shell e10 ethanol beware!!

[ratman]

My mate's got a late model commo wagon with a pretty strong 5.7l in it. It's been tuned and setup for 98 octane and his wife put about $50 worth of e10 in it last week, immediately it was hunting and spluttering down low, 20mins later its on a flat bed, last I heard was the fuel pump was gone, the oxy sensor was fried and the tune gone to buggery. His engine builder and mechanic have had exactly the same sort of symptoms on a few cars - all who have been filled with the e10.

[fmc351]

Originally Posted by PFdesign

RON reduces with age of fuel, so a servo with little turnover will be releasing lower RON fuel until it is next topped up... Dunno by how much, but 'fresh' fuel is important if RON is critical. Also why some drag strips now sell AVGAS in pre-sealed tins rather than filling from a bowser.

... as I understand it all anyway!

I seem to recall shelf life being somewhere near 6 months. Although the test I think was just a match, so probably not a good test of RON. Come to think of it, someone here did it so..... :

I cant imagine too many servos staying open if they didnt get a delivery at least every 3 months. Another thought, even if you did stay open why would you have such a large tank if you sold so little fuel anyway?

I dont think quality control is that good out of the refineries, or its spending far too long in storage between refinery and delivery.