I was just wondering if anyone has used ethanol plus (98 premium fuel) in thier mini and what were the results?
Ive used it in my injected V8 falcon and it seemed to like the stuff, (at the time it was the same price as regular unleaded fuel).
Anyways was gunna give it ago next time fuel is neede in my mini but was wondering if anyone else had any results on this topic or point me in the direction of a previous thread/post on the subject.

Cheers

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDMkVq1jRGU

i wouldnt use ethanol in the mini. not all the time anyway.

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oil leak?..what oil leak..that puddle under the car is just sweat from all that horsepower

why??

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDMkVq1jRGU

heard bad things about it. 5% isnt much per tank however add that up per tank u put in the car and per litre your fuel lines have to take, isnt the best thing for it. ive heard stories from other mechanics they have had problems with cars fuel lines cracking and leaking and all sorts of other mechanical problems. i use to put in V power sport 100 octane with 5 or 10% ethanol, but i would only use it every second tank. so one week standard premuim and the next week ethanol blend.

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oil leak?..what oil leak..that puddle under the car is just sweat from all that horsepower

Ethanol can 'eat away' some seals, particularly in older 'pre ethanol' cars. It has also been found to cause plastic fuel tanks (the ones found in boats) to split and pit and eventually leak.
If you aren't sure that the seals and gaskets in your fuel system will handle it, steer clear.

Terry

Ethanol also burns at a lower temperature than petrol so your car will have less power when running on ethanol. I'm not sure how much difference it would actually make though...

Couldn't you just put in a different plug to compensate for the different burning temperature?

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'73 clubby s "cryo" - sold
Operation Evil Sesame Street!

Ok so given that there are no plastics in my fuel system and no seals in it either there really shouldn't be any problem except for a s/plug change (hotter) from a bp6** to a bp5**.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDMkVq1jRGU

ive also heard that the ethanol fuels will 'eat away' at the rubber, or harden it, causing it to crack etc, so fuel line rubber might have to be replaced more often, not 100% on that though, might be worth checking out.

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'73 clubby s "cryo" - sold
Operation Evil Sesame Street!

Alcohol has about 1/3 less energy than petrol, so at a 10% mix you will lose about 3.3% economy. It better be more than 3.3% cheaper...
It also absorbs water, so hello rusty fuel tanks....

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Ethanol loves:
Older fuel hose
Older injector seals
AND
Brass bits in carbies, especially Webers!
Who knows what else!!!!

Use at your own risk.

Stay away from ethanol fuel, it's more trouble than it's worth.


MATERIAL COMPATIBILITY ISSUES
The use of E10 blended petrol is widely accepted in many modern makes of car. However, ethanol can cause early deterioration of components in fuel systems such as fuel tanks, fuel lines/hoses, injector seals, delivery pipes, fuel pump and regulators, particularly in older vehicles.
Vehicles with carburettor fuel systems may experience hot fuel handling concerns and may also experience a lower level of durability in some fuel system components.
Some manufacturers advise not to use E10 with any model equipped with a carburettor because of material incompatibility.


EXHAUST AND EVAPORATIVE EMISSION LEVELS
Lean-out resulting from the oxygenating effect of ethanol in the fuel may affect exhaust emissions where feed-back loop engine management is absent.
Vapour pressure of fuel with ethanol will be greater (if base fuel volatility is not adjusted at the refining stage) and can lead to increased evaporative emissions. Fuel containing ethanol can increase permeation emissions from fuel system components.



PERFORMANCE AND FUEL ECONOMY
In relation to E10 blended petrol, it is worth noting there would be about a 1-3% increase in fuel consumption due to the reduced energy content of E10 blended petrol. With higher levels of ethanol blends the fuel consumption is increased by an even greater amount.

1.5 miilion brazilans cant be wrong - almost all cars in Brazil run on either pure ethanol or a very high mix.

In the past I have used ethanol (up to e85) in carbied cars. The power is greater if you tune for it but the economy is worse. You can advance the timing and can run greater compression.

However, diagram type fuel pumps, rubber fuel lines suffer badly in a very short period of time. It also kills exhaust systems - it makes them rust out in no time flat.

It also be attributed to head gasket failure in composite type head gaskets.

If you are buying it save money - its cheaper to buy more expensive petrol in the long run.

I'm running a test on consumption at the moment with our new(ish) Avalon.

Regular unleaded 95 RON gave us 13.5L/100Km - currently running E10 then I'll run 98 RON - I'll keep you posted

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David L


My greatest fear in life is that when I die my wife will sell my Mini and tools for the price I told her I paid for them!

You will find that a lot of cars in Brazil have their engines & fuel systems designed/built/tuned for ethanol fuel.

Totally different scenario to the rest of the world.