Australian Government is stopping sales of Regular Unleaded gasoline...

[68autobug]

Well..
I read with interest recently, about the government stopping larger Gas stations from selling "normal" unleaded gas...

the Gas that MOST people use....

it has been replaced with E10... = 10% ethanol...

Up until Now... E10 bowsers have been marked in large letters E10...
with instructions not to use in aircraft and certain Motor cycles
and cars made before 1986...

Very small gas stations will be exempt... [until they can't buy normal.. gas.. lol]

A New Large gas station just opened in Town... [next to the New MacDonalds]
and I put Gas in My beetle today as My Wife wanted to drive 30 miles to My Sons place..

and I found there were NO standard unleaded pumps....

ONLY [now in very small letters- contains 10% ethanol] E10 is Now called - 91 Octane... [BIG LETTERS]
plus the alternatives... 95 Octane and 98 Octane...  both VERY Expensive...


E10 was NOT selling... as Motoring clubs/groups etc said You get Less Performance...
so, You didn't save any money... [as it was a few cents cheaper]
plus it could wreck rubber seals etc.... and cause damage to Your engine....

Now... the NEW 91 Octane looks like You are saving a few cents per liter... !!!!

[especially if You don't notice the ethanol notice- in very small writing..lol]

LEE

[Bookwus]

Hiya Lee,

I really don't know what to think about the whole ethanol issue.

Here in Oregon, ethanol was mandated for winter months about five or six years ago.  I really never noticed any difference using ethanol during that time.  Last year the decision was made to use it year-round.  There was some grumbling about that but never an outraged mass of consumers demanding the old formula without ethanol.

So, until I see that seal deterioration and crummy performance for myself, I'm pretty much on the fence regarding this issue.  And I'm wondering if that all those claims about ethanol's effects on engines and component parts just might have been a little propaganda?  I really dunno.

 

[ASBug]

I have been running E10 or E5 here in the sunny south for over 2 years now with no adverse affects to ASBug.
I think since all the carb rebuild kits are made in S.America now (mostly) and since Argentina has been running high levels of Ethanol in their country for a while that this may just work out OK, not happy happy joy joy - just OK.

Now when I was running my 1972 Honda AZ600 with it's 2 cyl 600cc motorcycle engine, the ethanol just killed the carberators.  I started off with 4 good Carbies and within a year I was on my last one.  Not a problem except that no one makes an accellerator pump for this car any more.  You could use a honda goldwing carb rebuild kit for all the rest of the seals, but the moto didn't use an accell pump.
BAD DAYS - Lotsa natural rubber orings = bad day.

KC

[68autobug]

   
Hi

Well, I ran ethanol based Gas for many years with a carburetored Mitsubishi car [made in australia]
without any problems at all...
the pumps always had the do not use in Motorcycles or aircraft...

but Many people used it as it was cheaper...

then again, its only up to 10% ethanol , so there is still around 90% of gasoline/petrol....

I don't think it would harm much... lol

Filling up in Brazil.. with mostly Ethanol. .. now that may cause problems...
but if the rubber seals etc are old and hard.... I don';t think it would effect them..

LEE

Hiya Lee,

I really don't know what to think about the whole ethanol issue.

Here in Oregon, ethanol was mandated for winter months about five or six years ago.  I really never noticed any difference using ethanol during that time.  Last year the decision was made to use it year-round.  There was some grumbling about that but never an outraged mass of consumers demanding the old formula without ethanol.

So, until I see that seal deterioration and crummy performance for myself, I'm pretty much on the fence regarding this issue.  And I'm wondering if that all those claims about ethanol's effects on engines and component parts just might have been a little propaganda?  I really dunno.