Car Talk

[JanetAnne]

On 05/10/2021 at 17:14, grendel said:

 

Now Dave (JA) please tell me if anything else goes wrong with Water Rails engine and the cure, because it seems this car is determined to copy her, its had the diesel overrun, its had the part blocked diesel filter and needed bleeding, so it would be nice to be warned of whats going to occur next. 

Water Rails stern gland is our next problem... it's not looking good for the Volvo .....

[annv]

We liked Audi customer's very good for our profit margin Fords where the least profitable parts where cheaper and easy to work on so needed more of them to get a days work. John

[BroadAmbition]

Me and Trevor Transit picked up a puncture on Friday, How lucky was that!

Lucky? - Yes as it was in one of the rear summer tyres.  Both rears are nearing the end of their lifespan, only 1m max off the wear indicators, if it had been in one of the fronts I would have been well miffed.

Anyroadup it was a proper puncture, I only just made it to our local shop at the end of the working day.  Daughter had requested I pick up sommat for her and drop it off on my way home.  Coming out of the shop I had to get the tyre pump out, it would only go to 2 bar pressure (It should be 3 bar), daughter house - 2 x mile away, before leaving her I had to pump it up again and it only just got me home.  So Saturday morning take off all four wheels, fit winter rims / tyres and I was good to go, the two near worn out items (One now punctured) dropped off at my local tyre outfit, I'll collect them tomorrow, then all four summer rims / tyres will be cleaned, polished and put down my garage pit ready for the spring

Griff

[BroadAmbition]

Here's a thing

I keep seeing reports / feedback on various media outlets and indeed face to face with some of my mates that this ere new fangled E10 petrol is not all it's cracked up to be.  Apparently it does not have as much Oumph which is leading to a decrease in performance and increased fuel consumption.  So much for saving the planet,  E10 is supposed to be more environmentally friendly but if it leads to increased consumption it kinda makes it somewhat impotent and defeats the object of the exercise imho

Fortunately both our vehicles are running on good old dyno diesel so we are not affected.  My Mighty Tiger will continue on the E5 full fat high octane good stuff, well it is a toy and I don't give two hoots about its fuel consumption, the more the merrier

Griff

[Bikertov]

I'm sure my car is getting worse petrol consumption over the last few tanks with E10

Used to get 300+ miles,  now it is 280 or so.

[ChrisB]

Both my cars are 3 cylinder jobs, one turbo the other mild hybrid. Both definately run better and give better mpg with premium. I have used nothing but premium for the last six years or so and when I fill the can as I fill the cars the Honda outboard and Hayter get/got premium as well.

Downside topped up my 500C, before putting in garage, and getting SUV on cross climates out at the Esso Sheringham....£1.599 per litre or in excess of £7 per gallon in old money.

[ChrisB]

£7.259 per gallon actually, but always " Look on the Bright Side of Life" Omicrom variant sent the Oil Markets in panic yesterday so fuel prices might fall....But there again we might not be allowed to burn any!!!

[grendel]

I have seen reports that E10 is getting something like an average 4% reduction in economy

[Mouldy]

8 hours ago, BroadAmbition said:

 . . . . . I keep seeing reports / feedback on various media outlets and indeed face to face with some of my mates that this ere new fangled E10 petrol is not all it's cracked up to be.  Apparently it does not have as much Oumph which is leading to a decrease in performance and increased fuel consumption.  So much for saving the planet,  E10 is supposed to be more environmentally friendly but if it leads to increased consumption it kinda makes it somewhat impotent and defeats the object of the exercise imho . . . . .

Hmmm.  The cynic in me does see an ulterior motive though.  With more people turning to electric for their vehicles and with reduced VAT applicable to electricity, the treasury will be suffering a loss of income.  By forcing us to use a grade of fuel that gives inferior performance and economy, it increases consumption, therefore fuel sales.  Not enough to make up for other losses of taxation, but some of it.

As the price of oil drops, I can easily see the price of fuel at the pumps being held high to maintain the increased taxation applied too.

Mini rant over!

[annv]

Hi E5 has a higher octane rating than E10 that has 10 % Ethanol in it ie Corn fermented plant alcohol in it, IT (CAN) rot rubber components in older vehicles. E10 is the FAME derived petrol to sit besides the FAME Diesel.I only use E5 in my vehicles. John

[addicted]

Our Sportage  has devoloped a new habit. Whenever we drive to Norfolk,  at roughly the same point on the journey a warning  beep  sounds and a picture  of  a cup of hot beverage  appears on the  dashboard. a  notice advising us that the computer is taking a break also appears.  The first time this occurred I phoned our garage and asked what it was all about. The service manager who has the  same model as us but had never had this happen  asked the techi dept who told him  that the car analyses the journey you have done and the type of conditions you have been driving in and decides it has been onerous enough to warrant you taking a  refreshment break. This is  a new concept on us.

 

 

Carole

[floydraser]

10 hours ago, Mouldy said:

Hmmm.  The cynic in me does see an ulterior motive though.  With more people turning to electric for their vehicles and with reduced VAT applicable to electricity, the treasury will be suffering a loss of income.  By forcing us to use a grade of fuel that gives inferior performance and economy, it increases consumption, therefore fuel sales.  Not enough to make up for other losses of taxation, but some of it.

As the price of oil drops, I can easily see the price of fuel at the pumps being held high to maintain the increased taxation applied too.

The cinic in me agrees with you. Although a few years ago I remember HGV's suffered a similar thing when engine Euro numbers were uprated, consumption went up as emissions came down.

[SteveO]

I had to buy a can of premium petrol the other day because I've been told that my lawnmower, hedge trimmer and generator won't like E10. The only place I can buy it round here is our local motorway services and I didn't get much change from a £10 note when filling a 5litre can. 

[ExSurveyor]

I am not going to risk E10 in my outboard unless I will use it all up during any visit, I believe it only has a life of 3 weeks.

Anyone know if E10 can be improved by using additives to prolong its shelf-life.

[Mouldy]

7 hours ago, SteveO said:

I had to buy a can of premium petrol the other day because I've been told that my lawnmower, hedge trimmer and generator won't like E10. The only place I can buy it round here is our local motorway services and I didn't get much change from a £10 note when filling a 5litre can. 

No local Tesco fuel stations offering Momentum on their forecourt?

[Andrewcook]

Hi Motorist are getting Clobber on Petrol having a Dirty Car that's a Penalty charge.Front Window Screen must be clear of Frost Penalty Charge . Vehicle must be in good condition other wise Penalty Charge worst of all Speeding Penalty plus Points . One other note getting pushed in to having Electronic Cars more money where does all ends? 

[Popeye]

16 hours ago, ExSurveyor said:

I am not going to risk E10 in my outboard unless I will use it all up during any visit, I believe it only has a life of 3 weeks.

Anyone know if E10 can be improved by using additives to prolong its shelf-life.

Be very careful about using E10 in outboard motors. I don't know if you can buy any additives to improve its shelf life but the stuff dissolves older fuel pipes and deposits the gunk in the carburettor or injection system, it can also dissolve the diaphragm in the fuel pump. If you search on the internet you will find many stories from America of outboards conking out on the sea because of E10.

In reality, E10 is not really ecologically friendly as it takes fossil fuel to distil the ethanol.

Personally I will never ever use it in my outboard and never use it in my car unless I know I will empty the tank on the journey. My car is designed for and will take E10 but is seldom used so I don't want E10 laying around in the tank for ages as it is hygroscopic and can damage the fuel injection system after long periods of non use. 

[Spooky]

I went to Norfolk Chandlery to ask about the E10 issue as I have Mercruisers fitted to my boat and the local garage only now sells E10. There is an additive that you can add to the petrol, I think it is called Quik-Stor from memory. As I understand it the E10 seperates out if left in a tank for more than 3 weeks and the ethanol floats to the top and this is what attacks the rubber gaskets etc in the fuel system. Apparently the Quik-Stor binds the petrol and ethanol together to prevent this happening. Not cheap, I think £80 for 2 litres but the bottle does do over 2000 litres so no so bad and Andrew at Norfolk Chandlery swears by it. I would use the E5 Petrol but the nearest to me at Ludham that I know of is the Shell Garage at Brundall which is a bit of a trek.

[ExSurveyor]

Thanks Spooky, Shell Brundall is my closest. I can't imagine getting through 2000 litres too quickly 

[ChrisB]

I get my E5 premium at Esso, Sheringham but mostly Sainsbury, North Walsham.

I would have thought Tesco at Stalham would have had a pump dispensing it because so many of the higher end cars recommend it use.

[Oldspice]

25 minutes ago, ChrisB said:

I get my E5 premium at Esso, Sheringham but mostly Sainsbury, North Walsham.

I would have thought Tesco at Stalham would have had a pump dispensing it because so many of the higher end cars recommend it use.

Yes Tesco Stalham has E5 Premium (Momentum) ...filled up there yesterday 

[grendel]

16 hours ago, Andrewcook said:

having a Dirty Car that's a Penalty charge.Front Window Screen must be clear of Frost Penalty Charge . Vehicle must be in good condition other wise Penalty Charge

there is also talk in the media that if you sit defrosting your car, that can be seen as against the law and you could get a fine, so, do you get a fine while waiting for the screen to clear, or get a fine for driving off with it not yet cleared, disjointed thinking if you ask me.

[Meantime]

What's wrong with a tin of de-icer, an ice scraper, an old credit card or leaving a cloth over the screen over night? Your screen will only defrost once the engine has started to get warm unless you have an electrically heated windscreen. The worst way to heat any engine is to just leave it idling for 5 mins to warm up. An engine is best heated under load by driving. It's also not very green to leave your engine ticking over for 5 mins wasting fuel.

[ChrisB]

For tools that may not be used, say over Winter, like outboards, chainsaws, brush cutters etc I now run their last use before rest on Aspen 4. It is a bit expensive but saves the spring heartache on things not starting.

[Popeye]

14 hours ago, Spooky said:

I went to Norfolk Chandlery to ask about the E10 issue as I have Mercruisers fitted to my boat and the local garage only now sells E10. There is an additive that you can add to the petrol, I think it is called Quik-Stor from memory. As I understand it the E10 seperates out if left in a tank for more than 3 weeks and the ethanol floats to the top and this is what attacks the rubber gaskets etc in the fuel system. Apparently the Quik-Stor binds the petrol and ethanol together to prevent this happening. Not cheap, I think £80 for 2 litres but the bottle does do over 2000 litres so no so bad and Andrew at Norfolk Chandlery swears by it. I would use the E5 Petrol but the nearest to me at Ludham that I know of is the Shell Garage at Brundall which is a bit of a trek.

Thanks for that post Spooky. However, we must not lose sight of the fact that the ethanol element of E10 still dissolves diaphragms and pipes in older engines even if it has not separated so even fresh E10 will damage car engines that are not designed to take it.

Basically, if your car manufacturer does not recommend E10 do not use it. It is mainly older cars and old boat engines that are affected by E10. Check on the Government website to see if your car is suitable for E10 to be on the safe side. Certainly do not use it in old outboard motors and in all possibility check with the outboard manufacturer to see if an outboard can use it.