Outer Limits 4x4 Board

gudday all,

a servo in town has put in this e-gen fuel, which is 10% ethinol, ive filled up twice with it and it seems to make my car run smoother, its 95 octane, whats the octane of reg ulp?

question is, is this stuff safe, ive heard boogy man stories bout it melting pistons and burning valves.. any truth to this?

i have done a search but to no avail!!

any input apreciated.

cheers

jas

bludnut wrote:gudday all,

a servo in town has put in this e-gen fuel, which is 10% ethinol, ive filled up twice with it and it seems to make my car run smoother, its 95 octane, whats the octane of reg ulp?

question is, is this stuff safe, ive heard boogy man stories bout it melting pistons and burning valves.. any truth to this?

i have done a search but to no avail!!

any input apreciated.

cheers

jas

I think the std ulp is 91.

I think the only thing to be worried about with ethanol is corrosion of steel and rubber. If you have a modern-ish car i wouldn't be too concerned though. Just don't leave your tank half empty for years on end.

My Caltex where i work is also selling an 'E-10' fuel, which is a 10% ethanol blend.
It is a minimum 94 RON whereas ULP is around 91 RON.

All customers are extremely satisfied so far, and not one complaint. They are reporting more power from thier cars and better economy.
And... its about 3cpl cheaper on average..

Most modern cars can run it no dramas, but cars which ran on LRP shouldn't use it.

We had some documentation a while back stating which cars have undergone tests by Caltex and also Independant companies, most were fine to use it.

Eg - Subaru Australia have given the green light to use up to a 10% ethanol belnd in all of thier vehicles without harm and also without voiding warranty.
The only exceptions are L-Series and prior cannot use it, nor the 2000 WRX Sti and B4 Liberty.. (They should use PULP anyways..lol)

*EDIT* You should not use Ethanol fuel if it is left sitting in your tank and not being driven much, as dogbreath said. The fuel will start to degrade after a while and try to eat stuff if it can.
You also must be careful with water in your tank, etc... As Ethanol loves water.. but your motor doesn't

Petrol is happy to absorb water too, not just ethanol. Ethanol is more hygroscopic though.




The main thing that ethanol will end up having a go at would be rubber hoses and seals. Big deal on the rubber hoses (how much is a little bit of 3/8 rubber line) but may eventually cause issues with carby seals.


The amount of time it will take to do so though is ages..... Methanol blends are way more toxic than ethanol in this regard, whcih is why ethanol is used not methanol.

Yeah, an E10 blend fuel can 'hold' more water than straight petrol.
Therefore, a higher ability to rust components and cause other damage

A factor that is positive and negative is the same as when people use biodiesel. When first used, it can loosen deposits in the fuel lines and system, which can cause the fuel filter to become clogged. But in the end, it is better to get rid of this crud from the fuel system anyway

cool, thanks guys.

i might fill up with e-gen every second tank or so to try and combat some of the corrosive properties.

the car is a gen 1 swb paj, and doesnt get driven very often, only for camping trips and the occasional weekend jaunt.so maybe if i use e-gen on trips and make sure when its idle,put some standard ulp in the tank..


cheers

jas

Hmmm,

For years I used a dash of metho in the tank to make any water mix with the fuel and get burnt off. As I see it, there should be less, not more, free water in an E10 tank and so you should suffer less water induced corrosion not more.

Did I only recently hear that Brazil has passed 2 million 100% ethanol vehicles on their roads (can't recall the figure but it was a LOT). I believe these vehicles run relatively 'normal' engines and are pretty much worldwide models. The mods required are in the same ballpark as our change to unleaded back in 1987.

Alcohol fuels aren't the whole answer, but it's gotta help.

Mmm alcohol fuelled cars, if only... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mxXdat0TP8