E10 Ethanol Blend
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Colin,
I wish i could tell you either way about E10.
But, i hope it is ok. There is a company here in townsville making very small quantaties of it and they recon within 2 years they will be making commercial quantaties available.
hopefully in 2 years time we can actually still afford fuel and be still able to ride, or we may all just me reminiscing about how great it used to be to go riding!
I wish i could tell you either way about E10.
But, i hope it is ok. There is a company here in townsville making very small quantaties of it and they recon within 2 years they will be making commercial quantaties available.
hopefully in 2 years time we can actually still afford fuel and be still able to ride, or we may all just me reminiscing about how great it used to be to go riding!
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Dont really know much about petrol apart from using it. What is the RON (Research Octane Number... I think) on the Ethanol blend, if it has one.
The filler door & manual on my 05 recommends at least 95 RON. So thats Premium Unleaded (Vortex for Caltex users), not Vortex 98.
The guys in the states reckon they only get juice up to 93 RON, and their LT's run fine (according to k1200ltrider) on 89 RON.
There was something on TV news a few nights ago about the govt's decision to back 10% (5% ?) ethanol blend fuel. The manufacturers are supposed to be getting behind it.
Take a few more minutes... and hey presto... just found this link.....
http://www.autoindustries.com.au/ethanol.php/2004/03/00000001.html.
"Motor Cycles
Before use of E10 in motorcycles not listed below, you should consult your handbook or manufacturer to check if the fuel is suitable.
BMW All motorcycles since 1986 will operate satisfactorily on E10."
The filler door & manual on my 05 recommends at least 95 RON. So thats Premium Unleaded (Vortex for Caltex users), not Vortex 98.
The guys in the states reckon they only get juice up to 93 RON, and their LT's run fine (according to k1200ltrider) on 89 RON.
There was something on TV news a few nights ago about the govt's decision to back 10% (5% ?) ethanol blend fuel. The manufacturers are supposed to be getting behind it.
Take a few more minutes... and hey presto... just found this link.....
http://www.autoindustries.com.au/ethanol.php/2004/03/00000001.html.
"Motor Cycles
Before use of E10 in motorcycles not listed below, you should consult your handbook or manufacturer to check if the fuel is suitable.
BMW All motorcycles since 1986 will operate satisfactorily on E10."
Hi Chris
Thanks for the link. It's surprising the number of motorcycles that won't run on E10. Seems to be running better on E10 than standard unleaded.
How do you find the '05LT. Am that happy with the '99 that I can't see myself changing it. First bike I've kept for this long.
Thanks for the link. It's surprising the number of motorcycles that won't run on E10. Seems to be running better on E10 than standard unleaded.
How do you find the '05LT. Am that happy with the '99 that I can't see myself changing it. First bike I've kept for this long.
The octane rating at the pumps in the US is different to Australia. In Australia we use RON rating. The US use an average of RON and MON ratings. MON is usually about 10 points less than RON. This may explain why they appear to run on a lower octane rating.
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more info...
http://www.ibmwr.org/otech/octane.html
just put a note on a very recent K1200LT post here to find out what "they" are using...
http://www.bmwlt.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=3135#poststop
http://www.ibmwr.org/otech/octane.html
just put a note on a very recent K1200LT post here to find out what "they" are using...
http://www.bmwlt.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=3135#poststop
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3,224 Posts
Hi Colin.
As a step-up from a '96 K75 I'm loving it, although there are a few nuances that I'm still coming to terms with. Partner loves it, but we're yet to do do some big rides.
Had it for 4 weeks now, 1800km, so its still almost new.
Mind you, bloody mirror hinge inside the trunk broke 2 days ago, a day after I read a thread of similar instances from the general forum.
Contacted my dealer via email and no problems.
They've already got the replacement part in for me under warranty. Gotta love that.
Will be down you're way 24 Nov, en route to Snowy Ride. Staying at a friends just south of Canberra off the Cooma Road overnight.
As a step-up from a '96 K75 I'm loving it, although there are a few nuances that I'm still coming to terms with. Partner loves it, but we're yet to do do some big rides.
Had it for 4 weeks now, 1800km, so its still almost new.
Mind you, bloody mirror hinge inside the trunk broke 2 days ago, a day after I read a thread of similar instances from the general forum.
Contacted my dealer via email and no problems.
They've already got the replacement part in for me under warranty. Gotta love that.
Will be down you're way 24 Nov, en route to Snowy Ride. Staying at a friends just south of Canberra off the Cooma Road overnight.
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160 Posts
Heh! Was just coming on to ask about E10, and here is a thread already.
Just started using E10 in the car and the guy at the servo said they get quite a lot of bikes using it, so will give it a go in the bike next time I fill up.
Another guy at the pump said he always uses it in his V6 and would get 200kms on $40 of unleaded, but almost 400kms on E10 and now he never uses anything else.
Also saw a show on a test for ethanol fuel where they had 4 cars all set up exactly the same and all driven at the same speed around the track. The first to stop was the Premium fuel, next was the unleaded, then the 5% ethanol while the 10% went a couple of hundred kms further than the unleaded cars.
Just started using E10 in the car and the guy at the servo said they get quite a lot of bikes using it, so will give it a go in the bike next time I fill up.
Another guy at the pump said he always uses it in his V6 and would get 200kms on $40 of unleaded, but almost 400kms on E10 and now he never uses anything else.
Also saw a show on a test for ethanol fuel where they had 4 cars all set up exactly the same and all driven at the same speed around the track. The first to stop was the Premium fuel, next was the unleaded, then the 5% ethanol while the 10% went a couple of hundred kms further than the unleaded cars.
Got to be something different about the E10 you guys are getting vs the stuff we have here in the US!
When they started to use the ethanol ONLY in the winter, instead of MTBE, the only thing we noticed was a reduction in miles/gallon! Now that it's E10 all year long, most drivers have adapted, but the cars still don't go as far as they did before.
In fact, I was in a friends Rav4 last night, and they commented that the '04 model got about 7 MPG less than their '01 model.
When they started to use the ethanol ONLY in the winter, instead of MTBE, the only thing we noticed was a reduction in miles/gallon! Now that it's E10 all year long, most drivers have adapted, but the cars still don't go as far as they did before.
In fact, I was in a friends Rav4 last night, and they commented that the '04 model got about 7 MPG less than their '01 model.
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Sioux Falls, SD (August 24, 2005) – The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) today released the results of its recent Fuel Economy Study, a pilot study that researched the fuel economy, cost per mile, and driveability of various blends of fuel, including unleaded gasoline, E10, E20, and E30.
“As ethanol production and use continues to expand from coast to coast, increased public discussion and media attention have often turned to a debate over ethanol's fuel efficiency,” said Ron Lamberty, ACE Vice President / Market Development. “Because there was very little scientific information out there, ACE commissioned a pilot study to determine whether there are variances in gas mileage between ethanol blends and gasoline.”
The research tested unleaded gasoline, a 10% ethanol blend (E10), a 20% ethanol blend (E20), and a 30% ethanol blend (E30) in three late-model vehicles. The Chevrolet Impala, Ford Taurus, and Toyota Camry were not flexible fuel vehicles, and no modifications were made to them for this research. Care was taken to eliminate any human inputs that might render the tests unscientific, including the use of a computerized data logger and strict controls on the vehicles, fuel, and terrain.
The test was conducted by Allen Kasperson, a Fuel Research Specialist and instructor with more than 30 years of experience training automobile and truck technicians at Lake Area Vocational Technical Institute in Watertown, South Dakota. The study also examined an E10 blend that had been denatured with iso-pentane and soy biodiesel, a denaturant combination that Kasperson had studied and found to have lowered the fuel's reid vapor pressure (RVP). While the RVP tests in this study were inconclusive, the blend did perform better than unleaded in most tests.
Miles per gallon
The three vehicles averaged only 1.5% lower mileage with E10, 2.2% lower mileage with E20, 5.1% lower mileage with E30, and increased mileage of 1.7% when using the specially denatured E10 blend.
Cost per mile
Although the MPG of ethanol blends was slightly lower than the unleaded, the cost per mile of operation was generally lower. Also, the higher the concentrations of ethanol, the lower the cost per mile. Using the study's average MPG, E10 is less expensive per mile than unleaded until ethanol's cost is nearly 30 cents above unleaded. On a $20 bill, drivers can travel up to 15 miles farther on ethanol-blended fuel than on straight unleaded.
Driveability
Contrary to statements commonly made by vehicle manufacturers and technicians, no warning lights were displayed at any time while operating on any of the fuel blends. The data logger used for the research monitored all systems and detected no malfunction indicator lights (MIL), diagnostic trouble code lights (DTC), or emissions DTCs.
Also, it has been assumed that in older model vehicles the oxygen sensor could not recognize fuel with ethanol content higher than 10% and therefore caused a malfunction indicator light to be displayed. In all vehicles used, the car's computer seemed to have the ability to adjust the air/fuel ratio normally with ethanol blends even beyond the standard 10%.
The study cautioned that motorists should not use fuel with concentrations of ethanol higher than those recommended by the vehicles' manufacturers, but called for more research to determine if those fuels should be approved for use in standard, non flexible fuel vehicles.
“As ethanol production and use continues to expand from coast to coast, increased public discussion and media attention have often turned to a debate over ethanol's fuel efficiency,” said Ron Lamberty, ACE Vice President / Market Development. “Because there was very little scientific information out there, ACE commissioned a pilot study to determine whether there are variances in gas mileage between ethanol blends and gasoline.”
The research tested unleaded gasoline, a 10% ethanol blend (E10), a 20% ethanol blend (E20), and a 30% ethanol blend (E30) in three late-model vehicles. The Chevrolet Impala, Ford Taurus, and Toyota Camry were not flexible fuel vehicles, and no modifications were made to them for this research. Care was taken to eliminate any human inputs that might render the tests unscientific, including the use of a computerized data logger and strict controls on the vehicles, fuel, and terrain.
The test was conducted by Allen Kasperson, a Fuel Research Specialist and instructor with more than 30 years of experience training automobile and truck technicians at Lake Area Vocational Technical Institute in Watertown, South Dakota. The study also examined an E10 blend that had been denatured with iso-pentane and soy biodiesel, a denaturant combination that Kasperson had studied and found to have lowered the fuel's reid vapor pressure (RVP). While the RVP tests in this study were inconclusive, the blend did perform better than unleaded in most tests.
Miles per gallon
The three vehicles averaged only 1.5% lower mileage with E10, 2.2% lower mileage with E20, 5.1% lower mileage with E30, and increased mileage of 1.7% when using the specially denatured E10 blend.
Cost per mile
Although the MPG of ethanol blends was slightly lower than the unleaded, the cost per mile of operation was generally lower. Also, the higher the concentrations of ethanol, the lower the cost per mile. Using the study's average MPG, E10 is less expensive per mile than unleaded until ethanol's cost is nearly 30 cents above unleaded. On a $20 bill, drivers can travel up to 15 miles farther on ethanol-blended fuel than on straight unleaded.
Driveability
Contrary to statements commonly made by vehicle manufacturers and technicians, no warning lights were displayed at any time while operating on any of the fuel blends. The data logger used for the research monitored all systems and detected no malfunction indicator lights (MIL), diagnostic trouble code lights (DTC), or emissions DTCs.
Also, it has been assumed that in older model vehicles the oxygen sensor could not recognize fuel with ethanol content higher than 10% and therefore caused a malfunction indicator light to be displayed. In all vehicles used, the car's computer seemed to have the ability to adjust the air/fuel ratio normally with ethanol blends even beyond the standard 10%.
The study cautioned that motorists should not use fuel with concentrations of ethanol higher than those recommended by the vehicles' manufacturers, but called for more research to determine if those fuels should be approved for use in standard, non flexible fuel vehicles.
Far be it from me to doubt the results of the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE).
All I have is a pocket calculator and a digital fuel pump. I will get, consistantly, 6-8% LESS mileage with E10 than I do with straight gasoline. If the pump says 'contains ethanol', I know the MPG I'll get. If the pump says nothing, I get a bit higher MPG.
But I will not dispute the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), and their sceintific laboratory.
BTW, who sponsors the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE)??????
All I have is a pocket calculator and a digital fuel pump. I will get, consistantly, 6-8% LESS mileage with E10 than I do with straight gasoline. If the pump says 'contains ethanol', I know the MPG I'll get. If the pump says nothing, I get a bit higher MPG.
But I will not dispute the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), and their sceintific laboratory.
BTW, who sponsors the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE)??????
Broken trunk mirror
Hi Chris
Had my trunk mirror break - well out of warranty. After reading the other threads here I ended up buying a piano hinge and used the dremel so that it would open out flat. Screwed it in with the small brass screws supplied and used the Dremel to grind off the ends of the screws. Works like a dream and don't have to worry about the weak plastic pins. Now all I have to do is replace the mirror that broke when we overpacked the topbox.
Hi Chris
Had my trunk mirror break - well out of warranty. After reading the other threads here I ended up buying a piano hinge and used the dremel so that it would open out flat. Screwed it in with the small brass screws supplied and used the Dremel to grind off the ends of the screws. Works like a dream and don't have to worry about the weak plastic pins. Now all I have to do is replace the mirror that broke when we overpacked the topbox.
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