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A Flexible Fuel Vehicle (FFV) or, Dual Fuel Vehicles or, more simply, FLEX FUEL VEHICLES is a car type that uses two fuels in separate tanks and fuel systems for each fuel.
One of the most common models uses GASOLINE and BIO-ETHANOL (gasohol), while other cars have a NATURAL GAS/GASOLINE system, always with two separate systems.

In USA, many FFV vehicles can accept the mixture E85, up to 85% of ETHANOL with GASOLINE or up to 85% METHANOL (M85) always with GASOLINE.

The fuel mixture is automatically detected by one or more sensors allowing the timing of spark plugs and fuel injectors that must allow a clean and correct combustion into the engine.
Originally, sensors in both the fuel lines and in the exhaust system were used, by the producers, today, like better to use only the LAMBDA sensor in the exhaust manifold, before the catalytic converter.

Recently, some U.S. companies offer technical solutions, originally developed in Brazil, to convert gasoline-only cars into FFV.
The typical conversion package includes an electronic device to increase the volume of injected fuel per cycle, to compensate the lower energy content of ethanol and, sometimes, a chemical treatment to protect the engine from corrosion.

In BRAZIL, after the oil crisis of the 1970's, many has been invested to use ETHANOL as a fuel car.
For this purpose, cars has been modified to better fit to ethanol characters; compression ratio, amount of fuel injected, new materials for gaskets resistant to ethanol corrosion.
The FFV technique has finally been developed only on the end of 1990's.

So, a first FFV car was built with and ethanol-ready engine and one fuel tank, with a LANBDA probe to detect the ethanol-gasoline mixture is burned so that the controller system can control the amount of fuel injected and the spark time.

There's also another type of FFV frequent in Brazil; the NATURAL GAS-GASOLINE engine and also for this type, the word "flex-fuel" or FFV is not correct because all those types belong to the family of BI-FUELS engines.

In ITALY, FIAT has introduced in 2006 the FIAT Siena Tetra-fuel that can work with four solutions: 100% ETHANOL, E25 (Brazil's common mixture 75% gasoline and 25% ethanol), PURE GASOLINE (not available in Brazil) and NATURAL GAS.

In the rest of EUROPE, the FORD TAURUS has been the only FFV car sold in SWEDEN, then replaced by FORD FOCUS, while SAAB started to sell the 9-5 2.0 BIOPOWER and VOLVO its S40 and V50 FFV.

In FRANCE, the new VOLVO C30FF is available in little numbers since December 2006.

In GERMANY, FORD offers all its 3 model of FOCUS in FFV
and is going to launch the MONDEO in FFV between 2007 and 2010.

Learn more about this author, Aldo Bonincontro.
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