Ethanol Fuel

[Wrinkles]

Today I saw 95 Octane fuel at UNited it has upto 10% Ethenol blend.
Is this type of fuel ok to run or will it casue problems?

[Alister]

Today I saw 95 Octane fuel at UNited it has upto 10% Ethenol blend.
Is this type of fuel ok to run or will it casue problems?

It's been available for a few years now. Good value for money at 3c/L less than normal 91RON ULP.
If you search, I remember there was a big thread discussing it before.

[Wrinkles]

Cheers, I just relized I put this threa din the wrong place

[macca_779]

It's been available for a few years now. Good value for money at 3c/L less than normal 91RON ULP.
If you search, I remember there was a big thread discussing it before.

Its not good value for money when effectively you will use more of it for the same amount of k's so effectively remove any savings made from the initial purchase. Stick normal 95RON in and you will save more than using ethanol rubbish.

[Alister]

Its not good value for money when effectively you will use more of it for the same amount of k's so effectively remove any savings made from the initial purchase. Stick normal 95RON in and you will save more than using ethanol rubbish.

Yeah I agree with you there mate, I was thinking more good value for money if you're after 95RON don't want to pay 6c/L more than ULP for it. I used United's Boost 98 in my VX Calais for six thanks and fuel consumption didn't get majorly worse. From memory it was up to a 3% drop in economy for each tank so I was pretty happy given that Boost 98 is only 3c/L more than ULP.

[Waughy]

I put 1/2 tank of the caltex E10 in the 5L VL, it started stuttering and backfiring when giving it a decent squirt, seemed fine just cruising. "Watered" it down with some premium and it's been good since. Won't go ethanol blended fuel again.

[Wonky]

I used United Boost98 in my VZ SS and it ran very well. That was after reading a report on here which showed ethanol enhanced 98 grade petrol actually gave more power than normal 98. Also Street Tuna squeezed an extra 10 or more rwkw (can't remember the exact figure now as it was about 2 yrs ago) out of an LS2 running it on Boost98 (or similar) from an LS2 compared to it running on "normal" 98.

I don't run ethanol based fuel in the SSV as I'll probably have it for many years and am a little concerned about the long term implications, whereas the VZ I knew I wouldn't have for that long.

[chevypower]

When i was in Melb, I had a Laser, I ran that all the time on E10 from United, and got the same power and economy as regular unleaded fuel. Then I had the Gen 3 Holden for a while, and same thing with that. It's not bad. It is not going to kill your car. I had plenty of car troubles, with transmission in the Laser, but nothing related to the engine. Engines seem to mostly outlive the rest of the car. Plus it decreases dependence on foreign oil - that's a good thing. Bad thing is it pushes the price of food up (not good for the economy) So i think they are looking at trying to move to hydrogen and plug in electric even sooner, than relying on biofuels. By the way, they got the Chevy small block V8 running on E85 over here on most vehicles now, so I don't know what you're all worried about with E10 in them.

[swingtan]

When choosing a particular fuel to run in your car there are 2 main questions you need to ask before you use it....



Will this fuel damage the engine or void any warranty?

My current car, a VZ SS L76 has a sticker inside the petrol flap stating that it can run E10 fuel with no problems. Now I can't guarantee that it's the same for earlier Gen III engines, but I doubt it would be different.

Will this fuel be value for money?

This is a hard question to answer. My experience tells me that there is little difference in mileage figures between E10 and straight petrol. But that tends to be comparing Shell V-Power Racing and Sell V-Power. The additional octane rating of the VP-R may be masking things. You may find that the "95" E10 could actually have a higher octane rating thanks to the ethanol included, so the car may actually run better, returning more power / economy if tuned for a better fuel.



It's funny how these threads keep popping up with the same blanket, cover all statements. The use of E10 in older cars needs to be planned, you can't just whack in 1/2 a tank and expect your car to pick up additional power. It will most probably run worse for the first tank, maybe 2.

If an older car has never run on an alcohol blend fuel and has never had a tank clean out, it's probably got some amount of water sitting on the bottom of the tank. This water comes from contaminated fuel as well as condensation inside the tank. Petrol floats on water, so normally it just sits at the bottom of the tank below the pickup level.

If you whack 1/2/ a tank of E10 in, the first thing that happens is that the ethanol gets diluted by the water, as alchohol and water mix readily. Because the water and ethanol have mixed, you will now be pumping a mixture of petrol, ethanol and water to the motor. This will effect how the engine runs and may even throw an error on the dash if bad enough. The trick is to put a full tank of E10 in, not 1/2 a tank and run a couple of tank before checking if you really want to use it.

I only run E10 in my car, unless I have no choice. In fact I have only put 5 tanks on non E10 in my car in the past year. I find it an excellent fuel and those that know my car, know how well it goes. I do use the 100 octane version though ;)

Simon.

[Waughy]

Guess that could explain the trouble I had with the VL, 21 years old and 295,xxxk's on the clock. I remember a guy at work used to put a bottle of metho in his VL 5L every few months to get the water out. Maybe another tank of E10 and go easy on the car might be right. It ran fine until I gave the go pedal a decent squeeze, guess it wasn't getting enough good fuel to keep it going at higher revs.

[Space Pope]

Yeah The V-power racing seems ok in some cars. My old VX seemed slightly more crisp on it and got the same economy. Mind, V-power Racing is actually 5% 'booze' not 10. For everyday running , I think it's a bit of a rort though.


My take on E10 is that it probably won't hurt your fuel system or motor, It may negatively effect power and fuel economy by up to 4% which could errode any savings you enjoy at the pump. May not be quite as bad as that if you aren't 'up it' all the time though. I haven't tried it yet in my SSV....might pop a couple tanks in at some point and do a test to see how it likes a 50/50 mix of driving.

E85 as mentioned above is actually accepted by a number of 'FlexFuel' GM vehicles and it's actually not a bad fuel. I think there may be around 200 or so service stations in the US that stock it at present but that number is rising all the time. Should be interesting to see how that takes off.

[Wrinkles]

When I posted this thread I guess I was not clear. I only drive the car on Weekends so I am not interested in the price of the fuel. I have a VX SV300 and I just want to use the best fuel possible in the car. So far I have been using the Shell V power it seems to suit the tune in the car the best. I will have a crack at the ethanol blend and see how it runs.

[sysengine]

Below is a statement on ethanol blend extracted from holden.com.au.


Ethanol and your Holden vehicle

Holden vehicles manufactured since 1986 will operate satisfactorily on E10. However, some vehicles manufactured by others and branded as Holdens do not operate satisfactorily on E10 fuel.

Vehicles that do not operate satisfactorily on E10 fuel are:
Apollo (1/87-7/89), Nova (2/89-7/94), Barina (1985-1994),
Drover (1985-1987), Scurry (1985-1986), Astra (1984-1989).

Please refer to the vehicle's Owner's Manual for recommended fuel usage.

Purchasing fuel

When purchasing fuel, Holden recommends that your vehicle be operated on fuel containing no more than 10% ethanol. Purchasing your fuel from a reputable retailer may reduce the risk of purchasing fuel containing more than 10% ethanol or other abnormal properties.

Under no circumstances should you use fuel containing more than 10% ethanol. Use of such fuels may result in engine malfunction, starting and operating difficulties, and materials degradation. These adverse effects could result in permanent damage to your vehicle and personal injury. It is also important to note that when ethanol blends are used, fuel consumption can be expected to increase due to the lower energy content of ethanol.

It is important to note the use of any fuel, other than the fuel specified in the vehicle's Owner's Manual, may seriously damage your vehicle and may void your Warranty. Only good quality, clean fuel should be used.

The use of fuel containing more than 10% ethanol may also affect your New Vehicle Warranty to the extent that Holden considers the fuel affects the specifications and quality of your vehicle.

[saaz]

I have used E10 more often than not (depends on whether I can get to use the local Caltex pump). I have found no difference in performance or fuel economy that is noticeable, and I have detailed records as it is a lease car (WL 5.7).