I had my distributor out over the winter getting recurved for the 3.0L engine I put in last summer. I had a brief discussion with the guy who did the work (Steve Weiner of Rennsport systems in Portland, OR, very well respected guy). He had this to say:

Set idle timing around 10-12 deg for 93 or better octane fuel. Don't worry about 10% ethanol,..that stuff is 114 RON and helps boost total octane. 91 requires less total timing,...93 permits more and that means more torque & power.

Now, none of this timing stuff is going to matter to you guys driving newer cars, but what he had to say about the ethanol definitely raised my eyebrows. Here's a guy who understands compression, combustion, ignition and exhaust saying 10% ethanol is fine. Curious. I'm going to try switching to the Husky (luckily there's one just down the street from me) and see if I notice anything.

 

I ran 94, then shell 91 the same track day when I filled up. I was hitting the same top speeds on the back straight the whole day.
Personally I'd rather just pay the 91 price. 94 did nothing and seemed to burn through faster then 91.

 

Christien,

His point on ethanol being a high octane fuel is dead on. Ethanol, Methanol, Tulene and some other wonderful things that make hippies cry, will let u advance your timing for more power.

I was under the impression that the concerns regarding ethanol were more about storage and long-term use issues: the impact on rubber seals and its degradation over winter. Marine guys seem to be having lots of issues and their hardware tends to sit around longer than when the average Porka goes 2 bed for the winter.

I don't mind running ethanol during the summer (especially in a turbo motor), but if the cars are going away soon, I will run a tank or two of Shell V-Power 91 thru it just to make sure it's out of the system and then store on V-Power 91.



Ethanol is a less efficient? Less stored energy? (what's the scientific word i'm looking for here, where are my engineers?) fuel than normal petrol. PCA and many others ran tests on fuel running 0% ethanol 10, 20, 30 and 85% and there is a loss of MPG even with 10% ethanol. So your suspicions about burning thru 94 faster are not unfounded.





YMMV and My 2 cents (3 cents US)

 

Ethanol has a lower energy content (measured in Joules). You were pretty much there with "less stored energy".

 

Drove by the new 'Flying J' at the Lancaster exit off the 401 to buy some Shell V Power 91 yesterday...and just before I put the nozzle in the opening I looked at the pump to confirm the 'no ethanol in premium' statement everyone is talking about.

No such statement. In fact the 'statement' said, and I quote " All Shell fuel may contain up to 10% ethanol".

I put the pump nozzle back and drove to my local Ultramar in Alexandria where the owner has shown me in writing on an Ultramar letterhead from the area quality control manager a letter stating that Ultramar 91 fuel contains NO ethanol. The station owner said he believes that there is no ethanol in any Ultramar fuel, and certainly there is no statement stating either case on the pumps.

Ah what the hell, ya gotta buy fuel somewhere...and I guess you go with what makes you feel good about your purchase.

When we are on vacation with the car out in the boonies on the east coast sometimes I'm just happy to see an 'OPEN' sign, even if all they have is 87...which has been the case more than once.

Jim

 

Sticker still on she'll pumps in Toronto. Saw it two days ago.

 

Same with the Shell pumps here - sticker says up to 10% ethanol in regular and mid-grade, 0% in 91. I put Husky 93 in the 911 yesterday, which does say up to 10% ethanol, can't say I noticed any difference from the Shell V-power that was in there.

 

I don't notice any difference between 94 and 91 in the '96 Porsche but huge difference in the old carbureted '74Z. It needs 94. Imagine it might be noticeable on older - pre ECU? - Porsches.

 

London Shell stations have no stickers.. But I can't believe it is different than Hamilton or Toronto gas..

 

the Shell Canada corporate website says (click on frequently asked questions)

"•Shell V-Power premium gasoline in Canada does not contain ethanol"

http://www.shell.ca/home/content/can.../shell_vpower/

 

You would think that a marketing type somewhere in the Shell hierarchy would see the benefit of a simple sticker...?

Jim

 

if you search for SHELL RETAIL FUELS BRAND IDENTITY POLICY, you'll find a fairly comprehensive internal 2010 Shell International document on branding standards.

it might be Shell Canada has to adhere to Shell International branding standards that do not accomodate local issues, marketing opportunities, etc.

just a guess...

 

They do have a sticker at the pumps that I go to. Like the sticker you posted but then futher explains each grade and says premium fuel contains no ethonal.

 

I have rec'd the following from Ultramar:

Provincial law requires us to sell a certain percentage of ethanol in our gasoline.
Ultramar has limited this percentage (approximately 10%) to regular gasoline only. The mid-grade (Plus) gasoline, in some station, is equipped with a system that mixes the Regular and Supreme to create the Plus grade of gasoline, rather than having a seperate tank for the mid-grade.
As for the Supreme gasoline, it contains no Ethanol.

Therefore you could receive some ethanol in certain stations if you purchase the Regular or Plus gasoline.
Best Regards,


Geneviève Bernier
Ultramar Ltée
Service à la clientèle
Customer Service
________________________________________

Good for me here as there are virtually no Shell stations around here.

 

Works for me...my only choices within 40kms are MacEwen, Esso, and Ultramar. The MacEwen and Esso premium fuels both contain ethanol and are generally slightly more expensive than the Ultramar 91 at (yesterday), $1.25 per liter.

When I looked at the Shell 91 the other day at the Flying J it was selling for $1.30...so the local Ultramar is a no-brainier .

Jim

PS. DRPM...that is one Baaaaad looking GT3RS 4.0!!!