Ethanol is a colourless liquid (alcohol) generally produced from grain or sugar. Blending of ethanol in petrol has been suggested as a way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on non-renewable fossil fuels.
The Australian Federal Government currently legislates that ethanol can be added to petrol in blends up to a maximum of 10%. This is called E10. Legislation states that E10 pumps must be labelled, giving you the choice of whether or not to purchase ethanol blended fuels.
View list of Ethanol compatible (E10) Mazda models: from EurocarsMazda
What happens when ethanol is used in non-suitable vehicles?
* There is an increased possibility of metal fuel tanks and lines corroding or rusting
* The chance of plastic fuel tanks swelling and breaking down is increased
* The possibility of plastic and rubber fuel lines deteriorating is increased
* There is a possibility of fuel injector O-rings breaking down
* Carburettor floats and seals are susceptible to deterioration
* Certain engine components may not be compatible with ethanol
* Engine management mapping parameters may not be fully compatible with E10, creating idle, driveability and starting concerns, plus hot weather performance issues
Important points
- Ethanol is an oxygenated fuel. E10 (which is oxygenated gasoline) may reduce fuel economy by an average of 2-3% because oxygenates contain less energy than non-oxygenated petrol. This means you may get fewer kilometres per tank when using E10
- Ethanol has a high affinity to water. Ingress of water could result in ethanol fuel blends breaking down into separate water/ethanol and petrol layers. This could create driveability concerns, as there’s a possibility of water/ethanol slugs reaching the engine
- In some older vehicles, deposits in fuel systems can be loosened by E10, which may cause fuel filters to become blocked
- Coarse ethanol, which is of poor quality, may cause poor idling plus driveability and starting issues, even if the vehicle is suitable to operate on E10
For more advice on how to take care of your EurocarsMazda please visit our site Eurocarsmazda
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