Ethanol Fuel ??

[dave262]

I've been running E10 from United for about 5 years in all my cars here... Ranging from a 1990 Mitsubishi Magna, 2003 Honda Oddysey, 2006 Subaru Forester, 1999 Kia Rio, and a 2007 Toyota Aurion. None of the cars have had a single issue running it, and in most cases run consistently smooth, with low maintenance and good economy and performance.

The Magna when it first started using it did not like it one bit, but after about 1 full tank, the improvement over the generic 91 octane was extremely noticeable. Fuel economy jumped from about 250km/tank all the way up to 450km/tank. The Aurion has loved using it since day one, and when I have normal 91 octane fuel in it, the performance and economy is rather poor. Currently I average around 11.5L/100km in city driving using ethanol as opposed to the 12.7L/100k average I get using 91 octane fuel.

I service the Magna, Oddysey and Kia myself and have never come across any downsides to the fuel. If anything it makes the maintenance process easier as I never need to run injector cleaner through - although it does tend to require fuel filter replacement at regular intervals.

Overall, I have never come across any reason why I would not use Ethanol fuels. You will find on occasion that you might get a bad batch of fuel (Ethanol fuels seem to have an expiry date on them...), but the best way is to choose a particular petrol station that you like, choose the day where the fuel quality and price are at the best point, and stick with it. I've been doing it for 5 years and will never go back to the old 91 octane generic fuels :D

[ASG14]

E10 Ethanol/gas mix does NOT raise fuel economy. If anything, it lowers it. Ethanol also absorbs water out of the air, which is why it has an experation date.

[Guest]

E10 Ethanol/gas mix does NOT raise fuel economy. If anything, it lowers it. Ethanol also absorbs water out of the air, which is why it has an experation date.

This is definitely true for E10 fuel that is 91 octane (or lower, lowest available octane in aus is 91). It can lower it by around 2% (91 ULP vs. 91 E10)

But that said, Using 95 or 98 octane E10 will see an increase in fuel economy when compared to regular 91 octane unleaded.

And due to the fact that 95 octane E10 is usualy 2-3cpl cheaper than 91 octane unleaded, Using the 95 octane E10 will give you a noticeable decrease in fuel cost.

[ASG14]

Yeah, depending how your car is running/fuel required, then 95 or 98 can make a BIG difference. The majority of newer cars with good running engines should be 100% fine and perfect with 91, and not make a differnce using 95 or 98. Some of the newer Toyota's actually run worse on 95 or higher, such as the 2AZ-FE. But the 2GR-FE will actually run a tad better on 95,a nd gain a little more power.

Edited August 23, 2008 by ASG14

[Mudman]

My sv21 has been running on e10 for over 6 years with no leaks or other issues, excellent economy aswell (not necisarily because of the e10). my mcv36r has always run on the e10 so i cant rate a difference but there certainly hasn't been any issues in the time ive owned it.

[peregrine]

I have never used E10 in my Camry and no matter how high petrol prices get, I refuse to use it. I'm suspicious of how well these blends are measured and am always weary of where independents like United Fuel here in Melbourne source their fuel from. Unlike NSW and QLD, the independents are the only brands to sell E10 at the present time.

I have tried a range of fuels in my car to varying success. I now religiously use Mobil 6000 (96RON) and have found this to give the best balance between extra performance and economy. Each time I fill up, I calculate my fuel consumption (distance travelled divided by litres used) and am consistently getting anything between 8.8-10.5L/100km.

The worst fuel I have tried is Shell V-Power. I honestly could not tell what the hype was about, the rough idling and poor economy really surprised me. What was even worse was the long queue due to the four cents off discount offered through Coles.

In Victoria, well at least in the areas I've filled up at, Shell not only sells E10 but advertises it as their base price on their boards. I keep away from E10 and use V-Power exclusively I have had no hassles and obtain a return of 8.7ltrs -100Ks on a trip. The car is a 1999 V6 Vienta with 176000Ks on the clock. The trouble you experienced could be conducive to a bad or dirty batch of fuel. PS Ive just purchased some Airtabs (Vortex generators) at$4.50c each from a Sydney mob and will install them at the back of the roof just before and above the rear glass area and on the top rear of the boot to see if this improves economy and whatever. trucks and semis as well as the EVO Lancer use them and Semi operators swear by them.

[prometheus]

I have tried Shell E10 and basically calculated that with the loss of mileage on this fuel , it would have to be about 10cents or more cheaper than Regular 91 RON Unleaded to be worthwhile using.

Being that currently E10 is only around 5 cents cheaper than 91 RON , using it is false economy.

[e240]

On the Point where different brands of fuel are supposed to be different:

When my civic was competing in the State Supersprints, I filled up with whatever 98 that was convenient, Shell, BP, Mobil..and..there was no freaking difference - we didn't even alter the tune to cater for it.

Eventually we did run E85 fuel, but that was for the 105+Octane..The fuel was so unstable that it needed tuning before every event and fuel

consumption increased by around 30% - I had to carry 3 20 litre jerry cans of E85 just to make it to Wakefield, compete and come home.

As for E10

As someone mentioned above, the price for E10 is so minimal, its just not worth the bother. The savings you gain in cost only gets eaten up in extra fuel consumption. Ran E10 a while, and just didn't like like...Butt Dyno says no..