so cruising around 3 days ago and a mate decided to fill up his mini ( am asking on his behalf) with e 10 stuf. i said to stick with what was running good in the car as i don't use e 10 in the mini. anyway he did it anyway. now when he drives around and i only noticed after he filled up with e 10 that his car seems to stutter after about 3000 rev , doesn't realy sound like its backfiring just like the power cuts out for a half a second then comes back on but will continue to do this.
he has a non unleaded head and did use the additive ( not sure weather that would have anything to do with anything)
so yeah the plugs seem ok and he says he filled up again with regular unleaded as he was guessing the fuel did it, but says the car is still stuttering above 3000 rpm.

just wondering what might be his problem .. i rekon its the fuel but hes realy worried as even when he refilled up its still doing it.

any ideas / advise ???

cheers
fiji

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PrOuDlY aSkInG qUeStIoNs FoR uR aMuEsMeNt

I think its the fuel as My Alfa Doesn't like anything less than 98. If I put 95 or less...its spits and farts. With this I have also tested if I put the 98 still with a 1/4 tank of the cheaper stuff it still does it

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Stop Licking the Dog...I Don't Care Who Started It

I filled my Morris 1100 with E10 and it developed a fuel leak from the hose on the bottom of the carby within a week.

Obviously SU carbies are non-alcoholic...
I think the E10 stuff is pointless for 2 reasons:
1. It takes more energy to make 1L of ethanol than it will produce when burned.
2. You get poorer economy because its calorific value (heat energy) is less than petrol. Do the sums vs its (artificially) lower price, there is no real gain.

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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.

It's just a "green" fuel to help people feel like they care about the environment. if they are going to do it, do it properly. The V8 Supertaxi's are using e85 or somesuch percentage. Or just leave it alone. no e10 makes it's way into any of my cars.

In regards to the stutter he may have a clogged jet or perished hose from the ethenol attacking the plastic and rubber in a older su.

if it is still continuing after the new tank of fuel, the first thing I would look at would be the SU Carby dashpot. Check the oil level in there. It could be lacking in pressure, therefore the pot is rising at higher revs, allowing it to stutter. Sowing oil works the best, not engine oil

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Bluey-1973 Clubby - 1330, high lift, big cam, 7 port madness in progress..

Gumby-1978 Minivan, British Racing Green - 1310, high lift, mild cam, enlarged porting and chamber shape with big valve head, supercharged build in ever slow progress!

If you want to use 'E' anything fuel you gotta make some big changes. Best to go the whole hog and use E85 in (85% ethanol). But, the problem with this is its bout as easy to find as rocking horse sh!t.

Also, some big mods have to be made to the fuel system, head, compression and it takes a bit of playing with timing. E85's octane rating is 105+. It also avoids many taces and can be idonkulously cheap, like 50c/L cheaper than ULP. With Ethanol being so much lighter than fuel, to get the same air:fuel burn ratio you need alot more E85.

The incrase in demand requires a much larger fuel pump, and some big injectors. You'll use about 30% more E85 than ULP in performance scenarios, but with up to 40kw of power gained in your standard 3.8 commodore engine, it can be worth it if you;re looking for the best top end power. Its an expensive thing to do and is not worth the effort for most people.

Page 58 of Issue 30 of 'Street Machine ommodores' has all the gory details (where me and my mates got our basic info from when we did a VT) which never got finished and ended up as a paddy basher with a massive fuel pump, unfortunately. In short. E10 is crap, if you really wanna use it, increasing the amount of fuel you pump just a touch might help. Oh, and i should mention that ethanol fuels are more corrosive and will chew through your standard fuel lines if used regularly.