Ethanol

[JFP in PA]

1. Gas with 10% ethanol makes less power than normal gas, and decreases fuel mileage accordingly.
2. Gas with ethanol in entrains water more easily; the entrained water corrodes everything in the fuel system.
3. Gas with ethanol in it is less stable than normal gas, and can actually striate in the system without additional additives to keep it mixed.

[Smallblock454]

Originally Posted by JFP in PA

1. Gas with 10% ethanol makes less power than normal gas, and decreases fuel mileage accordingly.
2. Gas with ethanol in entrains water more easily; the entrained water corrodes everything in the fuel system.
3. Gas with ethanol in it is less stable than normal gas, and can actually striate in the system without additional additives to keep it mixed.

Hello JFP in PA,

everything you tell is right, but it is not a problem to use E5 or E 10 if you go for a journey and it is only E5 or E10 available.

The fuel system of the 986 is able to handle E10 without getting harmed. Please see Porsche approval above.

Found a more detailed information on ethanol fuel on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_fuel

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Hello Robert993TT,

the german government decided that every fuel you can buy in Germany has to contain an amount of bio fuel in the year of 2006: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biokraftstoffquotengesetz E10 was introduced in Germany in 2011.

Aral says they use Bio-Ether instead of Bio-Ethanol for Aral Ultimate 102: Übersicht der Kraftstoffsorten | Unsere Kraftstoffe | Kraftstoffe und Preise | Aral

Ether: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ether

I'm not a chemist. Ether is made from alcohol and sulfuric acid while split off water. So it seems to be the better choice. They've used Ether in the past to get better knock resistance. But it was more expensive than Benzol, Tuluol or Xyol.

And as said, Porsche officially approves E10 for their cars built since 1947. So i see no big issues in using E5 for a journey to Germany.

Regards, Markus

PS: By the way, the guys that work at Porsche always use the cheapest fuel for their Porsche company cars when they're at the fuel station. They say that the car has to handle it.

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by Smallblock454

Hello JFP in PA,

everything you tell is right, but it is not a problem to use E5 or E 10 if you go for a journey and it is only E5 or E10 available.

The fuel system of the 986 is able to handle E10 without getting harmed. Please see Porsche approval above.

Found a more detailed information on ethanol fuel on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_fuel

Not in the near term, but longer term is more questionable. Porsche, like many others, use mild steel for their fuel lines, injector rails, etc. Several shops have reported in the trade press of encountering these mild steel components starting to corrode from the inside out. We have seen this on a couple of early 986's in the shop.

So while it is "approved", it may not be ideal, a lot like their oil of choice.

[dbear61]

Originally Posted by JFP in PA

1. Gas with 10% ethanol makes less power than normal gas, and decreases fuel mileage accordingly.
2. Gas with ethanol in entrains water more easily; the entrained water corrodes everything in the fuel system.
3. Gas with ethanol in it is less stable than normal gas, and can actually striate in the system without additional additives to keep it mixed.

+1 on all three points, except I think point 2 JFP means "retain". Gas and water don't mix, but alcohol and water do. So the Ethanol blended fuel can retain water and separate from the oil-based gas. But points 2 and 3 aren't a concern unless the same fuel is sitting in your system for several months. Normal driving and refueling every week or two will only give you problem #1.

The only gas within 50 miles of me is 10% Ethanol, all 3 grades: 87, 89 and 93. I only use 93. I get 18-19 mpg combined city/hwy driving and max out at about 24 on the highway. For the Winter, I add Stabil on the last fill-up and let it run for 15 minutes to work through the whole system.

DBear

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by dbear61

+1 on all three points, except I think point 2 JFP means "retain". Gas and water don't mix, but alcohol and water do. So the Ethanol blended fuel can retain water and separate from the oil-based gas. But points 2 and 3 aren't a concern unless the same fuel is sitting in your system for several months. Normal driving and refueling every week or two will only give you problem #1.

The only gas within 50 miles of me is 10% Ethanol, all 3 grades: 87, 89 and 93. I only use 93. I get 18-19 mpg combined city/hwy driving and max out at about 24 on the highway. For the Winter, I add Stabil on the last fill-up and let it run for 15 minutes to work through the whole system.

DBear

No, I meant exactly what I said: entrain: transitive verb. 1 : to draw along with or after oneself. 2 : to draw in and transport within a fluid.

And items 2 & 3 also become problematic from repeated long term dynamic exposure (driving) as well as static exposure, (storage) as the excess available water creates acids from degrading the fuel additives, resulting in both corrosion and fuel degradation build up.

Fuels containing ethanol have a higher mositure content right out of the station pumps than non ethanol fuels, so the process is already underway before you even buy it.