E10 fuel - good or bad?

[sheepdonkey]

Hi,

I recently heard that putting e10 fuel in the M3 (2008) is recommended vs Premium 98 Unleaded.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this or heard similar?

[TboneS54]

Lol

[sheepdonkey]

Well that answers it then 😂

[TboneS54]

E10 is too little ethanol content to have any effect on horsepower and all you're getting is the detrimental effects of having corn sugar in your fuel.

We only have E10 (87/89/91 octane) here in California. I wish we have zero ethanol, 93 octane like we used to decades ago. Government did not mandate E10 for our car's health or perfomance, I can gaurentee you.

To make up for the power robbing 91 octane we have in CA, people will run a mix of around E50 (petrol mixed with E85) to gain some power, but there are potential downsides to the fuel system from the corn. You also have to get larger injectors, and a tune or piggyback for the extra flow that's needed vs pure gasoline. Without upgrading injectors, you may be able to run a mild mixture, but not up to E85 I don't beleive. At least not the injector in the E46 S54, I'm not sure about S65.

[Johnny E92]

Hi,

I would stick to the 98 octane (from good big name brand petrol stations where possible). If you can afford an M3 there is no use skimping on fuel type and quality to save a few $.

[sheepdonkey]

Thanks for the responses. I personally didn’t think it made sense that E10 was recommended.

[pbonsalb]

Where I live, all the gas is E10.

[M_Torx]

in canada shell V power 91 is 🌽 free

[pbonsalb]

If I could buy straight 93, I would. But I don’t think E10 93 is bad. If I had access to straight E85, I would mix a little into the E10 93, but the nearest E85 is 75 miles away. I don’t want to buy 55 gallon drums and pump myself. I do buy meth but use a lot less meth than pump gas.

[Longboarder]

My e92 M3 had the same E10 91 octane gas on it for maybe 6-7 months while I traveling a lot and not driving it much. WOT accel was same as with a fresh tank of gas.

[bigjae1976]

Ethanol is actually about 116 octane. The downside is the energy density is lower so it requires more fuel.

Ethanol absorbs moisture and can cause brittle fractures or stress corrosion cracking in steel. Particularly in welds that were not adequately shielded during the weld process. It would be a concern with aftermarket parts with welds.

The only downside is fuel economy goes down and it works your fuel system a little harder. The upside is ethanol is cheaper AND you can use a lower octane fuel and then blend in 116 octane ethanol to get the octane back up. If you have E10 91, its actually 87-89 octane gasoline that is blended up to 91 with ethanol.

The biggest difference in E10 or no ethanol fuels other than octane is the detergent additive. In the US, the EPA mandates additive levels in fuel. Specifically, EPA mandates higher levels of additive in fuels branded "top tier". It's a compliance requirement that the EPA audits. I'd check the clean air act laws in Australia to see if they regulate fuel detergency and additives for emissions purposes.

[drwankel]

Everywhere I've been in the USA, E10 is the only choice.

Ethanol has less energy per volume vs gasoline. This translates into reduced fuel economy and reduced power. Ethanol free gas is the way to go if you can get it.

[smokinjoe64]

Originally Posted by drwankel

Everywhere I've been in the USA, E10 is the only choice.

Ethanol has less energy per volume vs gasoline. This translates into reduced fuel economy and reduced power. Ethanol free gas is the way to go if you can get it.

I concur 💯 %
If not mistaken Shell V Power 91, even in CA, is seemingly the last of the 'good stuff', meaning devoid of any ethanol.

...comments?