5% ethanol blend, will it hurt my 6th Gen?

Hi all. (I'm in Australia.) I filled up in a hurry this morning at a new service station, and grabbed the high octane fuel as I usually do (Shell V-Power Racing). It was only after filling and paying that I noticed the 5% Ethanol blended into the fuel, to bring it up to 100 octane. The bike seems to like it, and runs well.

BUT, is it going to hurt my 6th Gen? I usually use a different brand of fuel (BP Ultimate), and run 98 octane. I've heard all sorts of horror stories etc about Ethanol blends, but I personally can't see how much damage 1 tankful would do.

Any feedback appreciated.

 

You'll survive the occasional tank. I wouldn't let it sit in the garage for long though. Gives you a good excuse to go somewhere!

 

Thanks for the reply. I'll take it for a thrash tonight for a bit and burn off some of the fuel.

 

Like SLO said its fine for anything but storage.
They mix it up to 10% here and although I don't run it, apparently,it's fine.
But I guess bieng an Aussie, winter storage isn't an issue for you......lucky bastard!

 

Almost all of the gasoline in the US is blended with 10% ethanol.

It's only recently that it actually told you that on the pump.:soapbox:

 

My previous employer made fuel transfer pumps and it was common knowledge that US fuels are 15% (E15). I never saw anything 'official' on this, but since I was an Engineer I'd say it's probably true.

That applies to the low grade (87 octane) fuels, I think the higher grades have less. Again, I don't know that for sure it's just what sticks in my mind.

 

Adding Ethanol BOOSTS the octane rating, so I think that it is likely that ALL grades of gasoline are 10% ethanol in my state.

 

Just ran into this issue as well today. Was running low and put 1/2 a tank of 10% ethanol in. I'm pretty sure Esso up here in Canada runs ethanol-free. If it's in the gas, it has to be displayed at the pump now. Anyone know who else is ethanol free in Canada?

 

What is the issue w/using ethanol? Is it bad for the lines? Do you need to change timing? There's a guy in Central CA (David Blume) that is pushing how "Alcohol Can Be A Gas!" He is contending that we (U.S.A) used to exclusively use Alcohol as a fuel for vehicles/equipment, but Rockefeller and others, lobbied for prohibition. Not for moral reasons, but to replace Alcohol as a fuel w/petroleum.

 

First off, ethanol doesn't hurt engines... It doesn't produce as much power as gasoline though...
You'll find that you loose a couple of horse power with ethanol added fuels... But it burns clean and doesn't gum up injectors or cats...

Octane rating does not relate to the energy content of the fuel. It is only a measure of the fuel's tendency to burn in a controlled manner, rather than exploding in an uncontrolled manner. Where octane is raised by blending in ethanol, energy content per volume is reduced.

 

I'm confused then. Why does the manual recommend 87 octane? I thought (at least the VFR) ran at a lower temps than an auto, hence part of the reason higher octane fuel isn't necessary. I'm all for more power, and it would seem that if 87 octane will produce more power, then why not use it if it will burn at the right temp?

 

Most motorcycles have a pretty high compression ratios, and therefor tend to require higher octanes to prevent detonation (or knocking). If you can get away with lower octanes without knocking you'll get more power, but if you ever hear knocking know that engine damage soon to follow. Most of us use premium octane fuels to make sure detonation never occurs to begin with.

Using higher octane than your standard premium pump fuel (91 here in UT) is kind of a waste of money in my opinion unless you've had engine work done.

 

Your answers are spot on. :biggrin:

 

Meh, you're good. Have fun riding

arty2:

 

The trouble with ethanol fuel is not what's happening when the engine is running but rather when it's not. A gallon of ethanol can hold a fair amount of water in suspension. Depending upon humidity, temperature and other factors E10 (or E5 in your case) can reach its saturation point in 30 to 90 days and the water which precipitates out will fall to the bottom of the tank and can cause rust in the tank or performance problems. Pilots routinely drain water from fuel tanks. This also drives boaters nuts. I use Marine Grade Sta-Bil (not sure if that's available down under - check out a boating supply store) if I think the fuel will be in the tank more than a month. Or siphon the fuel out and run it through a car. Just don't let it sit for an extended period.

 

Unfortunately, I have only found one station in my area that has 100% gasoline. All the rest have 10% ethanol.

 

I've been using ethanol since it came out 30 years ago with no problems. It does cause a slight loss in mileage (about 2mpg) but since Iowa gives a tax break it is 8-10cents per gal. cheaper so it evens out.

People claim that it hurts engine parts but I don't believe it especially since a local dealer got caught selling E85 as reular gas for a year and no one complained. I would also gues people must not pay attention to their mileage becaue I would have thought that it would have been notiable anytime they used his.

Going into winter storage I run out my E10 and fill it with regular gas.

 

Very true... Ethanol does bond to water much more readily... This is where Sta-Bil comes in... It actually bonds to the Ethanol molecules so that water can't... Here in Ut, I ride nearly year round, but if you have to store your MC it's a good idea to add it to your fuel prior to storage.

Thanks Cogswell, I forgot about that...

 

Lol, I was just about to reply to this thread and tell the OP not to worry if it doesn't happen often, then I found I AM the OP, lolol

 

Let me first say I'm jealous that you can still get real gasoline in places... here we are forced E10 everywhere.

Bottom line is you do not have to worry about performance differences with ethanol blended gasoline.

Ethanol is now used as an octane booster instead of the more environmentally devastating and persistent chemicals such as methy-tertiary-butyl-ether (MTBE). Ethanol degrades much quicker if contamination occurs, and combined with government subsidies and laws (won't get into my political feelings on this other than it's BS in the United States) it has become part of our gas.

The gas you're running is 100 octane. It will perform identically to a 100% petroleum blend 100 octane - it doesn't matter whether the octane boost is coming from ethanol, MTBE, or other.

However, you will likely notice a fairly substantial loss of fuel economy, since ethanol has a significantly lower energy content than pure petroleum gasoline. Interesting - that's one of the "benefits" of ethanol blends they don't talk about during campaigns - that you end up having to burn MORE to go the same distance...

Ethanol is also a good solvent. If you have had any crud building up in the tank or fuel system (which is unlikely; only really a concern in something like a lawnmower, emergency generator, etc) it will scrub all of that off - which would be a good thing, except it sends it to clog the fuel filter (hopefully, as opposed to sending it through the engine).

Another thing you should be aware of (but not necessarily concerned with, it's more important for fuel retailers since they have the risk of water getting into their tanks) is phase separation as talked about in previous replies. The water in suspension in the blend isn't really a huge problem. But if it hits a saturation point, the octane boosting components will drop out and sit at the bottom of the tank, with the fuel floating on top. Gas pumps pull from the bottom, so it will pump watery ethanol into the tank which isn't good.

Lastly, for winter storage - you want to make sure to add a stabilizer since ethanol will break down faster than other octane boosters. I'm not sure how Sta-bil works with the Ethanol, but I'm sure it's fine. I personally use a product called "STARTRON". Originally heard about it in the boating communities since the direct contact of water on their engines posed a big threat to fuel stability. It specifically states that it stabilizes ethanol blended fuels.