Ethanol

[abh29]

I see reports that the government are looking to make E10 petrol the garage standard fuel.
As this contains 10% ethonal I wonder what effect this will have on my 2.2 litre 6 pot M54 engine.
I hope they keep present fuel available as well (my engine like VPower )

The Z3 handbook has no mention of Ethonal , not surprising as approaching 20 years old,but
the X1 f48 20i handbook says ethonal is ok up to 25% ,[E25]

 

[Nodzed]

You may find this interesting.

Ethanol has a long history as a fuel for petrol engines. As far back as 1908, the first mass-produced car, the Ford Model T, ran on petrol, kerosene and ethanol. Ethanol was the most widely used fuel in cars before it was replaced by cheaper petrol after World War II.
Ethanol made a comeback after the oil crisis in the 1970s, when it was used to reduce oil dependency and exposure to price volatility. In Europe, ethanol is mainly used to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in transport. Ethanol can be used as a stand-alone fuel but is typically mixed with petrol at various levels and then sold as a fuel blend.

Fuels containing ethanol include: E10 (up to 10% ethanol), E85 (from 65% to 85% ethanol) and ED95 (95% ethanol).

Every litre of petrol sold in Europe already contains ethanol: up to 5% in volume and up to 10% in volume in Belgium, Germany, Finland, France and the Netherlands where E10 is sold. E85 is sold in several countries, including Finland, France, Sweden and the Czech Republic. In Europe all petrol vehicles can run on up to 5% ethanol, and more than 90% of the vehicles produced after 2000 are compatible with E10. Flex-fuel vehicles can run on higher ethanol blends up to E85.

Fuel consumption can increase slightly with higher ethanol blends because ethanol contains less energy per unit of volume than petrol. For example, a switch from petrol containing 5% ethanol to E10 could lead to a maximum 1-2% increase in fuel consumption. However, any increase in fuel consumption is partially offset by ethanol's greater energy efficiency.

Ethanol’s efficiency comes from its physical properties. It cools down engines twice as much as petrol when vaporized and provides more octane, which helps improve efficiency, especially in today’s downsized petrol engines. This boost of efficiency also helps reduce harmful emissions – meaning the more ethanol that is blended with petrol, the greater the benefits. Ethanol’s octane rating is 107, higher than that of regular petrol (95) and premium petrol (98). Beyond improving the resistance of the fuel to damage-causing premature combustion, ethanol can be used in high-performance fuels, to further reduce emission and fuel consumption in optimized engines.

 

[Nodzed]

Been cruising the US forums and they seem to have been running Z3s Including Ms on the stuff without issue (some up to 40% ethanol) So who knows? Maybe some of our members from over the pond can advise?

 

[Lee]

Interesting read, be cool to hear the experiences across the pond with E10.

 

[Eddie Zedder]

Interesting read @Nodzed. The question is will it make our Zeds go faster . I'm up for that if it does .

 

[pgunter]

I have read that BMW say that all the engines that have produced will run on the E10. It is the RON that you need to pay more attention too. so 97 / 98 if its required must be used etc etc.

 

[ktnez99]

What about pre-2000 models?

 

[pgunter]

What about pre-2000 models?

From the information out in the Net. Its all the zeds. So should not be something we need to worry about.

 

[Pingu]

IIRC, there is a problem with cars with certain types of fuel tank. It's worth a google check if you have a pre-90s car.

 

[DelGue]

Interesting read, be cool to hear the experiences across the pond with E10.

Ethanol is, and has been, in our gasoline for years. It's diffivult to find gasoline without ethanol anymore. I hsve not had any issues to speak of, other than gimming up the carb in my lawn mower. Those engines don't like it much. Even in my 911S Porsche, I didn't notice any difference from non ethanol gas. I recall some conversations about the difference in vorn based ethanol and augar cane based ethanol, the point being dugar cane ethanol was purer and cheaper than corn based. I have no idea if it's true or not.

 

[t-tony]

Only thing I've noticed over the years is that Ethanol fuel smells quite like diesel as you pump it. Oh, and it's MUCH cheaper than our petrol

Tony.

 

[Robert Wiles]

As nodzed said, alcohol fuels have been used for many years, especially in racing engines. Mercedes-Benz and Auto-Union used some very exotic alcohol based fuels (including horrors like benzine) in their supercharged Grand Prix cars in the 1930s. For a long time Indy cars ran on methanol and in this country speedway and grasstrack engines still use it. It can withstand very high compression ratios as it has excellent resistance to detonation - speedway JAP engines routinely ran at 15:1. The real upside though is the smell, particularly when combined with Castrol R. It's addictive......

 

[t-tony]

Now that takes me back again to the days of following “Chippy” Moore on the local grass track circuit. As you say Rob, an addictive smell. Used to smell Castro’s R at Boston F2 stock car meeting sometimes too.

Tony.

 

[Tearoom]

Started hearing Gov ads on the radio regarding the introduction of E10 fuel in Sept, so thought I would give this a bump.

 

[DomiMik]

What I can tell about E10 here in germany: nearly nobody is buying it although it's been for sale for many years now. I guess the horror reports about E10 causing specific engines to corrode has been reason enough to stick to regular E5 (means a maximum of 5% ethanol).
You think the situation will be different in UK?

 

[t-tony]

Is it really a problem, or a “perceived “ one?

Tony.

 

[DomiMik]

There can be a problem if a car doesn't support E10, should be very unlikely with recent cars though. Besides everyone can look up what engine makes problems so the risk is manageable. But it's a good example of what a bad reputation can cause, especially nowadays when every advertisement is highly recommending 'special' fuels like e.g. V-Power from Shell...

 

[Stevo7682]

The Dvsa issued an email out to mot personnel advising of the impending changes with guidance on a poster to print and display and advise customers of the gov.uk link .
gov.uk E10 vehicle compatability checker

When E10 rolls out during the summer it will be to all standard 95 Ron unleaded.
97+ Ron super unleaded will remain E5.
Stephen.

 

[AthensGA]

I’m in the US and have been running my 2001 Z3 2.5 on 98 octane E10 for the last 14 months since I bought it No issues at all. I had an opportunity a few months ago to buy a tank of 110 octane racing petrol and couldn’t tell that much difference.

 

[Tearoom]

I’m in the US and have been running my 2001 Z3 2.5 on 98 octane E10 for the last 14 months since I bought it No issues at all. I had an opportunity a few months ago to buy a tank of 110 octane racing petrol and couldn’t tell that much difference.

Good to know.
That backs up BMW's claims that all its engines should be fine.