RATING THE PERFORMANCE OF BRAZILIAN FLEX FUEL VEHICLES

This paper presents the results attained in a study carried out by the PETROBRAS Research Center (CENPES), in a comparative analysis made between two flex fuel vehicles (designed for both Brazilian gasohol and hydrated ethanol in mixtures of any proportion) and similar models designed only for gasohol use. This evaluation was based on the effects of the new technology on the driveability, vehicle speed recovery performance, exhaust gas emissions (THC, CO, NOx and aldehydes), fuel economy and maintenance costs