E10 Not as Economical...

csv8 · 08-07-2009, 11:22 PM

RUNNING your car on the ethanol-blend petrol E10 may not be the good deal it looks, according to Queensland's peak motoring body.
The RACQ said a minimum of four cents a litre discount was needed to compensate for the higher fuel consumption when using E10 blends.

The lower octane level of E10 blends means cars go fewer kilometres for every litre of fuel consumed.

Major petrol station chains are typically offering two to three cents a litre discount on E10, RACQ's general manager for external relations Gary Fites said.

"With E10 increasingly being headlined on service station price boards because of its slightly lower pump price, it can look good buying for cost-conscious motorists," Mr Fites said in a statement.

"With RACQ's own field testing confirming other independent research that indicates around three per cent higher fuel consumption when using E10, a minimum discount of four cents a litre would be needed at current price levels to make use of the ethanol blend more economical than regular ULP."

Mr Fites said motorists who want to get the best value fuel should make a close check on the relative pricing of regular unleaded petrol and E10.

KPOJ · 08-07-2009, 11:33 PM

in a race car you use 35% more e85 then unleaded, but in a forced induction application the stuff is unbeatable.

uranium_death · 09-07-2009, 12:10 AM

Yeah...something similar was posted recently.
I personally don't want to use it, because I have no idea what effect it will have long term.
I'll let others be the guinea pigs. I'll stick with 91.

XRQTR · 09-07-2009, 12:22 AM

I'll let ya'z know in a couple of days or so how much better or worse it runs in a Holden V8, driving my brothers Senator at the moment, just got 11.2 l/100 running BP 91 regular but filled with Apco 95 e10 today. So by Monday night I rekn it should be ready for a refill, I'll post up the difference then.

I tried it once before in my Z, with the triple carbs it wasn't too bad, I actually noticed a little better response down low though on the Z, but consumption was up around 1-1.5 l/100 more with the ethanol blended fuel.

KPOJ · 09-07-2009, 12:45 AM

It is very reactive with some fuel system materials, only certain materials wont degrade. And it should make more power its 10% alcohol hence why it burns cooler.

chevypower · 09-07-2009, 06:40 AM

E10 has been around long enough now, I am pretty sure they don't even need to advise you anymore if it has up to 10% of ethanol in regular?
Even when knowingly put in E10, I haven't noticed a loss in power or economy over E-Zero.

dallasv8 · 09-07-2009, 08:07 AM

i found when i was running E10 in my '95 EF that had over 280000km on it that i was changing fuel filters at least every 2 months

downthetrack · 09-07-2009, 08:21 AM

Ive been running my RTV (6) on it whenever I can get it, don't notice any loss of power, and working out the economy the difference is only around 1-200mls/100km difference, which is close enough to even for me given possible pump/road condition differences per tank.

vztrt · 09-07-2009, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dallasv8

i found when i was running E10 in my '95 EF that had over 280000km on it that i was changing fuel filters at least every 2 months

That would be more because there is alot of crap in your fuel tank and ethanol works as a great cleaning agent.

merlin · 09-07-2009, 09:15 AM

Of course you will get lower economy - this has been proven in numerous controlled tests. How is this new news? (not directed at OP but at RACQ)

fos408 · 09-07-2009, 09:26 AM

I sometimes use it in my exploder and I think the car runs better ,no power loss but definite lower milage

**ebxr8240** · 09-07-2009, 09:27 AM

Why give our $$ to the oil companies / sheiks ??
The higher the blend the better imo..
Keep the $$ in OUR country !!!!

Engines built in future will be better tuned to run it..
It likes plenty of timing and yes more fuel..
But economy comes back with tune..
Those that have fitted turbo's with stand alone or tunable ECU will benefit greatly... My new project 1UZ turbo Celica will be runing E85...

The reason fuel filters need changing ?? It cleans the varnish off the lines etc
That the old fuel deposited..Mixes with water, so it cleans everything out..

Mr Hardware · 09-07-2009, 09:32 AM

Welcome to 2007 Mr Fites

Qwik6 · 10-07-2009, 07:51 PM

I use United 98ron E10. Fuel consumption is the same as any other 98 fuel.
Plus its only 3c more a litre than regular unleaded.

MR.BA.GT.332 · 11-07-2009, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trav 4.0

I use United 98ron E10. Fuel consumption is the same as any other 98 fuel.
Plus its only 3c more a litre than regular unleaded.

i was about to ask if there is a high octane E10 too... guess there is.... why do the big brands only do it for the 91ron and not the 98 vesions?

i only run 98ron in my XR8, it pings badly on 91ron and not game to run the standard E10.... but if there is a high octane version id give it a go

vztrt · 11-07-2009, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr_460bigblock

i was about to ask if there is a high octane E10 too... guess there is.... why do the big brands only do it for the 91ron and not the 98 vesions?

i only run 98ron in my XR8, it pings badly on 91ron and not game to run the standard E10.... but if there is a high octane version id give it a go

United run a 95ron, 98 ron and 100ron.

Also I believe BP are investigating a 95ron E10 as they see that there is a benefit in it.

Mick K. · 11-07-2009, 12:08 AM

I ran my BA Fairmont 4.0 on 5 tanks of Shell E10 last year and the fuel consumption was 13.9 l/100kms vs 12.5 for the next 5 tanks of Shell normal 91RON unleaded.

So at about 400kms per fill, that is 5.6 litres extra of E10 required per tank, which is well and truly worse value for money, even though it is 2-3c per litre cheaper.

So I stay away from E10. The Focus doesn't like it either.

MK

ZA-289 · 11-07-2009, 09:25 AM

I ran my old EB on E10 whenever I could, got better milage and better power. Dosn't make much of a difference with the missus's suby tho....

brenx · 11-07-2009, 09:33 AM

My 02 Madza gets exactly the same economy on 91 and E10 50lt = 620k's per tank. I always got the same 550k's every tank on 91 or E10 when I used to have an EL too. I check every fill against the trip meter. Lower k's on my cars (per tank) can mean a few things. ie. Right foot heavy that week, time for a service or really bad traffic.

**ebxr8240** · 11-07-2009, 01:01 PM

If tune is slightly rich and over advanced timing or border line on unleaded??
It will possibly run better on E10.. It should for example run better on XR6's than XT's..
Keep in mind if some bodgy fuel is added?? E10 will get the blame...
The NRL of fuels..Lol...

schultzie · 11-07-2009, 02:27 PM

i ran it for 5 tanks in my ute, it ran great for the first 3 tanks then progressively got more like a pig, i think if it had a specific tune it would of been fine but the car diddnt like it... gone to premium all the way now.. car likes it but i dont lol

schultzie · 11-07-2009, 02:39 PM

funnily enough our united ones are 95 and cheaper then 91 go figure.

wados · 11-07-2009, 03:22 PM

my xr6t is tuned on the e10 98 ron and it runs perfect on it, and it only costs about 5 cents above normal 91 unleaded

Qwik6 · 11-07-2009, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wados

my xr6t is tuned on the e10 98 ron and it runs perfect on it, and it only costs about 5 cents above normal 91 unleaded

Only 3c more in SA. Great fuel tho.

Anyone use E85?
Government banned the selling of it here from the bowser.

EDManual · 11-07-2009, 04:50 PM

I find the economy in my new elantra to be around 20% worse. If you drive around slowly its possible a only 5% worse or so, but medium pace you have to have the car so much more floored for the same performance.

Its rubbish.

Qwik6 · 11-07-2009, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EDManual

I find the economy in my new elantra to be around 20% worse. If you drive around slowly its possible a only 5% worse or so, but medium pace you have to have the car so much more floored for the same performance.

Its rubbish.

Maybe because your flooring it around you use more?

EDManual · 12-07-2009, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trav 4.0

Maybe because your flooring it around you use more?

Absolutely, its because you have to floor it around more than usual for the same performance.

Qwik6 · 13-07-2009, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EDManual

Absolutely, its because you have to floor it around more than usual for the same performance.

I don't need to. I don't use any more than normal.

XRQTR · 13-07-2009, 02:01 PM

Well I refilled on Saturday and for a difference of half a litre in fuel I got 40 odd km's less on the Apco 95 (533km) blended compared to the BP 91 reg (577km), I need to find a United to try theirs as well.

sexyxe · 11-07-2009, 07:27 PM

E10 is generally rated at 95RON

It is due to Ethanol having a lower kJ per Litre than regular normal fuel.

So for eg: Ethanol has 850kJ/L where as regular petrol has 1000kJ/L so when you take that 10% of regular fuel out, you loose that 15% of energy. The higher RON is due to its ability to take higher compression and heat loads. So you are ~5% of energy down.

Its chemistry. Thats how it works...

I have used it before in my mums AUIII Falcon and find that on the highway its fairly good, but around town it seems to chew more. Go figure