Fuel issue for the future

[Groundes-Peace]

How worrying will the announcement on 10% Ethanol be to our 1960's cars?
I appreciate both 5% and 10% will be available together for a while, but if we have to run on 10% Ethanol continuously what damage will occur?

[Dastardly Diesel]

Possible items such as rubber fuel lines, fuel pump internals, rubber or plastic carb internals may suffer...but really, on this generation of cars it will present little problem. Those parts are minimal, and production will simply shift to materials that can withstand the ethanol. I wouldn't sweat it too much.

[mocambique-amazone]

Add 2-stroke oil in best quality you will get in 1:200 and you will flatten out any problem nearby.
I recommend highly 2-stroke oil made especially for outboard motors.
You should do this with k-jet too!!!

The fuel lines and some plastic get destroyed by the Ethanol.
It will collect water very fast too.

Other brands will earn more problems, for shure

Good luck, Kay

[arcturus]

Most good lead replacement additives,Millers VSP for example compensate for ethanol and give a slight octane boost

[marsdalebear]

Originally Posted by Groundes-Peace

How worrying will the announcement on 10% Ethanol be to our 1960's cars?
I appreciate both 5% and 10% will be available together for a while, but if we have to run on 10% Ethanol continuously what damage will occur?

No need to panic
This consultation is:

proposing introducing E10 petrol as the 95 octane “Premium” grade
proposing ensuring the ongoing availability of E5 petrol in the higher octane “Super” grade only
proposing amending the mandatory labelling of E10 petrol
launching a call for evidence on future transport biofuels policy

[classicswede]

The fuel line problem is already there with E5, E10 is not going to be much more of a problem.

Considering B18/20's will run on 50/50 petrol/diesel mix I can not imagine E10 being a problem at all running wise

[blueosprey90]

In the United States we have been running with E10 (leadfree) for quite a few years. In the early years E10 seemed to do quite a bit of damage, especially for boats, where it seemed to attack fiberglass fuel tanks and rubber hoses and bits. That seems to be behind us.

The biggest concern now seems to be water building up in the fuel system, and the fuel itself becoming "unstable" over time, although I'm not sure exactly what that means - perhaps fuel separation. I use a product called Sta-Bil in my fuel system during winter storage and keep the fuel tank at "full" for winter storage, both so that condensation doesn't build up in the tank. I notice a bit of crud on the bottom of my SU float bowls that looks like rust; and clean that out periodically. Otherwise, I don't think there are discernable negative effects. But if you have a decrepit fuel tank, you should expect rust to form up in there, so add a fuel filter as necessary.

I've been running the E10 in both my 59 MGA race car and in my 57 Volvo PV 444.

For the "lead free part", if that's your concern, the only thing you might want to do is to watch for exhaust valve recession in the head; and if/when that occurs, to have a machine shop install hardened exhaust valve seats. Apparently the "lead free" fuel runs hotter and can cause valve recession. But I think you need to put some miles on the car before that will occur.

On my MGA, I monitor exhaust gas temperatures with some fairly easy to install egt probes and a dual gauge. But although I try to keep egt below 1350 degrees Farenheit at race speeds, just loping around the track at normal speeds barely gets it up to 500 degrees.

[BorderVolvo]

Originally Posted by mocambique-amazone

Add 2-stroke oil in best quality you will get in 1:200 and you will flatten out any problem nearby.
I recommend highly 2-stroke oil made especially for outboard motors.
You should do this with k-jet too!!!

Sorry if stating the obvious but are you saying add 1 part 2-stroke oil to 200 parts of E10 fuel and you're good to go?

Basically 0.5% 2-stroke oil in E10 fuel??

[CLIVERALLY]

Going to wade in here..
Premium or Super Unleaded will remain at 5% for the time being.
There are moves to marchg toward E15 so watch this space. I contacted Millers oils who reassuringly have confirmed their VSPE Power Plus is good for up to and including E10.
I would suggest checking your fuel lines and they should have been replaced by unleaded quality ones by now. The Fuel filter is important but will not prevent damage caused by E10 only the particales of rust or liquified rubber that may result.
I hope this sets minds at rest. One interesting thing is that Turkey have stopped moving to E10 until the Corona virus has burnt out as they need the ethanol for sanitation.. perhaps all countries should follow their lead.