E10 gasoline

[Reverend]

I know that there is few threads about this subject but i didnt found any info about what do you need to do to your Z to prepare it for E10. We here in Finland have been driving "clear" 95 octane until now. Do i need to make any changes to my Z in order to drive it with E10? Of course i can always buy the higher octane gasoline (wich includes 5% of ethanol) but it costs more. I've read that it corrodes the fuel lines, does anyone have any experience about this?

It is possible that my Z has been driven with E10 before. I understand that you've been driving with E10 for sometime now in California?

Edited December 20, 2010 by Reverend

[Gary in NJ]

We've been suffering with E10 for a few years now. You don't need to make any changes to the engine, but you do have to plan how long the fuel will be in your vehicle. E10 has a very short storage life, especially in climates with high humidity. Fuel can go bad in as little as 90 days.

[Bruce Palmer]

Be prepared for your mileage to drop by about 20%..... but other than that this scam is a hellova good deal..... for the U.S. farmers.

[FastWoman]

The best way of preventing problems with E10 is to keep your car dry, drive it frequently, and/or don't keep the same fuel in it for more than maybe a month or two. Also minimize temperature swings, e.g. by keeping your car in a garage.

Your biggest problem will be corrosion in your carburetors. The ethanol attracts and soaks up water when exposed to moist air (e.g. through the carburetor vents), and then the water/ethanol mixture can become very corrosive, particularly if it settles out (with the absorption of quite a lot of water).

You might need to adjust your carbs to run just a tiny bit richer.

You should fight this. Scream at your elected officials about it. There's nothing good about E10. It ruins engines, it makes fuel more expensive, and it's bad for the environment. It's a scam.

[Gary in NJ]

You should fight this. Scream at your elected officials about it. There's nothing good about E10. It ruins engines, it makes fuel more expensive, and it's bad for the environment. It's a scam.

Amen Sister!

[doradox]

Be prepared for your mileage to drop by about 20%..... but other than that this scam is a hellova good deal..... for the U.S. farmers.

E10 has about 3 % less energy than "clear" gas by volume. It's unlikely one would see a 20% drop in mileage.

Steve

[Arne]

Be prepared for your mileage to drop by about 20%..... but other than that this scam is a hellova good deal..... for the U.S. farmers.

E10 has about 3 % less energy than "clear" gas by volume. It's unlikely one would see a 20% drop in mileage.

Steve

I've seen the 20% figure bandied about a lot, and not just here. But the reality is that I did not notice any significant difference in any of my cars - 240Z included - when E10 was mandated here in Oregon. Maybe a drop of 1 MPG or so, but that's hard to quantify. Even if so, a drop from ~30 MPG to ~29 MPG on the highway is much closer to the 3% than 20%. My mileage certainly did not drop from ~30 to ~24.

[Bruce Palmer]

Okay, once more with feeling.....

Several years ago when we still had real gas here in Oregon I made a run from Salem OR to beautiful downtown Burbank and back which was around 2000 miles total. Had 2 tanks of Oregon gas going down and one coming back and all the rest were CA oxygenated version. Averaging the mileage over these extended runs certainly was simple and the driving was all the same, all Interstate. Twenty % was the difference. L motor, Hitachi carbs, steady pace, couldn't get more duplicatable than that..

[Arne]

CA oxygenated fuel is/was not the same as Oregon's E10. Lot's more crap in in, less good stuff. I don't doubt your results, but I do have questions about how relevant they are to today's situation with mandated E10.

[Bruce Palmer]

From what I've read recently, mileage numbers shouldn't factor into the discussion when we consider it takes more energy to grow and process the ethanol than the energy it produces. Oh, and lest we forget the gov't contribution to the growers of the corn. Ethanol is a scam of so many fronts, but it's on the books now and it'll take a jackhammer to get it gone.

[doradox]

From what I've read recently, mileage numbers shouldn't factor into the discussion when we consider it takes more energy to grow and process the ethanol than the energy it produces. Oh, and lest we forget the gov't contribution to the growers of the corn. Ethanol is a scam of so many fronts, but it's on the books now and it'll take a jackhammer to get it gone.

This we can agree on.

Steve

[Reverend]

Thanks for advice. How about rubber fuel lines, fuel tank etc? How well they stand this new curse?