.  This can lead to engine/parts failures and, potentially, safety hazards.  Ethanol also burns hotter and can cause some engines to stall, misfire and overheat.  Current high performance specialty parts along with the pre-2001 cars and parts may be most susceptible to corrosion and overheating.
• H.B. 3369 ignores the fact that the life span of these vehicles and equipment can be dramatically reduced with the wrong fuel and the owners could be confronted with break downs. Anti-corrosion additives are available for each purchase of gasoline but can become expensive and burdensome on consumers.

• H.B. 3369 makes no plan to ensure that misfueling does not occur or any plan to guarantee gasoline without ethanol will be available for older vehicles.

DON’T DELAY!  Please contact the Illinois House Revenue & Finance Committee members to request opposition to H.B. 3369.

Please e-mail a copy of your letter to Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.  Also, please forward this Alert to your fellow car enthusiasts.  Urge them to join the SAN and help defend the hobby! Thank you for your assistance.

Illinois House Revenue & Finance Committee

To e-mail all Committee members, copy and paste the email address block below:

 

repemily@gmail.com; repsente@gmail.com; Mike@miketryon.com; staterepgabel@robyngabel.com;staterephalbrook@gmail.com; greg@gregharris.org; naomi@naomijakobsson.com;dwightkay112@gmail.com; ilhouse52@gmail.com; repcmeier@gmail.com; staterep40@gmail.com;repmitchell@earthlink.net; Repmorrison54@gmail.com; ChairNekritz@gmail.com;bphelps118@gmail.com; pverschoore@qconline.com; repzalewski@gmail.com

 

Representative Emily McAsey (Chair)

Phone: (217) 782-4179

Email: repemily@gmail.com

 

Representative Carol Sente (Vice Chair)

Phone: (217) 782-0499

Email: repsente@gmail.com

 

Representative Michael Tryon

Phone: (217) 782-0432

Email: Mike@miketryon.com

 

Representative Robyn Gabel

Phone: (217) 782-8052

Email: staterepgabel@robyngabel.com

 

Representative Brad Halbrook

Phone: (217) 558-1040

Email: staterephalbrook@gmail.com

 

Representative Greg Harris

Phone: (217) 782-3835

Email: greg@gregharris.org

 

Representative Naomi Jakobsson

Phone: (217) 558-1009

Email: naomi@naomijakobsson.com

 

Representative Dwight Kay

Phone: (217) 782-8018

Email: dwightkay112@gmail.com

 

Representative David McSweeney

Phone: (217) 782-1517

Email: ilhouse52@gmail.com

 

Representative Charles Meier

Phone: (217) 782-6401

Email: repcmeier@gmail.com

 

Representative Deborah Mell

Phone: (217) 782-8117

Email: staterep40@gmail.com

 

Representative Bill Mitchell

Phone: (217) 782-8163

Email: repmitchell@earthlink.net

 

Representative Thomas Morrison

Phone: (217) 782-8026

Email: Repmorrison54@gmail.com

 

Representative Elaine Nekritz

Phone: (217) 558-1004

Email: ChairNekritz@gmail.com

 

Representative Brandon Phelps

Phone: (217) 782-5131

Email: bphelps118@gmail.com

 

Representative Patrick Verschoore

Phone: (217) 782-5970

Email: pverschoore@qconline.com

 

Representative Michael Zalewski

Phone: (217) 782-5280

Email: repzalewski@gmail.com

VP Racing Fuels Releases New VP101 & VP102 Street Legal Unleaded Fuels

For our fellow enthusiasts looking for optimum performance in their street machine but are not satisfied by the efficiency of 91 & 93 octane fuel, VP Racing Fuels has the solution for you. The high performance fuel brand has recently announced that they are set to release two new street-legal unleaded fuels, VP101 & VP102, that will meet both Arizona and California Air Resource Board (CARB) requirements… In other words, both fuels are 50-state street legal for your favorite rod, muscle car, import, or exotic sports car. VP101 will replace the famous VP100/StreetBlaze 100 formula, and VP assures users that the VP101 blend will do more than wow users with its performance gains. VP102 will be available on a more special order basis, while the VP101 blend will be availble at your local gas station or anywhere VP Racing Fuels are sold.

Since there are more than 200 current vehicle models that require a minimum of 93 octane when a good portion of the U.S. only provides 91 octane as their premium blend, the VP fuels will accommodate those wishing to squeeze the most out of their street legal beast without violating the law. Both VP101 & VP102 are safe for catalytic converters and oxygen sensors, so there are no issues using these fuels full time. Both fuels also support forced induction applications (nitrous, supercharger, turbocharger), while also supporting cast-iron cylinder heads with compression ratios up to 12:1 & aluminum heads up to 14:1. For information on both fuel blends, visit VP Racing Fuels’ page…

Source: LSX TV

Nissan GT Academy Winners “Too Fast” For British GT Championship Circuit

Nissan’s GT Academy has been a stage for amateur racing enthusiasts to display their driving skills in an attempt to earn a seat in a professional race car for one of the many different racing sanctions across the world, and has also  been a huge success as drivers are picked from the skills displayed while playing top video game Gran Turismo for PlayStation.

While attending the GT Academy, Nissan chooses the top drivers to pit them with a well-respected racing team, thus beginning the racing career these excited enthusiasts have always dreamed of. However, when a championship trophy was up for grabs in the 2012 British GT Championship between a professional driver, Alex Buncombe, and an amateur enthusiast & 2012 GT Academy winner Jann Mardenborough, Mardenborough was penalized for driving “too fast” around the circuit and for lacking the overall driving experience as the professional drivers possessed. To make matters worse, the presiding body of the British GT Championship is now refusing to accept GT Academy graduates into their series for the 2013 season.

Said British GT Championship Manager Benjamin Franassovici, “I have a lot of admiration for GT Academy. It has shown itself to be a great way to source raw talent and turn that into real racing talent as we saw in British GT last year with Jann Mardenborough.  However Nissan’s ability to find such amazing raw talent means that we cannot accept their full season entry for British GT in 2013.  Their new recruits have very little racing experience so they have to be on the lowest performance grade. Their talent, going on Jann’s speed last year, doesn’t reflect this lack of experience so it is not fair to put them up against our Pro/Gentleman grid, the basis of British GT3.  Hats off to Nissan though and I should point out that there are no closed doors here.”

So what now for the drivers who successfully complete the Nissan GT Academy? For now, we’re not sure if there will be a place for future drivers in the top racing sanctions, but what a major blow to an avenue that could have been something very beneficial for all parties. Allowing those less fortunate to gain experience behind the wheel of professional race cars & earning a spot in a racing series is something enthusiasts can only dream of. Hopefully, the guys at Nissan can find an alternative to combat the loopholes that restrict amateurs from becoming professional drivers after completing a very instructional institution…

Source: T.E.K. Automotive Media