United Performance 100 Octane (10% Ethanol added). Is it good?

sonu1111 on 19/04/2013 - 20:53

I was going somewhere and my car showed reserve petrol light. Very next fuel station was United. I saw 3 handles on pump (E10, 91, E100)

As per my car specification, 95 octane fuel is a minimum requirement. When I checked E100, it is actually 98 Octane fuel with 10% ethanol. I filled up my car with E100 because of 2 reasons

  1. it is 100 Octane

  2. it was cheap ($154.9)

When I got back home, I was reading online and found mixed reviews by people. One thing is said by everyone that it gives more power but fuel consumption goes up by 3% as well.

There was one more thing that it is not good for cars.

So I am worried - If it is not good for cars, why government would allow it to be available at fuel stations.

I own BMW and BMW specification says it is OK to use 10% Ethanol fuel.

Please suggest

1. whether I should use this fuel or not.

2. Whether car servicing would be required more often than normal.

Poll Options

  • 8
    Use
  • 3
    Not to Use
Automotive

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Comments

  • Paul Atreides on 19/04/2013 - 21:01

    use it, its fine. nothing is gonna change. you might notice a SMALL difference when you're driving.

    stay away from E85 though, unless your car is setup for it.

    • sonu1111 on 19/04/2013 - 21:13

      Thanks.

      My car is not compliant with E85.

  • [Deactivated] on 19/04/2013 - 23:06
    -1

    What kind of bmw do you drive?

  • ChmpgneTasteBeerBdgt on 19/04/2013 - 23:38
    +1

    From what I've been told you shouldn't leave ethanol in your tank for long periods of time (like when you go overseas) as it attracts moisture. Apart from that, your car should be fine as it would have been fitted with compliant hoses, seals etc from factory that won't degrade from the ethanol fuel.

  • tonyjzx on 20/04/2013 - 04:43

    lol

    the government is not there so that BMW owners dont damage their cars… if you run e10 in a Ferrari or Porsche, I have no doubt it will damage the car… is it the governments fault that some owners are ignorant? hardly

    some older cars have hoses and pumps that are degraded by ethanol

    read your owners manual or consult your manufacturer

    i personally would not use ethanol except in extraordinary circumstances

    • sonu1111 on 20/04/2013 - 09:00

      I understand what you are saying but my point is, If ethanol damages the engine or parts, should it be allowed. Government have to consider everything before allowing anything in the market. Take example of Medical equipments, majority of the products sold outside Australia are not compliant with Australian Standards and hence not available here.

      Many forums does mention that even though manufacturer mark their car models ethanol 10% compliant, it do attract more frequent servicing and give comparatively less fuel efficient.

      • [Deactivated] on 17/05/2013 - 22:58

        The same theory would apply to diesel fuel, if you put that in your car and it craps itself the government should ban that too? No, because fuel requirements are based on the manufactures specifications/build. If a car is built and configured for a certain type of fuel then only put those fuels in it, plain and simple. BTW the V8 supercars run on E85 (or maybe 100% ethanol I can't remember)

        • [Deactivated] on 17/05/2013 - 22:59

          And BTW its P100 NOT E100.

  • m0nkeycheese on 20/04/2013 - 08:22

    If manual says its ok your sweet (as it is in this case)

  • retiredfeline on 20/04/2013 - 08:43

    Did it really say E100? That's a bit misleading as it implies pure ethanol. AFAIK the highest mix sold is E85 and your car has to be specifically rated for it. Maybe the bowser only read 100 RON? As you probably know the octane number and ethanol content as separate things. I won't get into the use ethanol or not debate.

    • sonu1111 on 20/04/2013 - 08:52

      Sorry my mistake, it is E10 and 100 Octane.

  • Jalif on 20/04/2013 - 09:14
    +1

    Everything you have read is true, however the mileage may drop by more than 3% depending on the vehicle.

    The engine generates energy by breaking chemical bonds.

    Ethanol C2H5OH vs C8H-C10H.
    Each bond is broken and has oxygen from the air substituted, however the ethanol already is partially oxygenated, leaving one less bond to break.

    Newer cars can use the higher octane (lower risk of detonation, ie uncontrolled explosion) and advance the ignition timing (cause the spark plug to fire earlier in the combustion stroke for more power or better economy.

    Ethanol eats at rubber so should not be used in older cars unless the manual recommends it.

    Ethanol also absorbs water, and it mixes homogenously through your tank, whet petrol alone will sit on top of a later of water.

    • tonyjzx on 07/06/2013 - 23:54
      +1

      absorbing water can be a good thing

      if you have water in the fuel tank, the ethanol absorbs it and it burns instead of just accumulating

      running the occasional e10 can be ok

  • _Bruce_ on 20/04/2013 - 10:12
    +1

    As per my car specification, 95 octane fuel is a minimum requirement.

    As a general rule, going below this requirement decreases efficiency (or worse) but exceeding the requirement does almost nothing. Unless it is cheaper than 95, don't even bother.

  • ssmith3104 on 17/05/2013 - 01:12

    My car idles faster and runs better, especially at low revs, on E10 than it does on ordinary unleaded.

    Pricing at United is usually 3-4 cents off unleaded prices, which makes it attractive to buy if Coles & Woolies only have 4c off at that time, but it is not competitive when the majors are offering 8c per litre discounts.

  • mini2 on 17/05/2013 - 16:29

    Depends on your car, so far the only cars in my fleet that really benefited from P100 are the turbo'ed ones. The N/A cars did little to fully take advantage of it. Didn't really notice the consumption have gone up despite the lesser energy potential of ethanol..

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