*EXTENDED to 30 March* Merlin Tuning ~ SA ~ 8-10 April 2016

[himynameisdaniel]

fuel does become stale. and looses its effective RON rating over time.
Personally i avoid E10 wherever possible now.

as most service stations that advertise 91 E10 is actually 89RON or lower then becomes 91 as ethanol boosts the octane rating for the fuel.

I have had quite a few bad batches of fuel like this in the past which has caused; cold start issues, excessive and very noticeable engine knock as the RPM pings quite aggressively as the timing is retarded. not to mentioned fouled spark plugs which then can cause misfire or incomplete burns and do more damage over time.

luckily it has not led to a complete no start condition yet. but I can tell you paying an extra 5 or so bucks per fill is much better than dropping a FULL fuel tank and draining it when you get a bad batch of fuel.

Generally you do not change low octane maps much or at all as you still need compatibility when you get crap fuel or you are in the middle of the bush.

[burfadel]

I would never run 91 E10, the E10 I was referring to is those that are 94/95 Octane. I don't think you can even get 91 E10 in SA? Usually only the United or Liberty 94/95. Not sure what MoGas (Mobil) is.

If they got rid of 91 and 95 octane completely and just sold 98, the price would come down considerably. The limited distribution, supplying three fuels instead of just one, and pricing because it's 'premium' all adds to the cost, possibly to the point where the cost would be similar to that of 91 fuel in a three fuel market.

You can still have E10 in this mix, 98 fuel plus ethanol gives you 100 octane fuel. United used to sell that a few years ago but at the time the demand was probably too low to be sustainable.

[ChrisRalliart09]

So Mobil 98 is a no go then? I was under the impression Mobil and BP were the best fuels. I know with VW's have issues with shell and caltex 98 as engine light comes on in like 5 mins. Might just be a euro thing.

[aspir3]

I thought all the fuel in Adelaide came from the same depot and refinery.

[himynameisdaniel]

you may be right troy.
i get the feeling that they get a base product then add their own additives in.

[ChrisRalliart09]

I just figure with coles n woolies doing fuel offer they arent gonna offer same quality for cheaper.

[SAM-24A]

I thought this was a Merlin Tuning Thread in Adelaide .... it's slowly turning into a "Which Fuel do You Use" Thread


Get and fill up on E85, but don't tell Merlin

E85 is an alcohol based fuel that is 85% Ethanol and 15% Gasoline.
E85 has an Octane rating of approximately 105-108 RON points.

[ChrisRalliart09]

Well Merlin brought up the topic of fuel, I'll just wait until he comes and pick his brain. Cant wait for the tune

[aspir3]

I use Costco 98, is that likely to be a prob? Thing is, thats what Im always going to use so wouldnt it be best to tune on whatever brand fuel that person is going to regularly filling up with so it doesnt cause probs when you go back to that?

I to often use Costco because it's on the way to work. Next time I fill up I will run evoscan for knock.

[ChrisRalliart09]

At first they were using Mobil but their site says cheapest supplier so could be any of the 4 but as stated probably from 1 refinery I suppose.

[SAM-24A]

Next time I fill up I will run evoscan for knock.

Just don't confuse it with the knock in your head
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So Mobil 98 is a no go then?

Yes it's "Good to Use" ... I've been using Mobil 98 for years with multiple Merlin tuning

[danieljgibbs]

At the end of the day Merlin knows what's best as he's seen the results in his tunes, I'm sure you could use fuel other than what Merlin recommends but remember his choices are for best results based on experience.

[burfadel]

I just think my suggestion should be made national policy then none of this would be an issue . 20-25 cents difference between E10 94/95 and 98 is pretty substantial, at the moment it's effectively 20-25 percent more expensive. I guess it's just a question of whether you get 20-25 percent benefit from it in some way, shape, or form, or cumulative 20 percent (say, 10 percent performance + 10 percent economy).