100 Octane E10 petrol

[Alext]

I filled up with the recently introduced United 100 octane E10 petrol. Has anyone tried this in their N54? My car seems to really like it. What is United petrol like in regards to fuel quality eg: additive package?

[BBK]

I've been using it for about 1.5 months now. No problems whatsoever. It's cheap(ish) and seems to run fine.

[CrustyNoodle]

True, but if engineered to run ethanol then there "shouldn't" be any problems.

That being said, I don't use ethanol blends - HPFP seals are known to be a weak link so I figure why aggravate the situation.

[_Ryan_]

BMW has stated the 130i can run e10, check your manual for the 135i...

In regards to united 100- i used to run it in all my cars(had a car tuned on it) when it was at a few servos in Vic back in 06-09ish. I wish I could get it in Perth!

[Taymaishu]

Originally Posted by _Ryan_

BMW has stated the 130i can run e10, check your manual for the 135i...

In regards to united 100- i used to run it in all my cars(had a car tuned on it) when it was at a few servos in Vic back in 06-09ish. I wish I could get it in Perth!

The 130 can run on e10. But recommended only for last resort use.

BMW recommends a minimum 95 octane as regular use. The knock sensors are quite good, hence why our NA engines can run e10 if nothing else is available.

Any street turbo engine should not run e10 as its main fuel source. Ignition under high fuel load is terrible (twin turbo), as well as the reasons listed above.

I have never put a pump 91 e10 in my N52 and plan not to. On the rare occasion (I think 2 half tanks) I have had to use 95, other than it is has always been 98.

[Harlequin]

I miss Shell V Power Racing 100 Octane...

[Taymaishu]

Originally Posted by Harlequin

I miss Shell V Power Racing 100 Octane...

AvGas

[_Ryan_]

Originally Posted by Taymaishu

The 130 can run on e10. But recommended only for last resort use.

BMW recommends a minimum 95 octane as regular use. The knock sensors are quite good, hence why our NA engines can run e10 if nothing else is available.

Any street turbo engine should not run e10 as its main fuel source. Ignition under high fuel load is terrible (twin turbo), as well as the reasons listed above.

I have never put a pump 91 e10 in my N52 and plan not to. On the rare occasion (I think 2 half tanks) I have had to use 95, other than it is has always been 98.

Unless I'm mistaken:
E10 = 10% ethanol fuel.
United 100RON is an E10 fuel.
Many servos stock 91ish RON E10.

I personally never run below 98RON in any car.

[pavo335]

If your gonna do it make sure you have a hpfp ready to swap

[RimasRS]

I was reading somewhere that BMW let's to run not more then 15% ethanol in petrol.
Though if there is possibility to get ethanol free u should use it...

[Taymaishu]

Yes Ryan, correct.

However as our typical pump "E10" is 89RON plus ethanol to reach 91, its a shocker.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by ianf

Why buy an $$$ car and then put crap fuel in. What are you saving $8/tank?

+1.


The other thing to consider with using E10 (95 RON) fuel is you should not go with long OCI (oil change intervals). Last year when E10 fuels hit the market here... BMW flip flopped a few times on this matter. One BMW engineer said NO way wuld he use it that stuff... then BMW came out with a BIG press conference saying it was perfectly fine. Yet, no garranty when something go wrong when you use this fuel! Bottom line is they say you CAN run e10 in model year 2000 and newer BMW's but you really ought to run super 95 RON or better yet SuperPlus 98 RON fuel.

The last thing you want is some detonation with a turbocharged car.

[pavo335]

well thats ^^^^ the definative answer for me. Thanks

[_Ryan_]

Originally Posted by Taymaishu

Yes Ryan, correct.

However as our typical pump "E10" is 89RON plus ethanol to reach 91, its a shocker.

So that is the RON, not ethanol content that is the issue.
As I said, I only run 98/100RON, and would never recommend anyone to run below 95(where 98 isn't available) in any car, especially a highly strung or turbo car!!!

[pavo335]

Originally Posted by _Ryan_

So that is the RON, not ethanol content that is the issue.

Both are an issue, running ethanol will after 3 hours make your car burst info flames and running a low RON will turn your car into a carolla within 200 k's

[Blauweisser]

I'm not a fan of putting EtOH in my tank. Yes, it is a way of boosting octane, but as in everything in life, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Ethanol is a less effective fuel than petrol, in that litre per litre, you get much fewer kJ's out of it, meaning it's less energy dense. You need more fuel to get the same energy, thus you're fuel consumption increases. Another consideration is that ethanol is hygroscopic, meaning it likes water. There is a danger that poorly maintained servo tanks (or those with low turnover) with ethanol-based fuels can get a bit wet. This means that the ethanol will dissolve the water until such time as the the petrol/ethanol/water mix can't take any more, and the ethanol/water mixture separates. This leaves the door open for micro-organisms to grow at the fuel-water interface. Think about clogged fuel filters, acids from the metabolism of the bugs, etc. I wouldn't touch the stuff in a fit, however much Bob Katter wants us to use it.

[sbce90]

Originally Posted by Blauweisser

I'm not a fan of putting EtOH in my tank. Yes, it is a way of boosting octane, but as in everything in life, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Ethanol is a less effective fuel than petrol, in that litre per litre, you get much fewer kJ's out of it, meaning it's less energy dense. You need more fuel to get the same energy, thus you're fuel consumption increases. Another consideration is that ethanol is hygroscopic, meaning it likes water. There is a danger that poorly maintained servo tanks (or those with low turnover) with ethanol-based fuels can get a bit wet. This means that the ethanol will dissolve the water until such time as the the petrol/ethanol/water mix can't take any more, and the ethanol/water mixture separates. This leaves the door open for micro-organisms to grow at the fuel-water interface. Think about clogged fuel filters, acids from the metabolism of the bugs, etc. I wouldn't touch the stuff in a fit, however much Bob Katter wants us to use it.

This post reminded me of my yr 12 chem.

[Alext]

I noticed that a lot of US N54 owners on this forum are using much higher % of Ethanol in their fuels and getting big power with tunes - like 40-60% mixes of E85! I think most of their fuel over there has at least 10% ethanol.

[BBK]

Just did a track day on it, and been using it for weeks. Car still no flames...

[_Ryan_]

Originally Posted by ianf

Long term use can't be good for components for reasons mentioned above. Its your car, so put in what ever you like. If it was 50c/litre I still wouldn't put it in my own car.

I would run e10 100RON without hesitation. Would love to try e85 if I had the injectors and ECU to go with it!

Lots of 135 guys are happy to run meth, but not low ethanol content fuel?

[Blauweisser]

Originally Posted by Alext

I noticed that a lot of US N54 owners on this forum are using much higher % of Ethanol in their fuels and getting big power with tunes - like 40-60% mixes of E85! I think most of their fuel over there has at least 10% ethanol.

Rember that phrase "no such thing as a free lunch"?

[Blauweisser]

Originally Posted by sbce90

This post reminded me of my yr 12 chem.

Yeah, well, I am a chemist. A while back I did some basic phys. chem. calculations, and figured that you get ~30% less energy from the same amount of ethanol as you do from petrol. At 10% ethanol, that's about a 3% decrease in fuel consumption. No such thing as a free lunch.

I know it's not fashionable to say it, but car manufacturers aren't dills. Notice that they've never raved about putting alcohol in fuel? About the best you'll get out of them is "yeah, well, I guess you can if you really want to". Notice the lack of enthusiasm? These are guys who are constantly testing engines and fuels and engine components. If BMW ever came out with a ringing endorsement, I'd sit up and take notice