Does ethanol damage older cars? (2023)

Does ethanol hurt older engines?

But on the flip side, if you're driving an older vehicle, the ethanol may be causing problems. Alcohol is a highly corrosive substance that's hard on plastic, rubber, and even some metals, and over time it will eat away at your vehicle's most vulnerable components.

Will E10 cause problems for cars in storage? When it comes to storing your car, if it is older than 1996 and doesn't have a catalytic converter, you can use a lead replacement additive such as Castrol's Classic Valvemaster, which can help prevent corrosion as it also contains an ethanol stabiliser.

If moist air gets into the tank, the ethanol will absorb the water and can lead to running problems and rust. Ethanol can also corrode fiberglass and rubber, often found in classic cars. To keep your classic car in great shape, we recommend filling it with non-ethanol gas.

Therefore, if your classic is not used for a while, it is advisable to refuel a premium gasoline with the lowest possible alcohol content (Super 98, V-Power, Excellium, etc.). Some suppliers are offering additives for E10, specially designed to counteract the harmful effects on our classics.

Unfortunately, running vintage cars on contemporary gasoline containing ethanol can create problems for classic car owners. Most of these cars run best on pure gasoline, not gasoline treated with ethanol.

Is Your Car Approved to Run on Ethanol? According to a 2017 study, 80 percent of new vehicles sold were approved to run on E15 gasoline. In 2012, the government approved the use of E15 gasoline in any vehicle made after 2001, though not all manufacturers were on board at the time.

Liqui Moly E10 Fuel Additive is a state-of-the-art, ash-free fuel additive for improving combustion and faster acceleration in partial load range. Specially developed to compensate loss of performance from E10 fuel and improves the vehicle acceleration and smoothness.

Diesel and electric vehicles cannot use E10 petrol.

E10 petrol's higher bioethanol content is corrosive to rubber parts, gaskets, seals, metals and plastics, which causes engine damage, so it could dislodge deposits in older engines and fuel systems, causing blockages. It should only be used with expert advice, which means pretty much never.

Will higher octane gasoline clean your engine better? No. High octane gasoline doesn't outperform regular octane in preventing engine deposits from forming, in removing them, or in cleaning your car's engine. This is a myth.

Should I use premium gas in my older car?

If you have an older vehicle, using regular gas is highly recommended. Older vehicles have lower levels of compression in the engine and low-octane gas won't ignite too early. As long as your older car doesn't have a turbocharger, you can use the cheaper, minimum octane gas without any issues.

Premium gas doesn't provide any more power or contain better additives than regular gas, and it contains the same amount of ethanol as other grades.

Yes. The new Shell V-Power fuels are designed for use in whatever type of diesel or unleaded car you drive – whether it is old or new.

Most cars today can run on ethanol gas blends up to E15 (15% ethanol) and on non-ethanol gasoline. And flex fuel vehicles can handle up to E85 (85% ethanol) without a problem.

E10 is a low-level blend composed of 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline. It is approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use in any conventional, gasoline-powered vehicle.

Ethanol can cause several types of damage to the engine in your vehicle. Your vehicle's fuel intake components can be damaged. In addition, ethanol can cause damage to the fuel pump in your vehicle. These repairs and replacements can range from a few hundred dollars to more than $1,000 to take care of properly.

Continually filling a standard gasoline car with this high-ethanol fuel can result in serious fuel system corrosion. Plus, when you accidentally put E85 fuel in a car, it may void your engine warranty. That means you could be on the hook for the repairs, even if your car is brand new.

E10 is compatible with most modern petrol cars on the road today. Ethanol blended motor vehicle fuel is used in over 64 countries. If the manufacturer says your car can take regular unleaded and/or E10 petrol, there is no reason for you to use premium petrol.

Can all cars use ethanol?

All gasoline engine vehicles can use E10. Currently, only flex-fuel and light-duty vehicles with a model year of 2001 or newer are approved by the EPA to use E15. Flex-fuel vehicles can use any ethanol-gasoline blends up to E85. The energy content of ethanol is about 33% less than pure gasoline.

E10 emissions can also damage the core of catalytic converters.

Long term car storage in the E10 age

Designed by the Anglo-American Oil Company to be stable for at least three years, this special storage fuel does not contain ethanol and will not absorb water.

If used over a long period E10 petrol can cause long lasting damage to non-compatible vehicles (manufactured before 2011). The ethanol content also has corrosive properties that can damage hoses, seals, metals and plastics within the engine.

Like mixing regular and super unleaded in the days of E5 petrol, mixing E5 and E10 in the same tank will not do any harm to your vehicle. In its guidance on E10, the DfT says: “If your vehicle is compatible with E10 petrol, there's no reason you can't mix the 2 grades of petrol (E5 97+ and E10 95+).

In reality E5 only really has around 2-3% Ethanol so is perfectly safe to use on older vehicles or those without the neccessary E10 upgades.

It's usually cheaper to fill your car with E10 petrol than with E5, due to its wide availability across the country. Since E10 became the standard petrol grade, however, this doesn't mean that it's lower quality.

If you accidentally fill a car with E10 when it needs E5, some of the vehicle's internal components may suffer as a result. The extra solvents in the fuel can cause damage to the fuel pumps, lines and carburettors, especially in the long term.

Increasing the ethanol level in petrol poses two main risks to older cars. The first is that as a solvent, it can cause degradation of rubber and plastic components, such as hoses, seals, fuel lines and filters.

One of the key changes with E10 unleaded petrol is the difference in fuel efficiency compared to E5. Your drivers who fill up with E10 will get fewer miles per gallon due to it containing 5% more ethanol.

Does premium gas clean catalytic converter?

As long as the gasoline is unleaded it makes no difference on the catalytic converter. None. The use of regular grade fuel in an engine that requires fuel is more of a detriment to the engine than the cat.

“If the octane is less than 91, the engine could be damaged and the repairs would not be covered by the vehicle warranty. If heavy knocking is heard when using gasoline rated at 93 octane, the engine needs service," the owners manual reads.

Yes, drivers can mix the two types of fuel. The combined gas types will result in an octane level somewhere in the middle — something the vehicle “will survive,” according to The Drive.

Nada. The octane of the fuel has absolutely no effect on how long your car is going to last. If your car is designed to run on 87 octane then feeding it 89 or higher octane will do one thing: lighten your wallet. There is NO reason to use octane any higher than the engine is designed to run on.

Sadly, there's nothing in premium gasoline that would make it last longer than other fuels from the pump. Since the distinguishing feature is the higher-octane levels, the only real benefit you gain is lowering the chance of engine knocking, which isn't much of a threat on most modern fuel systems.

"As the subregular and middle grades of gas came to market in 1962, the average octanes of gasolines in the U.S. now stood at 93 for regular, 99 for premium and 102 for the few super-premiums still left on the market. Those numbers would increas...

Based fuel made by processing. And distilling things like corn grains stuff like that to make this

Shell 91, (or V-Power 93) and most of the other brand “premium” gasolines do not have ethanol.

According to dan mctigue a noted petroleum analyst shell and so91 are both ethanol.

Shell V-Power has the highest ratings of the Super fuels so would be a good one to experiment with first. For diesel we would suggest BP Ultimate. Supermarkets and branded fuel comes from the same refineries and has to meet the same British and European standards.

What kind of gas do classic cars use?

Q: I recently purchased a '66 Corvair that was owned by my dad in the late '70s before he passed away. I had to have that car, due to its history. The manual says to use "premium" gas, however no octane number is indicated.

Yes it is worth it as it definitely helps your vehicle perform better. All these branded petrol variants are better than normal fuel and an easy indicator is your fuel economy increases a bit. Other than that, if you can manage the extra money then definitely use it.

Ethanol can damage many parts of your car at concentrations above 10%. Ethanol can destroy gas tanks, fuel pumps, gaskets, and attract moisture into your fuel. Engines can be completely ruined over time if they're not designed for ethanol.

However, most cars don't run on pure ethanol – in fact, running on higher than 15-20% ethanol concentration can cause engine damage because the engine has to be adjusted to account for the differing combustion property of that concentration.

You can safely mix ethanol and non-ethanol gasoline in your vehicle's fuel tank. Regular gasoline and ethanol are compatible and mixing the two will not harm your engine. However, your engine will always run better on the type of fuel it was engineered to burn.

The octane ratings of AVGAS, a gasoline-based fuel, are usually either 91 or 100 (lean mixture) and 96 or 130 (rich mixture). The octane rating of jet fuel is much lower, around 15 – this is much more like automotive diesel and thus much more resistant to detonating due to sparks or compression.

Retail gasoline stations in the United States sell three main grades of gasoline based on the octane level: Regular (the lowest octane fuel–generally 87) Midgrade (the middle range octane fuel–generally 89–90) Premium (the highest octane fuel–generally 91–94)

Diesel fuel has an octane rating of 25-40. Mixing 2% diesel fuel into gasoline will lower the overall octane rating by 1 point. Getting 10% diesel contamination lowers octane by 5 points, which is enough to create problems in most engines.

In the main fuel ethanol consuming markets, vehicle compatibility issues have been overcome. In the U.S., E10 has been approved for use in any conventional gasoline powered vehicle.

Ethanol can cause several types of damage to the engine in your vehicle. Your vehicle's fuel intake components can be damaged. In addition, ethanol can cause damage to the fuel pump in your vehicle. These repairs and replacements can range from a few hundred dollars to more than $1,000 to take care of properly.

Does 15% ethanol damage car engines?

The EPA and an academic study have said that fuel containing 15% ethanol is safe for cars, trucks and sport-utility vehicles made in 2001 or later — which make up more than 90% of the vehicles on U.S. roads.

E15, often sold at the pump as Unleaded 88, for its octane rating, can safely be used in all cars, trucks and SUVs from 2001 on. Those model years represent more than 90% of vehicles on U.S. roads. The ethanol industry says the fuel is one of the most tested in history and has no effect on vehicle drivability.

E10 is a low-level blend composed of 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline. It is approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use in any conventional, gasoline-powered vehicle.

Continually filling a standard gasoline car with this high-ethanol fuel can result in serious fuel system corrosion. Plus, when you accidentally put E85 fuel in a car, it may void your engine warranty. That means you could be on the hook for the repairs, even if your car is brand new.

Most cars today can run on ethanol gas blends up to E15 (15% ethanol) and on non-ethanol gasoline. And flex fuel vehicles can handle up to E85 (85% ethanol) without a problem.

Ethanol is bad for cold-starting, because it doesn't burn as quickly as gasoline. (It has a higher octane, if you're interested.) Pure ethanol would be useless as fuel in the winter months. There are no passenger cars designed to take E100 (but some racing cars are) so it could damage your car engine.

Premium gas doesn't provide any more power or contain better additives than regular gas, and it contains the same amount of ethanol as other grades.

Ethanol is more soluble in water than it is in gasoline. Therefore, if you add water to the gasoline and vigorously shake it, the ethanol will attach itself to the water. After it sits for a while, the gasoline and water/ethanol will make 2 distinct layers, and you can drain off the ethanol/water in a variety of ways.

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Does ethanol damage fuel injectors?

Ethanol can cause fuel injector problems - gel, clogging and rust.

Is your vehicle compatible with flex fuel? E85 is actually safer for your engine than regular gasoline is. E85 flex fuel not only powers your engine but also cleans your engine, fuel lines, and fuel injectors. That's because E85 contains a high amount of ethanol, up to 83%.

Ethanol can damage many parts of your car at concentrations above 10%. Ethanol can destroy gas tanks, fuel pumps, gaskets, and attract moisture into your fuel. Engines can be completely ruined over time if they're not designed for ethanol.

Under the Clean Air Act, E15 cannot be sold in summer because it evaporates more readily in warm weather and can worsen air pollution.